I took the Scout over to some friends’ last night to pick up a load of baby toys, and figured it would be a good idea to put some gas in the tank. There’s something wrong with either the gas gauge or the sender in the tank, because it’s never registered anything other than empty. As I started to pump, I noticed gas splashing down under the axles and immediately stopped. From what I can see, there’s a rubber hose connecting the steel fuel tube with the side of the tank which is splitting and pissing everything directly onto the ground.
Not to be discouraged, I continued on to my friends’ house (a few knocks on the tank verified there was sufficient gas available) and made it home alright. But now I’ve got to source a hose that won’t disintegrate with exposure to gasoline.
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Last weekend I removed the entire soft top and folded it carefully for storage in my basement, along with the door frames, bed rails, and hoops. With soft tops being scarce and expensive, I’m going to try and keep this one in good shape for as long as I can. I replaced it with the bikini top, which went on easily, although I’ve got to add a tiedown on the driver’s side and redrill the holes at the edges of the windshield to secure the rail. This is the first time I’ve had a bikini top, and I have to say, it’s very nice.