gr86ss

DIY - Do It Yourself Fix

Does your fuel door not want to stay closed. Is the plunger stuck in the down position and not catching the fuel door latch? Don't spend $70 for the cable assembly....

I had the same problem about a year ago. The spring on the plunger had corroded and the plunger would stick in the down position. I could manually push it back out with the emergency cable but it would eventually push back in the the door would pop back open. Pretty embarrassing driving around with your gas door open.

What I did was pull back the interior liner on the driver side above the rear tire, exposing the solenoid cable and emergency cable. Take a small spring that has light tension and hook one side to where the emergency cable is attached, and then hook the other side to the cardboard backing of the insulation. Basically you are pulling the plunger assembly to the up position to hold the gas door shut. I've had this fix for a year now and it works great. I used a carb spring that I had in the garage so my fix was free, but you can buy a $1 spring at the hardware store.

St.Char

Thanks for the DIY

AORoads

Interesting fix. Thanks.

N2TU

Thanks for the great write-up!

0Cajun @ Edgyvette

Mine is doing it now and REALLY pissing me off. Will give this a try. Thanks

vettedoogie

Thanks...this is CF perfection. Publishing a simple, cheap fix that saves other Vette owners from Corvette Tax!

LS WON

I had this same problem except it was under warranty so dealership ordered new cable and installed it.
Use scotch tape in the mean time when gas flap wouldn't shut.

gr86ss

Yeah, I actually bought some scotch tape at the gas station when the darn filler door wouldn't stay shut. More steath than blue painters tape..

LS WON

C U IN REARVEIW

thanks

Swiftrider08

Ok, but I would rather fix the root cause than apply a band-aid.

30YR W8T

Great idea and very creative fix. Had this happen on my 05 and ending up replacing the whole assembly. This would have been way easier...

gr86ss

Root cause is defective spring within factory cable/plunger assembly. This is NOT a band aide but a very permanent and proven solution. I agree with you on band aide fixes, as I don't like to do those. If you have the $$ for the part vs paying a couple of $$ for this solution, more power to ya.

Oh and I do have a spare new in package factory cable assembly thats been laying around on my parts shelf if you are interested in one. It came in after I came up with my solution and never got around to returning it. I give you a deal on it

LS WON

Are you saying that replacing the whole cable assembly under warranty is a band aid solution? This will happen again with the new assembly?

gr86ss

If you're still under warranty, then by all means, have it replaced. This occurrence is more common than one would expect, and I suspect if yours failed it may fail again.

The fix that I have will last the life of the car and was meant to save CF members some coin if they were out of warranty.

LS WON

I see. Then replacing the whole assembly is a band aid fix.

Super-seed

I liked your fix so I tried it, however, the plunger still will not return quite far enough. If I hook it with my finger and pull hard, I can get another 1/8" which would catch the door latch. Any other ideas??

gr86ss

Try spaying some WD40 at the plunger. Also insure that the emergency cable release isn't binding up.

LS WON

GotChrist?

Anyone know how to get to this on a convertable? Failure occured on mine this morning on the way into a meeting.
I have the bonnet up after releasing the vert top. Pulling away the carpet liner reveals a plastic panel. The plunger and cable assy must be behind it. Looks like I need to remove the rear fender for access.