It get's even better, I forgot the exhaust center tube.

From the FSM:

Remove exhaust center tube, propeller shaft, diff carrier, rear suspensions members and drive shafts. Then disconnect filler hose. Sweet...

 

wow i never knew removing the fuel tank on a s14 would be such a anal sore >.< well im down to give it a go.

 

yeah, dropping the tank on an s14 is a pain in the ass.
i doubt it is a crack as they typically don't just get worse for no reason. sitting still doesn't stress the tank...
I would bet it is a hose issue, probably where the rubber hose meets the hardline. If you hold your mouth just right, you might be able to follow the hardline back and find where it meets the rubber. if you have JDM hands, you ought to be able to replace the rubber line, (assuming that is the issue, you'll be able to feel the leak/crack in the line if it is bad)

 

Thank you for the offer of help, but I don't think I have the proper equipment or skill to remove all that stuff in my garage. Plus your way far away and I'd feel bad having someone drive all the way from spring hill; very generous offer though and I do very much appreciate it. If it comes down to replacing the tank I'm going to bite the bullet and find a shop to do the labor of replacing it after sourcing a new tank myself.

Thanks for the help. Checked where the harlines meet the rubber on the side of the tank and it doesn't seem to be coming from there. I'm still holding out hope that it's not a bloody crack in the tank.

JDM hands thing made me laugh. I already have a new fuel return hose laid in place, which is what I originally thought was leaking; however the old one seems to be fused to the metal hardline. I tugged on it fairly hard and it's not budging... I'm hoping my previous tugging on it and subsequent worsening of the leak is evidence pointing to there being a hole in the old return fuel hose (crossing my fingers).


Again, many thanks for all the advice.

 

if you can manage it, get some pliers in there and twist the hose, you'll be able to grab it and twist it with the pliers long before being able to just yank it off.
but, if you did pull on it and it is leaking worse, then that does point to the problem being the hose. some new hose and replace it anyway. the hose is cheap enough. just make sure you use fuel line, not just normal rubber hose.

while you are in there, try this
take the line and instead of putting it to the hardline to go to the motor, stick it in some hose, anything big enough to slip over the rubber line and long enough to go to a bucket beside the car. that way, when you turn the key on, the fuel pump will kick on and pump gas into that bucket without building up any pressure. That will help narrow down the leak. if you do that and it still leaks from that unknown place, then you know it has to do with either the pump splashing fuel out, or a hole in that hose somewhere. if you can do it a bunch of times and no evidence of a leak, then hook everything back up and do the same to the return line. So the fuel goes to the motor, builds up some pressure and comes back. Instead of going to the fuel tank, route it to go to your bucket. Repeat the whole process. The idea is that it will help narrow down where exactly that leak is coming from and/or the conditions that are needed for it to leak. It is a real pain in the ass to test it this way because you have to make sure you aren't creating a new leak with your "re-routing" hose, it has to seal to the fuel line and all of that. it works really well on an s13, but you can drop the tank down to get clearence to work. I personally have never done it on an s14, but it "should" work, assuming you can get your hands in there enough to work.
if you can do those tests and there are no leaks, then it has to be the tank. It is a bit expensive because you have to buy the gas, but the only other way to try to test it is to fill the tank to the very top and see if it leaks. The top of the fill tube is higher than the rest of the tank so if you can fill it to the very brim, you'll be able to see any leaks. If you tested the lines and there was no leaks, and you fill the tank to the brim and there is a leak, then you are going to have to pull the tank.

sorry for the novel, hope you find a leak in one of the "easy" to replace rubber lines.

 

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/n...how-holla.html

if you decide to replace it yourself heres the how to. my tank is leaking too im deciding whether or not to go fuel cell in the trunk or just get an oem tank and drop subframe. decisions decisions...

 

if you've got the dollars and don't need the space for groceries, then DDDDOOOOO EEETTT!