|
I have recently re-worked my gas tank, after putting up with problems for months. Symptoms were that at about half empty the car would act as though it were out of gas. I had previously drained the tank, rinsed it with strong cleaner, put old chains inside and shaken it around, etc. but nothing helped. My suspicion was that the pick-up line was rusted through, allowing the pump to suck air when the gas level was low.
I finally bought the POR tank reconditioning kit and used it. I drained the tank and pulled it from the car--this is an easy task involving a few screws. I removed the sending unit and all the fittings. I then used the water-based Marine Clean to clean the tank--several applications.
Because I was concerned about the pick-up line, and because I didn't want to coat it, I unsoldered the connection from the gas tank. A common plumber's-type propane tank with good gas worked fine. (Remember, the tank has been sloshed out with water and has no gas or gas fumes remaining!!) Turns out that the pick-up line was fine. The plastic filter was split, but that didn't cause the symptoms. The problem was that the tank was rusting away, allowing particle build-up which settled to the bottom. As the gas was used, the concentration of particles increased to the point of clogging the filter. In inspecting the tank I actually found several pin-holes in the top, eaten through with rust.
I soldered the pin-holes shut, used the POR sealant, re-soldered the pick-up line, and have had no problems since. The job is relatively cheap--just the cost of the POR kit and a new gasket for the sending unit, and required a minimum of tools. I even had enough sealant left over to paint the rusty top of the tank. The entire process took about a week, with multiple treatments and time to dry, etc. Most of those days only involved ten minutes of effort. Biggest time commitments were removing the tank--less than an hour; unsoldering and patching pin-holes--about an hour; re-soldering and re-installation--about another hour.
|
