gas tank advise

[Dominic Torreto]

So me my brother and a friend of mine are going to begin the de rust process. My plans are to wire brush the bottom of the car and clean it with brake cleaner then use primer then rubber spray. Only issue is that the gas tank has stories and myths of blowing people to fn pieces. I am scared as can be so I was just wondering on how to take off the gas tank, or any advise concerning gas lines? I also am going to stick weld a floor pan on so that goes along with this.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Lots of ways to make dropping a tank safer. First run it until it is almost out of gas and then pump out as much of the rest that you can with a hand pump. NOT ELECTRIC! Remove the tank outside if you can, then you can push the car into the garage to work on it. If you are really worried about it you can rinse the tank out with water especially if you aren't reusing the tank. Disconnect the line to the pump, disconnect the filler tube, unbolt the strap, drop the tank. Obvious stuff like NO SMOKING, no open flames like furnace or water heater pilot lights if you are working inside. Common sense stuff. Even if you rinse the tank with water it will still have gas fumes in it, so be careful. I have even seen guys drain the gas then fill the tank with water before dropping the tank. Makes the tank pretty heavy, but makes it real safe. Remember, its the fumes that explode.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Nothin to it. Just make safety a priority. Keep a fire extinquisher handy. Don't smoke. Don't work near sparks or flame. As mentioned, one way or another, make sure the tank is as empty as possible. As long as you take your time, step by step, you'll be fine. Do you have a factory service manual for your car? If not, GET ONE. I prefer the printed version, but younger more youthful folk may prefer the CD version. Either way GET ONE. Not having a factory service manual for your car is like a doctor doing brain surgery without a clue. Not talking about you here.....but one thing I'll never understand is why so many people buy an old car and never get a factory service manual. It should be your first purchase. It will be the FIRST money I spend on my 65 Coronet other than the gas money I spent going to get it. I just haven't gotten one yet because I am broke. But it's comin.

 

[Dominic Torreto]

Nothin to it. Just make safety a priority. Keep a fire extinquisher handy. Don't smoke. Don't work near sparks or flame. As mentioned, one way or another, make sure the tank is as empty as possible. As long as you take your time, step by step, you'll be fine. Do you have a factory service manual for your car? If not, GET ONE. I prefer the printed version, but younger more youthful folk may prefer the CD version. Either way GET ONE. Not having a factory service manual for your car is like a doctor doing brain surgery without a clue. Not talking about you here.....but one thing I'll never understand is why so many people buy an old car and never get a factory service manual. It should be your first purchase. It will be the FIRST money I spend on my 65 Coronet other than the gas money I spent going to get it. I just haven't gotten one yet because I am broke. But it's comin.

Yeah I bought a 15 dollar wiring diagram online and it was a fn disapointment waste of my money. I tried getting a haynes manual at autozone but they did not make one for this car. Some of the members should me links to manuals to get I will eventually get one fairly soon.

 

[62phoenix]

You can add methylated spirit to water into the tank. It will bond the gas and water together and remove a lot more than just water alone. Helps reduce fume levels a lot.
It's also a good trick to add a small amount into a full tank of gas 1 or 2 times a year to stop a build up of condensation settling on the bottom of the tank and rusting it out.

 

[YY1]

I've done several, and just run them until the gauge is on "E".

Not a big issue with combustion, unless you get stupid or really unlucky.

Mostly it's the weight of all that gas!

 

[krowbar]

Get a piece of plywood and put that between your floor jack and the tank. Jack it up till there is just barely pressure on the jack when it contacts th tank. Loosen strap and drop the tank SLOWLY and keep it stabilized. This is all done after you remove the fuel lines, gauge wire,filler tube and any other lines. When letting it down slowly look for anything still attached.

 

[RGAZ]

...methylated spirit ....

For all you US-based people, a good equivalent for this is ISO-HEET (red bottle) or Stabil (to a lesser extent). Its also good for getting your 80's era car to pass emissions since it causes the catalytic converter to really light off.

as for your question: lots of ventilation, drain as low as possible, sparks/flame are the enemy. Class BC fire extiguisher near the exit area.

 

[Seax440Dodge]

it's a gas tank, not a bomb

use common sense... don't smoke, don't cut the strap w/ a torch or cut off wheel, make sure there's as least amount of gas possible or you will get a gas bath.... when I replaced my fuel system not long ago I dropped the tank, cleaned it out, welded any small holes up in it, and painted it... and I didn't blow up

 

[YY1]

I just leave the strap(s) on and let the tank slowly (as possible) slide down them while holding the other (free) side.

The only downside to welding repairs in tanks, is that you loose the rust resistant coating on the weld area (both inside and outside).

Seax- how do you deal with that? I have 98% good tank with one hole I'd like to weld back up, but I'm afraid it would just rust out at the weld in a short time.

 

[Seax440Dodge]

I coated the tank in truck bed liner, don't know if it'll do the trick, but I figured it wouldn't hurt