Gas cap chain and retainer

I have been using that chrome gas cap and I know they have to vent the tank a little, but this thing is rediculous. It doesn't seat...at all...on th neck of the tank. Anyway I ordered one of the black repo original style caps and decided to remake the chain and holding wire that attaches to the underside of the cap.

Problem is, I can't find any reference to that chain anywhere. Walk's didn't even know what I was talking about. I could use some coat hanger wire and steel chain, but I'm afraid of corrosion since that's what broke off the original one. I found the other end in the tank when I POR15'd it

Anybody have an idea of where to buy the set up or where to get like brass or maybe galvanized chain and wire to make one? Home depot and lowes has brass finish chain...but what does that mean? lol Sounds like silver plated jewelry to me.

 

Ok, I made a prototype. I couldn't find anything at the home stores. I went to Wal-Mart and they had everything I needed to make one. I did find some brass chain in their hardware isle and I used Eagle Claw Split Rings size 4 (they are the little key rings that are used to attach hooks to fishing bait) to connect the chain to the cap and retainer wire that goes down inside the tank neck. I bought a minnow dip net and canablized the wire to make the retainer wire. I'll try and post a pic if someone is interested.

 

As you probably suspected "brass-finished" just means a thin brass plating over steel. In my experience, almost everything that HD sells as "brass" is actually plated and doesn't last a year before it starts rusting through. My suggestion is to carry a magnet with you anytime you're looking for brass and test the item to see if plated or solid brass.

If I follow what you're asking, you're trying to make a wire clip that seats in the fuel filler neck and that the chain hooks to. If that's the case then you need to use a spring steel wire and not a soft iron or steel since they won't hold their shape. I suggest going to a hobby show and getting a piece of "piano wire" and making it from that. Gasoline is actually an oil and preserves steel very well so rust shouldn't be a big concern if you're using a decent quality (not HD!) steel. At least it did until they started adding ethanol and water to it!

What kind of chain are you looking for and how long of a piece do you need? I have some mil surplus stuff here. I've been told that brass and gasoline are not a good mix and that it causes gas to go sour.*

*PS. I just did some checking and found this http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ef049849h

 

I would be very interested in seeing your pics on this. Thanks!

 

The way this system works is you pinch the wire and slide it into the filler neck of the tank and push it down into the tank. When you take off the gas cap and subsequently pull out the chain, the hooks grab the bottom of the neck and your cap hangs out of the tank by the chain like a normal car gas cap. If you want to take the assembly out of the tank, you just pull it up, stick your fingers in the filler neck, pinch the wire together and pull it out.

I still am amazed this hasn't been talked about before on here. You can tell it was made for this as the cap was made with a loop on the back to hang a chain. Maybe it was a late production thing and they all broke off in the tank...lol

Ewww Joe, that makes me think twice about brass. I'm pretty sure the chain I bought is plated. I do like this chain as compared to the original "jack" chain. I noticed the jack chain is only rated for 10lbs. My dad bought this Jeep new and when I asked him about the retaining chain, he had no clue there was one. It got broken off and the whole assembly fell in the tank before he even bought it, back when it was brand new. I want to make sure that doesn't happen again. I'm pretty sure the split rings will hold up as they are designed to be in a saltwater environment and designed to carry the weight of any size fish pulling on the bait he's hooked to. I added a little solder to the top of the retainer wire to make sure the chain wouldn't slide down it when it was in the tank.

Here's what it looks like: The original setup (what's left of it) on top, new setup on bottom

 

love it!

Thanks for the tech!

 

Since I don't know what the original chain length was, I assume it was just long enough to hang off the lip of the neck. I can cut off links to make the chain that length so it wouldn't bang the paint. I am guessing with the length at the pic from above. ( my jeep is currently in the shop having the muffler configuration changed right now)

 

Meltdown,

You can buy steel chain like that shown on top in a hardware store. I've used it for hanging shop lights. Somewhere I have some Mil Surplus steel chain like that shown at the bottom of the photo. I grabbed several packages of it to replace the plastic thread that the current car manufacturers are using to attach their gas caps after I lost one and it cost me $40 for a new one! If you need some PM me and I'll dig it out.

 

Appreciate it, but like I said above that chain is only rated at 10 pounds

 

It's not the weight of cap I'm worried about, it's forgetting about the chain being there and jerking on the cap. All it would take is one good jerk and it will break

 

Cool! I like that center SS chain. When it broke on the original, the chain was the weaker of the two. The loop on my original cap is still intact. Can you get SS wire the size of coat hanger wire?

 

Do you think I will be able to bend that welding rod without it breaking?

 

It doesn't have the wire retainer like the civilian jeep, but it is easy to get the chain for an M38A1. Might have to buy a cap to get it, but it's out there. My A1 appears to have the original cap, and the chain looks brand new.