I've got an extra inline fuel filter just before the pump. Car was hard to start, needed extra choke, and then ran bad last couple times I started it last fall. Looking things over now this spring, I noticed a lot of rust in that extra filter. So I drained the tank and pulled the filler neck to get a good look down inside there. Wow. Unbelievable amount of rust in the tank. Surprised the car was still running at all. I had pulled the tank and given it a good cleaning a few decades ago. I suppose that was the end of the last traces of internal galvanization, and the rust now bloomed unbounded. Though I'm loath to replace original parts, and thought about trying to clean the tank again, I decided to replace it. There were no leaks yet, but with that amount of the metal corroded away, it was probably not far off. Safety trumps OCD here. At least the new tank I just ordered was cheap, (Spectra Premium, $65 plus tax, no shipping!) and now I'll have a working gas gauge again. Old one quit quite a while back, but it didn't bother me much. Being a convertible, there isn't much between you and the trunk. I could hear the gas sloshing around in the tank at times, and kind of tell how much was in there. But since I got a new unexpectedly loud exhaust system, that hasn't been working. So I guess, all in all, it's going to be a good thing. Well, other than having to store the old tank somewhere now.
Gas tank and sending unit are usually one of the first things I have to replace. Maybe it’s because most of the cars I buy are in non running condition. But I bought a car over Christmas break, and it had a fresh rebuilt motor. New tank, & sending unit were less than 4 years old, but were totally trashed from having ethanol gas left in them for 4 years. Wasn’t even worth the effort of trying to clean it out. Ripped them out, and threw them in trash pile. ordered brand new and never looked back.
I try to only run non-ethanol gas now. I had a car that I filled w/ non ethanol, then proceeded to drive home. Got caught in a “Texas Flood” rainstorm and crunched the front clip trying to slow down. I was so disgusted, I did not touch the car for more than a year. When it was time to mess with it, I figured I had better drain old gas out. When I pulled drain plug, the gas that came out was CLEAN,CLEAN,CLEAN. Nothing sour. At least 16 months in tank and still perfectly good.
I've always tried to avoid putting fermented cow food in my cars, even the new ones. Not only are there material compatibility and corrosion issues, but you get worse gas mileage with it as well. But sometimes you just can't avoid it, especially on vacations. You're right, that stuff could be why the corrosion in my tank was so much worse now than when I cleaned it the first time.
I just bought the bare tank now. I've had a sender laying around for a while, just in case. I think I got it from Mustangs Unlimited, or maybe CJ Pony. Not sure where they sourced it though. It's got a real metal float at least.
I just bought the bare tank now. I've had a sender laying around for a while, just in case. I think I got it from Mustangs Unlimited, or maybe CJ Pony. Not sure where they sourced it though. It's got a real metal float at least.
Hey, there's a double post again! It hadn't done that for a while. Sorry. So my new tank got here yesterday. I hadn't sprung for an all stainless steel sender, but didn't get the cheapest one either. Looked like the one in the picture above. I got a new locking ring and gasket with the tank, and also with the new sender. The tank ring looked cheap and weak. The gasket for both was a rectangular cross section "rubber band", not a regular o-ring. I didn't like how the "rubber band" had to stand on edge while you lock down the sender with the ring. It didn't like staying in place, even with a little grease for stickum. And you couldn't tell if it fell over and was partially twisted underneath the sender. I happened to have a nice fat circular cross section o-ring the right diameter and the same height as the supplied gasket, so I used that. It seemed to go in much more assuredly, with no squirming out of place. Before I finish installing it and put in some gas, is there a compelling reason to use the wimpy "rubber band" type of o-ring?
I used that piece of crap o ring (excuse my language) I but it in install the sender it would leak if drain the gas (only a little to test it) do it again would leak finally I got so pissed I went in the shop got some gasket sealant but a nice amount around the price of crap o ring and stuck it on installed the sender no leaks almost lost my mind the o ring spectra gives you is bigger then the opening on the tank you have to struggle to squeeze it in and then it pops out when you turn the lock ring!
There was some paint off and surface rust starting on the gas tank mounting flange. As I was cleaning it up to prep for some paint, I noticed an interesting (to me) artifact of the factory assembly process. The two front corners of the flange have a small reinforcing angle welded in. The passenger side corner was just spot welded, but the driver’s side had a bunch of big sloppy welding added. There must be someone whose job it is to go around the chassis and fix body assembly problem areas. I guess he must have been in a hurry here.
The car isn't a done deal by any means, that tank may be coming out again before very long. I put some self-adhesive, semi-soft, closed cell silicone gasketing on the bottom of the tank's mounting lip, and punched out the screw holes. That should be enough to keep exhaust gasses from being drawn up into the trunk. And it will make future removals much easier and cleaner..
BEFORE you install the tank, make some long wire extensions - speaker wire works great and set the tank beside the car with a couple of blocks to get it level and wire up the sending unit. Then you can bend the wire to the float in the sending unit around till it reads empty when empty, flip the tank and get it to read full when full, I had to shorten mine by putting an S in the wire to the float to get it to read full when full and empty when empty. THis way you can set E so you know EXACTLY when you are out - no guessing. ONe of the best things I did - E means E on my car, you don't get to go past E ;o)
Man I got lucky with a new sending unit in 1995. It has a C8...engineering number on it but I dunno if it's original. I put it in, filled it up and it goes a little past F when it's slam full...when that little needle gets close to E, it means expect to walk !
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Vintage Mustang Forums
4M posts
89.2K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to vintage Ford Mustang owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restoration, modifications, NOS parts, troubleshooting, VIN codes, and more!