Gas Tank Won't Open

[shinta86]

Having a bit of a problem. So my bike has been sitting for the last few months and I went to open the gas tank today and it will not open. Odd thing is that the key turns just fine but the cap will not budge. I have already tried to use PB blaster. Any other ideas?

[Badot]

You can always take the entire cap out of the tank to check it out.

[Janx101]

someone might chime in with a NO!!! .. but likely the neck tabs are crudded/rusted up a bit... "perhaps" .. a rubber mallet... not a steel one!! ... some gentle but firm taps on the edge of tank flap as you try and wiggle the key ..

failing that .. as badot suggested ... but IIRC you only need to undo the bolts at 2,4,8 and 10 o'clock around the perimeter .. either that or the 12,3,6 and 9 positions

[adidasguy]

OK, I'll be the bad guy.

NO!

You can not remove a gas cap unless it is unlocked.

Things to do:
1. Squirt with a de-ruster like Seafoam DeepCreep or PB Blaster
2. Be sure you are pressing down hard on the cap as you try to open it. It releases pressure on the locking fingers
3. Go easy or you will break  your key. Try lots of back & forth to work the corrosion off of the internal parts.

Last resort:
1. Stick a big ass screw driver in the lock
2. Grab some big ass pliers
3. Turn that thing clockwise until you bust the lock and get the cap open
4. Now you can unscrew it and remove it
5. Put on a new one.

[Janx101]

err... ok.. just to be clear though... i meant tapping with the mallet in an effort to shake the crud free and let the internals and lock tabs move.. not to remove the gas cap as a unit...

[adidasguy]

Grumpy Cat says.....

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[Badot]

Maybe a little more information on my post is necessary. I assume if the lock plug turns fine that the locking pin things come in properly as well unless it somehow had a major mechanical malfunction in the time it was sitting untouched.

So once the key is turned and the cap is no longer locked to the tank, if you undo the screws holding it on you will at the very least have much more room to wiggle it around to break up any gunk/rust and remove the unit as a whole.

[Janx101]

I reckon that's valid too Badot ... So long as the internal bit that links the barrel to the tabs isn't broke!? ... 

[robfriedenberger]

So I ran into this the day i bough my bike, Turn the key and its stuck.....I played with it for about an hour and finally got it  open. I took apart the gas cap only to find nothing was bad or rusted, I greased every thing real good and it worked fine ever since. You should be able to take something thin like a zip tie, or maybe steel thead and move the latch free.  As suggested to me by my buddy who no longer helps me with my bikes, "heat up the latch with a blow torch" .....DON"T do it! Just keep playing with it gently it will open, also might sound dump but try gently prying it with a flat head, if you start to nic or mark any thing you've gone to far