Replacing the gas tank

[amigaguy]

I'm planning to replace the gas tank this weekend...

Any tips to what can and will go wrong?

I'm guessing the bolts connecting the fuel lines will be rusted as hell

Is the fuel lines solid or flexible? (Guess it would be easier if it was possible to get the tank down before disconnecting them, but I suspect that wont be possible...)

On the tank there are 3 holes, one for the filler, one for the pump... what is the 3rd one?

[Ivan141]

3rd one is for the float.

One piece of advice on dropping the fuel tank:
Your guess about the bolts being rusted is spot on.
Best thing is to drop the tank a little bit, then loosen the screws holding the fuel pump assembly to the tank.

Leave the fuel pump assembly attached to the fuel lines and you will be fine.
I'm told they usually break off if you try to loosen them.

[amigaguy]

I see... so the floater is separate from the pump on the AE86... (to make it more complicated... another set of rusty screws to strugle with... hehe)

[Ivan141]

use an impact screwdriver...at least the float can stay in untill the tank is out and supported by something solid.

[Ryo]

I had experience when i was removing the fuel tank i stick some wooden brick and just loosen the fuel tank but before that i disconnected the electrical cables from the pump and float. Used some WD and so after i had the trunk on the brick i disconnected the fuel lines. This can be problem that you are risking to crack and break the metal pipes when removing they can be rusty. In my case when i removed it the 2 of them where so rusty that i broke them. So be really carefully when disconnecting the rubber hoses from the metal pipes attached to fuel tank.
When you got it down it should be really no problem to dismount screws from float/fuel pump in my case the trunk was pretty rusty but managed to fix it. There was some holes on the trunk and it taked some patience with welding it but it can be done. Also the pipes needed to be replaced on the fuel pump holder. What was rusty too in my case was the pipe thru that you are filling the tank. So lot of welding

[amigaguy]

Thanks Ivan141 for the advice to drop the tank a bit, and then loose the screws for the fuel pump... worked just fine...

Here is a little how to based on my experiences:



First step is to disconnect the battery, and the wires to the floater and fuel pump in the trunk of the car:





Then get the car up in the air, either by using some muscles, or if you are a regular human by use of a car jack.

After you have secured the car on some car pole thingys or whatever its called in english, you can use the car jack to support the weight of the fuel tank:





You are now ready to loosen the bolts holding the fuel tank straps:





Then lower the tank gradually and watch the fuel tank lines so that they dont get stretched to much. There are some rubber hoses between the fuel pipes and the fuel pump, which makes it a bit flexible and possible to lower the tank without damaging anything:





After you have lowered the tank, use some 5-56 or similar de-rusting liquid, penetrating oil. And try to gently loosen the bolts that is holding the pump in place:





After gently lowering the tank and extracting the fuel pump, the tank is ready to come out:





The new tank, looks a bit more clean... and it doesnt leak like a strainer:





The floater which meassures the amount of fuel in your tank possed the most problems for us to remove because of rusty crosshead screws. But making a bit of a notch in the screw with a metal saw did the trick:





The new tank ready to go in, with the floater already mounted:






Unfortunatly I didnt take any more pictures after that, but its pretty straight forward just putting the tank in reverse of how it was removed... hehe... :-)

Maybe this will help a bit if someone else is planning to replace their tank...

[parrot]

Most important tip - siphon the fuel out first, then drain the remnant from the drain plug.

The tank is very difficult to manage if it has much fuel in it. Empty, you can hold it up then gently lower it with your knees.

And where did that new tank (Made in Canada) come from?

[Eric]

Canada?

just a quick guess..

[sergiocharged]

EY man nice!!!

i love when a old rusted part is clean and brand new
haha nice man
good luck

[parrot]

Eric Wrote:Canada?

just a quick guess..

Cheers, I'll give them a call now......