My gf's '95 Sportage 2.0 MRDI leaks gas.. A while ago it started smelling gas outside the vehicle when filling more than half tank (25-30 litres), but now we can't fill more than 10-15 litres without the car starting to smell gas.

Is this just a rusty gas tank having to be replaced, or could it be something else? The below half of the tank is incapsulated in some kind of a steel cover, so it's hard to see anything without talking it all down..

How much work is it to disassemble the gas tank from the car?

Dropping the tank is pretty involved but Kia DID provide a drain. But before resorting to dropping the tank see if you can identify exactly where the tank is leaking. You may get lucky and discover the leak is accessible without dropping the tank or even removing the skid plate. Fuel tank repair kits will work if you can find the leak.

I've tried locating the leak, but it seems it's somewhere covered by the skid plate. Is it possible to remove the skid plate without dropping the tank?

There's 5-6 bolts around the skid plate, but it looks as they're both holding the skid plate in place and holding up the tank..

Oh well.. found the leak after digging up several layers of rust.. the Sportages are good and practical cars for the price, but all I can say is GET RID OF THESE CARS BEFORE THEY ARE TEN YEARS OLD! They are not meant to last longer than that.. bolts are breaking and apparantly tanks are rusting to pieces. :rolleyes: The weird thing though, is that the car body and the paint seems to be in perfect shape, no visible rust anywhere.

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/1204/cimg4221ne2.jpg