Rick Carter

If you can get an oil filter remover or a clamp on it and squeeze the red outer cap tight against the inner cap it will screw off. I've done that with a tank out of the car, obviously not as much room to manuever in the car but should be doable.

heinrich

Joe I have a cap like that on one of my other cars! Not this one

heinrich

Rick, great idea! Thanks

Alan

H - so are you OK if the cap is kaput as long as you get it off?

If so dremmel away at the red cap - around the top perimeter. The white inner cap seals the tank - and the lock (& ratchet pin) is the interface between the white & red parts. Simply cut the center of the red part out - pull the lock part out and the ratchet will engage. You may stll need to screw into the white top to get a grip but you'll be able to see what you are doing...

Joe your lock ratchet is busted... simple little part that you can't buy -- except inside another cap... (getting it apart is a bear too)

Alan

Alan

69gaugeman

screw it. give the car away (I will pick it up so as to not be a bother to you at all)

rhys

Ditto, my '82. If I don't use the key to actually lock the cap, then I (or the gas station attendant, since I live in what is probably the last state in the union that requires an attendant to pump gas: NJ), can just unscrew the cap.

heinrich

Alan thanks yes destruction is OK. Rhys yours is normal. Joe's isn't.

Ron_H

Oregon also requires an attendant to pump gas. What's the reasoning behind that policy? Anyone know? Jobs scarce?

SharkSkin

My guess is it was put in place by the auto body & paint lobby -- there weren't enough people scratching their paint around the gas cap, so they addressed the issue.

jpitman2

The lock tumbler is retained by a C clip sideways through the central core part about halfway down, so i doubt that cutting the top of the red part off will release it. Just drill the small hole and be done with it. Or if you remove the rubber grommet sealing the tank neck to the guard, you may be able to get an oil filter clamp over the cap from under the guard and tighten it enough to grip the inner..??
Worth a try.
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k.

sublimate

From Wikipedia, the fount of ALL knowledge:

All stations in New Jersey and Oregon, however, are mini service; attendants are required to pump gas because customers are explicitly barred by statutes in both states from pumping their own gas. Both states prohibited self service in the 1940s due to fears that foolish customers would handle gasoline improperly. Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality has also ordered a ban on self-service gasoline due to inexperienced pumpers being a significant source of groundwater and air pollution. Oregon's state fire marshal has also ordered a ban on self-service gasoline. Today, these states enforce the law because of the rapid increase of drive-offs, where people fill up their car and drive away without paying for gas. In 1982, Oregon voters rejected a ballot measure sponsored by the service station owners, which would have legalized self-service gas.

Contrary to popular belief, this does not make all gas stations in these states "full service by default." At most gas stations, "Mini Serve," standing for "minimum service," is the norm. Patrons can still get their tires, oil and wipers checked and windows cleaned at full-service islands, but at minimum-service islands, workers simply pump gas. At ARCO stations, customers must still go inside to pay for gas from mini-serve islands.

There is a widespread belief that mini-serve is more expensive. However, a comparison between gas prices in Portland, Oregon and its suburb of Vancouver, Washington show prices at mini-serve stations in Oregon are on average 3 to 10 cents cheaper than their self-service counterparts in Washington, suggesting the net effect of adding attendants to the price may be small or non-existent. This comparison may be skewed by the difference in state gasoline taxes between Oregon and Washington.

The constitutionality of the self-service bans has been challenged. The Oregon statute was challenged in 1989 by ARCO, and the New Jersey statute was challenged in 1950 by a small independent service station, Rein Motors. Both challenges failed. In addition, throughout the rest of the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the equivalent of "mini-serve" be provided to any individual displaying a disabled parking placard.

Interestingly, in both New Jersey and Oregon, it is legal for customers to pump their own diesel (although not every station permits diesel customers to do so; truck stops typically do). The rationale is that truck drivers are expected to know how to refuel their vehicles safely and in an environmentally sound fashion as part of their job.

Louie928

Way back in some dim bulb memory I believe it was supposed to reduce fire hazard. Seems like the PROO (People's Republik of Oregon) fire marshal gets involved whenever there is a move to permit us the convenience of pumping our own gas. The scenario is usually about the same. No demonstrated proof there is more fire danger in states where motorists pump their own gas. Then the socialists come out and whine that there won't be any jobs for the college graduates. Since Oregon is a nanny state of the highest order, it's expected people shouldn't actually have work at a meaningful job, but should still get a wage plus bennys, so it stays. That is except if you gas your plane at an airport, or boat at a marina, or motorcycle at a regular gas station. Then you are accorded some freedom to do it yourself. Maybe a good thing since 99 44/100% of PROO drivers don't have the sense to pump gas, or to drive.

Joe '87 S4

Mine isn't normal, as in it's broken - I can still unsrew it after locking it. Yours is just fine.

It's been near the bottom of my to-do list but after just getting all the major stuff done, it's suddenly near the top of my list. I just realized that I finally fixed all the major $$$ stuff on my car. It's taken 5 years but I suddenly have a 5-year-old 928 - all the major mechanicals have been replaced within the last 5 years.

Alan

Joe - pretty soon Hienrich will have some gas cap parts you may be interested in... I can walk you through how to replace that part... BTDT

The hardest part is getting the red cover off the central white part - I was convinced I would bust it - but it eventually did come free.

Note - some one should make a special 3 prong tool to get the cover off ! I was almost at the point of trying to design one...

Alan

Alan

JP - actually I have really BTDT. The whole lock mechanism is held in only by the red cap.. The tumblers etc are locked in with a C pin as you note - but you don't need to mess with that...

can still transplant the whole mechanism to a new cap

Once the middle/top of the red part is off around the lock you can pull the whole lock & ratchet up & out. At that point you can rotate the white part directly using the splines inside. The lip of the gas tank is only about 1/4" below the top of the white inner part... risky to drill (till you know where)...

If you were to drill I'd go at the very outside edge (about 1/8" in) in a few places (3-4) and screw in drywall screws to lock the red spinning cap to the white interior cap...

However cutting the red part off ensures the white part can still be used as a functional gas cap... some merits to that as a temp fix...

Drilling is marginally easier/quicker than dremmelling I suppose...

Alan