Check it...

I JUST get back home from the hospital where my wife delivered, carrying my newborn child in my arms when I run by my garage and smell something "strange."

... Open the garage and I find out that my car leaked out over half of it's methanol/water mix down under the car and running out from under the garage door. THANK GOD nobody walking their dog or something flicked a cigarette near the outside the garage door where it spilled out onto the cul de sac.

Well, I drained the rest "properly" and started on some frustrating troubleshooting.

I discover after alot of freaking spills that methanol is leaking from BOTH the line that goes into the fitting under the WW reservoir AND the FREAKING WW factory pump fitting/pump that goes in the front toward the bottom, which was left there defunct so as not to have another thing to seal.

Well, the leak at the bottom of the WW reservoir was an easy fix... Turns out the line there was pulled tightly toward the meth pump by the passenger side headlight, which caused it to leak; Snow Performance instructs the installer to allow no binding of the line by any nozzle. The line must come out/in perfectly STRAIGHT or it will leak on the side where the seal is lost. What pisses me off is that the line NEVER leaked, despite being pulled to one side, for a whole month... Whatever, no problem, I bought a longer line cut with more slack and a junction to ensure the line exits the WW fitting straight for an inch or two before turning off to the side... No leak there anymore.

Now, the BIOTCH...

The rubber fitting for the stock WW pump, that hadn't leaked for a month, wanted to leak itsfuckingself no matter what epoxy I used... It would seem fine for a day, but it would begin leaking afterward... Meth slips through the tightest bond!!! AND it's a 50/50 mix to boot!

After contacting Snow, the tech support rep advised me that no epoxy can reliably be methanol proof, and that I need to be using a product called "Amazing Goop," which is meth proof... I buy some.

I rip out the WW pump, toss it the corner, and fab up a little rubber "stopper" from a dry rubber flat tire plug, squishing it in with some Goop on it. Next, I slop a bunch over the top of the stopper, and it turns into a flexible, rubbery seal in minutes... Very cool.

It's supposed to cure for 24 hours, so I will fill the WW tank with meth tomorrow and see what's up.



Questions: 1. Anybody else ever get meth leaking from the WW reservoir's WW pump fitting? If so, I will update here on how well the Goop stuff works... Snow swears by it and has started including a bottle of it with every kit purchase (Mine was bought before this package-deal addition )

2. Should I wait even longer than the 24 hour cure time? Anybody else had any methanol leaks before?

 

Sorry to hear about the leak, but HEY, big congrats on the new addition to the family!

Now, to the point: my system is different, Alkycontrol using a race fuel tank where my battery used to be. But for a plastic (polypropylene, I think) WW reservoir the problem with the fitting and the adhesive is probably the plastic itself. If it keeps leaking you might want to check into scientific supply companies (VWR, etc.); they handle a wide range of polypropylene containers that have molded and threaded spigots. Might be an alternative. I think you made a good decision when you covered your stopper with the Goop; I'm pretty sure methanol will degrade unprotected rubber. Even at 50%.

Please update this post if you find that the "Amazing Goop" really is impervious to methanol... never know when I might need some.

Good luck,


Rich

 

I had my Snow meth system leak, but not bacause of a bad sealing issue (BTW - I contacted the manufacturer of Amazing Goop, they actually steered me to a different product called "Seal All" if I recall correctly - it works well too.

Anyway, my leaks were caused because after a year my 20' line (that I purchased from Snow) shrunk about 2 inches in total length (my pump and tank are in the trunk) - this caused me to relocate the pump slightly and fitting on my LT1 elbow - just FYI.

 

My WW pump on the '04 GTO started leaking after over a year of pure meth. We had it on the rack in my friend's garage and noticed a slight drip. Within 2 hours, it was a steady stream leaking. There was no leak before that night, but once it started dripping, it went downhill fast.

 

ya the goop stuff works good, i have a tube of 'automotive goop' myself for general purposes

 

I've seen the snow kit's leak a few times.2 weeks ago there controller stuck on and flooded a motor with meth.

We personally stopped ussing that system 2 years ago from problems.

 

Hey Rich,thanks for the congrats!

Yeah, if the meth gets past the little stopper I put, it's going to have to go through ALOT of Goop... It's feeling like hard rubber today when I touch it.

I'll update with the good or bad news later.


WTH? How did it shrink? Heat? Time? Do all lines do this?


Funny how that happens... Mine leaked nothing for a month, and after a month, under the same line conditions, my line starts leaking because it was never straight... Oh yeah, and the leak sure ain't a small drip! It does pick up fast!


Cool! Now, tell me. What do you think about my curing time question. Do you think 24 hours is enough? It feels pretty damn hard and dry today yet still rubbery.

 

All plastics 'cure' and then shrink / twist / deform over time. Some do it more than others - it really wasn't that big of a deal - once I realized the root cause.

I just moved my pump in the trunk, drilled new holes, problem (at that end) solved. For the elbow, I twisted the mount 45 degrees or so, for more clearance - again, problem solved. Just a FYI

 

Grats on the baby man, that's kind of a big deal. I've given up quite a bit of time hot rodding for my son, he's 7 months now. I hate that when you get a leak that, and there is no fixing it without completely redesigning it...

 

Interesting, but I'm still shocked that the distance shrunk was a whole two inches... Good tip though. Luckily, I gave my lines quite a bit of slack, and I definitely don't have any lines going as far as yours, to the trunk.


Cool, I hear you... Wow, man... As if I had so much free time before, now I REALLY don't have time.

At least it's for a good reason... 7 months now? Tell me, when will I sleep again???

 

Update:

Goop ******* works.

The first day it held, but I was skeptical. However, it's been two days now and no leak... I'm going to take this as a good sign.

The meth is staying where it belongs for now.

 

good to hear!

 

This stuff also works with race gas.

 

I would be very careful and use nothing but brass or stainless (for threads on fittings,) and for the jets (weld in nothing but bungs.) Using epoxy and plastic lines I think is sort of asking for trouble. Of course its just my loud opinion. Meth when it burns is invisible. I on the other hand had the best of lines and fittings ECT. And a cheap system I guess you live and learn. I am in the process of getting a good alkycontrol system and a larger fuel cell to go with it.

 

Well, many people use the plastic lines with success... Of course, there is something better... You could say that about any part.

And epoxy/glues, asking for trouble? That has nothing to do with the quality of the meth kit... I don't care what system you use, if you're going to use the original F-body WW reservoir, you're gonna need an adhesive/sealant to lay on some areas... Particularly, as I discovered firsthand, on the seal over the WW pump location.

 

GOOP or shoe goo, is not epoxy.

 

True, it is a "rubbery" adhesive/sealant that remains flexible and won't crack like an epoxy.

 

LOL, man, I was fortunate enough to have my son sleeping in his own room, in his own bed by 2 months... has been sleeping through the night ever since! Not sure if that's normal or not, but it sure is cool, and I can't complain? You never mentioned, boy or a girl?

 

He's a boy.

Wow, your situation sounds so good... I hope mine can get that way soon... I've gotten so behind at work, and I'm getting 2-3 hours total sleep at night... I can't wait for him to sleep at night. Right now he's feeding every 2 1/2 to 3 hours... And shitting like 10 diapers a day.