My truck's fuel filler grommet has deteriorated to the point that it's no longer there, and the filler neck is loose in the opening on the body panel. I didn't notice this until recently because I'm in an area where you never pump your own fuel. I'm going to replace it, obviously, but I'm seeing that there is a ton of gooey black material around the filler neck and inside the filler compartment. I assume this is the remnants of the grommet. Is that correct? Is this stuff anything I should be concerned about?

 

Mine is also deteriorated, and yes, the black gooey stuff is the residue from the old "grommet."

But mine isn't yet gone all the way. Given the RAVE instructions for replacing it I haven't yet bothered. It's a pretty involved process, done as instructed.

I looked around online and found a big grommet I thought might substitute for the original part. But again, I haven't yet done anything.

Thinking about it again just now however, how about a piece of fuel line hose or something similar slit lengthwise and wrapped around the filler tube, with the slit engaging the sheet metal surrounding the tube?

Or maybe just ignore it ...

 

Odd that it's so involved to do. I think I'll get the part and try to work something with it. One approach might be to cut the grommet, install it and glue it back together if the "proper" way is too much work.