Replacement Fuel Tank

TADTOOMUCH · Post by **TADTOOMUCH** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:52 pm

Okay I think I am going to bite the bullet and replace the fuel tanks on my 1978 F-32. I have tried everything possible to avoid it but it still has crud in it that stops the fuel flow once I go up on plane with the nose up.

Anyone replace theirs and what tank did you use and how hard was it? What about expected costs? I plan on about $500 each tank?

Port tank is fine but I thought I'd do them both and eliminate the problem for good.

wvernie · Post by **wvernie** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:18 pm

I took the old orginial tank to a radiator shop and they opened it up and resprayed it. I have had zero problems since.

chumwithabottleofrum · Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:33 pm

gonna agree with ernie here-I pulled my tank, took it to a radiator shop-they pressure tested, found it okay, cleaned and coated it-was about $125.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:01 pm

What was it coated with?

chumwithabottleofrum · Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:13 pm

I believe they coated it with a single component urethane coating-that's what they told me, I was a little skeptical at first but they've been doing it a long time-successfully. I would have thought some type of epoxy-I wasn't sure that urethane could take full emersion.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 12:32 am

wvernie wrote:I took the old orginial tank to a radiator shop and they opened it up and resprayed it. I have had zero problems since.

Inside the tank ?? resprayed it ??

TADTOOMUCH · Post by **TADTOOMUCH** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:21 am

How difficult was it to get the fittings disconnected from the tank and remove it and then put it back in? My back deck has a large hatch that I can remove if I un-bolt the ladder from the hatch.

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:57 am

TADTOOMUCH wrote:How difficult was it to get the fittings disconnected from the tank and remove it and then put it back in? My back deck has a large hatch that I can remove if I un-bolt the ladder from the hatch.

Not too difficult once the hatch is open.. see here

Have you considered just removing the fuel gauge sensor and vacuuming it clean EDIT: to allay confusion (suctioning using a mechanical fuel pump and dip hose to reach bottom of tank). Ethanol in fuel works like a stripper and will cause any sludge in a tank to become in suspension on the bottom and will plug the anti siphon valves in the fuel pickup. It is possible that after doing that you will be trouble free. That was my experience with my US purchased boat and now that I'm using non ethanol Canadian fuel have had 2 yrs without any fuel plugging problems.

TADTOOMUCH · Post by **TADTOOMUCH** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 8:06 am

I will remove the back deck large hatch and give the tank cleaning a try. I just hate working around gasoline on the boat. We had a boat in our marina explode last summer with four people on board. They are all recovering fine but it took out five boats in total. I was able to move mine in time. So I am a little nervous about this as you can understand.

I am an engineer and have rebuilt many engines and can fix just about anything so I will probably give this a go as far as cleaning the tank out.

The rest of my boat is in great shape. She only has 480 original hours on the engines and the stringers are all sound. No signs of rust anywhere on the exterior of the tanks and the surveyor spent a lot of time checking those out along with the stringers.

I hate to have to remove the tank. The port tank has never been a problem.

gjrylands · Post by **gjrylands** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:00 am

Have you considered just removing the fuel gauge sensor and vacuuming it clean. Ethanol in fuel works like a stripper and will cause any sludge in a tank to become in suspension on the bottom and will plug the anti siphon valves in the fuel pickup. It is possible that after doing that you will be trouble free. That was my experience with my US purchased boat and now that I'm using non ethanol Canadian fuel have had 2 yrs without any fuel plugging problems.

Vacuuming a gas tank scares me. If you tried using a shop vacuum to vacuum the tank you are risking an explosion. The whole canister of the shop vac would be full of gasoline vapors. The armature is sparking. This sounds like a deadly combination.

TADTOOMUCH · Post by **TADTOOMUCH** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:53 am

Yea I think vacuuming is not the answer but I think I can do some cleaning using hand pump and large diameter hose. It would be worth a try at least.
My guess is that I have some sludge and possibly some rust flakes floating in the bottom and when I get up on plane they all slide to the back and block the uptake hose. Once I get all the remaining fuel out, then I will be able to see if I need to remove the tank or if I can get it out with it in the boat.

Sounds like a late season project.

chumwithabottleofrum · Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:56 am

I would not try to clean that tank out myself-under ANY circumstances. I would suggest drainging it and removing it and have it professionally pressure tested, cleaned and coated. Call some radiator shops in the area in the area and see if they do it or can recommend someone who does. Once it's out you have a great excuse to change the fill hose (I had to cut mine in order to remove the tank).
The only problem I had was how to re secure the tank. It was put in with ss straps that I had to cut. I did not have access to a strap tightenting tool so I used pvc coated chain, and new hardware to re install the tank. I used some pvc roofing membrane as a slipsheet anywhere the new materials came incontact with the galvinized tank. My ONLY problem is I haven't gotten my gas gauge connected correctly-it reads e. But I track my hours and always have a topped off tank.

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:50 am

gjrylands wrote:
Have you considered just removing the fuel gauge sensor and vacuuming it clean. Ethanol in fuel works like a stripper and will cause any sludge in a tank to become in suspension on the bottom and will plug the anti siphon valves in the fuel pickup. It is possible that after doing that you will be trouble free. That was my experience with my US purchased boat and now that I'm using non ethanol Canadian fuel have had 2 yrs without any fuel plugging problems.
Vacuuming a gas tank scares me. If you tried using a shop vacuum to vacuum the tank you are risking an explosion. The whole canister of the shop vac would be full of gasoline vapors. The armature is sparking. This sounds like a deadly combination.

To clarify... by vacuum I meant using a hand fuel transfer pump to suck/vacuum out anything in the tank, working from below the tank bottom (boat out of the water) to give a positive head to aid the siphon action.
Sorry for misleading anyone with the word 'vacuum'.

wvernie · Post by **wvernie** » Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:55 pm

I live up here in coal mining country and the radiator shops here are use to all kinds of heavy equiptment repair. They filled the gas tank with water and then took a special saw and cut a 10" square hole in the side of the tank and cleaned it. After that process the tank was sprayed with a sealer, re-welded the cut out plate and then it was pressure checked for leaks....all was good!! I was lucky to get the bolts off of the ss straps holding the tank in place after a couple of sprayings with PB Blaster. I also sprayed all fittings going to the tank with the same stuff. My boat has never been in salt water which probably helped the situation some. Good luck with your task at hand.

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