Hello to all, my first post.

First, thanks for all the great information.

I bought a '06 Silverado this past June that had 6,000 miles on it and well cared for except that the first time I went to gas up I couldn't get the gas cap off. Feeling a bit stupid I called the previous owner and asked what the "trick" was. They said they didn't know any "tricks" but that sometimes they had a hard time getting the cap off themselves. I finally figured out that they didn't realize the cap was keyed and they would force the cap on in any orientation. Once I twisted the cap around to line up the keyway it came off, and I have had no problems since... until today. Driving down the road at 60 mph I felt something land on my right leg, I look down and it is the chrome cap from the gas cap. Part of the inner workings of the cap is bouncing in the tank opening and I believe that the screws and remainder of the cap are at the bottom of the tank. I can't see anything in the tank and I fished a magnetic pickup tool around inside with no luck.

So a couple questions... anybody else experience this? Any helpful hints? I am wondering if the part that is in the tank can even be removed since I assume that without it connected to the rest I will not be able to work the locking mechanism and it will be too large to fit out through the opening.

Thanks in advance for your comments,
Jim

It's happened to others before. Drain the gas and remove the tank(it's not hard)then you can fish out the hardware. The screws that hold the cap together can work loose and fall out.

But it sounds like the dork that had the bike may have messed the cap up by forceing it off. You might have to look for another cap on e-bay.
Don't know what the dealer wants for one but probably some one else on here knows. Luck to you.

First off...

Then...
When you've got the tank off and drained... punch a few holes in the filler neck... (It'll help get that last half gallon in when you do a fillup...)
I did mine by using a nail set and a couple of good taps with a hammer on the inside of the filler neck. Now I only spend a minute or two at the pump... and get the whole 4.5 gallons in... (when she's really thirsty)

Yep, Had my cap come apart also. You can pull the tank off and fish
all the parts out. I believe there is a pic of the cap in the tech section
so you can see what parts to look for in there. Takehikes was able to sell me
a replacement cap with key, believe 99 - 05 or 06 are all the same. Take
the 2 bolts on the new cap out loctite them and check them periodically to make sure
they don't back off. Pain in the behind to fish them all out because of a
stupid design, new caps run about $60 - $70 bones
Goodluck,
Chris

Thank you for the tips. I finally got a few minutes to work on the bike and it was pretty easy. I did stop and buy a pickup claw since some of the parts were cast and not magnetic, I couldn't get them with my magnetic pickup. Everything is back together and working great. I will get out for a ride tomorrow to give it a road test.

Again thanks, I hope to do some mods over the winter and make the bike a little less stock and a bit more MINE!

Jim

BillD in Michigan

Glad to hear it worked out for you