79 36 tri fuel tanks/struts

mark30h · Post by **mark30h** » Sat May 08, 2010 10:35 am

We put our new to us tri cab in the water thursday, and found that both struts are seeping water past the mount bolts. The struts are located directly under each aft cabin fuel tank. I was able to snug the inner bolts through a slot in the inner stringers, but the outers dont seem to have an access hole, and it appears that the tanks have to come out to get access. Anyone have any experience with these and removing the tanks?

Also, I tried to start removing the stbd tank, which is empty, and found the inlet pipe threads to be stuck hard. There sems to be some kind of thread sealer there. Any ideas on how to get the filler pipe off without twisting the fitting out of the tank?

Thanks, Joe

Bob Giaier · Post by **Bob Giaier** » Sun May 09, 2010 9:23 pm

I have a 73 tricabin where the fuel tanks are in under the solon floor. I just removed the port tank and am having it Renu'd right now. My filler pipe was about a 2" NPT galvanized pipe threaded into the tank. It had a pipe dope on the threads that looked like "formagasket" (thick black crusty) material. I did get mine to come off by using a 2 foot pipe on the end of my pipe wrench for added leverage. I don't know if this helps but leverage did the job for me.

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Sun May 09, 2010 9:24 pm

Don't be surprised if you find the strut bolts are leaking because the backing board inside the hull is rotten. If that be the case, you will need to remove the struts, re-bed them with 5200 or sikaflex and replace the backers.

Soak the pipe fittings for three days with PB Blaster and they should screw right out.

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Sun May 09, 2010 9:49 pm

Re the strut issue :

Not a 36, but on my F32 I had a guy do this same job for me last year ... Similarly, the backing boards are under the gas tanks. It started out with me hiring him to replace the cutless bearing in one of my struts. Instead of pulling the shaft to get the bearing out, he does the job by pulling the strut and taking it to his shop to use his press to remove the bearing. When doing stuff, he noticed that the backing board for the strut was soft. As part of the job, he removed the backing plate and residual adhesive/caulk, fabbed a new one from oak, put it in with 5200, painted (typical bilge grey) and re-bolted the strut into place. No leaks, and the strut is good and solid.

The main point - he's 6' plus, 240 pounds plus... if he didn't fix things right he wasn't gonna get paid. Money is a great motivator. Even though the backing board is under the gas tank, he found a way to twist his body parts enough to get the original bolts out, remove the block, put a new one in, and get the bolts back in... didn't hurt me a bit!

If you can't figure out how to get to it, hire a pro (check out their references to make sure they are good, and hold them responsible for the job).