1987 v12 5.3
O.K., I pulled the tank and the surge tank.
Not much junk in there, very little rust from what I can see.
So Im going to get them boiled out and replace all the fuel lines back there (kind of going nuts back there! Cleaning everything up and painting!).
What is the general opinion about having the tanks lined?
Suggestions of what to take care of while Im re- doing the trunk?
Also, anybody ever figure out what that blasted rivet is for? What it holds?
Didn't harm my tank, but I want to deal with it.
Grind it down? Put some fender washers around it?
Ideas?
Thanks!
Pete

 

the dreaded rivet holds a fuel line under the car i think , to be honest, it could be done away with

got any pics ?

you could line the tanks


BB

 

Thanks BB!
If it holds a fuel line, I guess Ill go the fender washer route.
How do I upload and post photos?
Pete

 

My tank leaks in a few places where the baffles are tacked underneath the tank. I struggled a lot with the decision to line the tank.

Here are my thoughts:
Multiple threads and reviews out there with different brands of sealers coming off and causing more problems after short periods of time, also info saying it lasts 15-20 years.

The tank DID NOT come with a sealer from the factory, so is it really a good idea or a good fix?

I bought a kit for 30 GALLONS and absolutely could not get the thing clean enough with the material provided. The tank is unwieldy and the baffles make it impossible to clean the inside thoroughly. At the end of the day, I was not comfortable putting a coating on a surface that wasn't prepped well. Supposedly you want a bit of rust to have something to cling to, but there were still little bits of debris coming out of the bottom. I COULD NOT get it clean enough, even after a chain, nails, and hundreds of gallons run through the tank.

So I sand the bottom clean and put the epoxy sealer on the bottom after putting epoxy putty over any pitting or weld spots. I put on multiple coats and left it in the sun. I was able to peel off the first coat because the tank wasn't rough enough, which made me believe even more than it shouldn't go on the inside.
I coated the hell out of the bottom of my tank with epoxy sealant and it stopped leaking.

Metal tanks go bad over time as they are exposed to more and more air, it is compounded by the fact that, later in their lives, cars have poorer owners who don't keep the tank as full.

Clean the tank out, fix any bad spots ( WELD IT IF YOU CAN!!!!) and keep gas in it to prevent rust inside.

If it just had gunk in it, definitely do not seal it, try to clean it as much as you can and just replace the filters more regularly.


sounds like you don't really have any issues, so just boil it out and you should be just fine, again, that is how it came from the factory!

 

had to replace complet fuel system, tank in plastic(NASCAR cell) all lines & fittings, stainless steel pump and filter, fuel rails and injectors.

not cheap but never a problem in 20yrs

 

Fuel tank out, surge tank out, now Im reading about vapor separators?
Where is this part?
I want to fix everything I can while Im here!
Pete

 

You talking about the charcoal canister up front?

 

If you mean the rivet on the shell under the tank, drill it out. It is one of the fixings for the heat shield under the shell, above the rear axle. It is also a good plan to stand the tank on some decent quality (max 1/4 inch thick) neoprene-type mat when you put it back in.

I am with SS on not lining the tank.like he said, it is nearly impossible to get it properly prepared. What i did was get the radiator guy to coat the bottom outside of the tank with radiator solder. Fantastic durable repair. Pic shows while painting over the solder:


With the tank out, may I suggest the following things:

• Ensure the vapour recovery system hidden in the top RHS flying buttress is working properly. there is a VERY thin pipe that goes to the carbon cannister in the front LHS wheel arch. This can get blocked and pinched etc etc. On UK spec cars it just opens out to the air in front of the LHS rear wheel arch, but on USA spec (I think) it is connected from here to the charcoal cannister. There are one way valves and all sorts at the cannister, and these need to be working OK. This pic shows the pipe along the back of the tank space:
• get some good anti anti rust converter (eg AquaSteel) and put it in a sprayer and squirt it up into the crevasse between the rear wheelarch and the wing. Once it is dry follow it up with some wax. this should prevent rusting out of the wheelarch, or at least slow. Do the same for the tunnel side between the rear wing outer and the exhaust tunnel wall.
• The fuel pipes exit the bottom front corner of each side of the boot and go over the top of the rear axle cage. These pipes get a constant shrapnel of grit etc from the rear wheels. Check them where they exit the boot and replace if rusty/getting porous looking. (there is a third pipe on the RHS which is the vac tube from the engine to the ECU, leave this alone, it has no joins in it, the fuel pipes are joined together by compression fittings).
• Check that the fixings for the bumper at the sides of the car are Ok and not going rusty where they are fixed to the car. Ensure the drains that come out of the tunnel sides are clear, and their exit tubes not rusty; blow compressed air through them if needed.

Good luck
Greg