My fuel tank collapsed. I found a replacement gas tank, but I am having difficulty pulling it out of the donor car…
Working from inside the trunk, I removed the four bolts securing the fuel filler, and that assembly slid down the filler neck. Then I removed two bolts holding the straps. At this point I hoped for the tank to come loose, but it won’t budge a tiniest bit. Has anyone done it? What do I do next to remove the tank from the donor car?
Fuel lines detached?
If you damage the fuel lines at the tank bottom you will need to find used ones as the parts have been discontinued by Jaguar (NLA).
Zigmund …
Here’s a picture of where the fuel lines connect to the bottom of the tank
The large rubber piece is attached to the bottom of the fuel tank and the darker area of the rubber is what you’ll see from under the car. I first tied a piece of string to each metal clip to keep them from flying away. Then using some long needle nosed pliers you can pull off the clips. After that the tank is ready to come out. You don’t have to actually remove the clips but I found it easier than trying to pull them out just so far.
When reinstalling you can push the clips on before you replace the tank. When you push in the fuel lines they will snap in place. It’s kind of tight up there but easily doable.
Take a close look at your replacement tank around the “top hat” area for any discoloration from old fuel.
That’s a very common problem. I’ve had to pull out my tank TWICE over the years to deal with that area and have it resoldered.
You can also just rotate the clips 90 degrees but sometimes they come off during the tank removal.
I’ve had to make a new one with a spring steel key ring in a ‘pinch’ because I lost it and it was NOWHERE to be found.
I did not want to order it and wait for the replacement part.
Been there … An hour of searching the garage for the wayward spring clip.
Next time I invested the 30 seconds it took to tie on a long piece of string to each clip before removing.
As Hanz would say (or was it Franz ?) “Ya ya… listen to me now and believe me later”
So far I have only undone things in the trunk. The fuel lines are still connected - I went under the car, followed hose from fuel pump, towards right wheel, up, and above differential. And then I could not get my arm any further in (and I have relatively long and thin arms, I am 6’1" at 160 lb).
What is the side/angle to get to the fuel lines?
Between the diff and the rear bulkhead is the best from memory, probably either side of the diff depends on which arm is more flexible.
go buy an 18" long needle nose pliers.
Success! Thank you guys all!
Clips off (as #Grooveman, #motorcarman, indicated, yes they fly out and you may not find them), rotate outlet and return hoses little left-and-right, and pull off. From inside the trunk, it took a bit of force to get the tank to un-stick at the rubber gasket on the bottom, that’s why I initially thought that maybe there are additional screws somewhere. Getting the tank out of the trunk was easy, it is not as heavy as I thought it would be (it weighs 32 lb).
#Robin_O_Connor, thanks yes, you can see the gas inlet and return hose attachments from either of the rear wheel wells.
#Grooveman, #abercanadian, thanks for the suggestion, I got two pairs of 18" needle nose pliers (straight ones are needed, but Harbor Freight Tools sells straight + angled for $7.50. With them hand did not have to get in at all. Snap of a job. Takes much longer to jack up the car then to pull the hoses off!
Look from the left
And from the right
I’ll replace the tank on Sunday, and I’ll snap the photo of the collapsed and intact tanks, for comparison. It is hard to comprehend it until you see…
I’m trying to visualize this. Does gasoline drain out when you remove the return and supply hoses from the clips? I have visions of gas puddles on the garage floor and a potential fire hazard.
Nothing comes out apart from a negligible smattering of hard to notice mini-droplet - if that. If you are positioned correctly, whatever, if anything lands on your chest or in your hair rather than on the floor.
I will let you know on Sunday, when I get the tank out of MY car. I am planning on having it almost empty to start with, pull the hose off fuel pump inlet, and catch that in an appropriate container, and then detach the two hoses from the tank…
This tank I mentioned above, I got at Pick-n-Pull. Nothing came out when I pulled outlet and return hose, but there was some gasoline, maybe 1/8 of a gallon, that was still splashing in the tank.
John, the tank connections are what as know as dry break.
I run the car to relativelu low fuel (3 bars), then removed fuel sender and syphoned remaining fuel, about gallon-and-a-half with little hand pump. Then went under the car, removed clips, and with great caution - removed gas -to-engine, and return lines. No spill, whatsoever!
I wanted to provide closure (and a victory lap).
The first time I noticed problem, there were 3 bars on the fuel gauge, and car stopped. a gallon of fuel donation made it go. So whenever the gauge got to 3 bars, it would get stuck there, and would get just 17 gallons of fuel to full. Then I removed the spare tire and the panel behind, and saw the top of the tank collapsed… I drove with it for over 4 years (I know, shame, shame…)
I got replacement fuel tank at Pick-and-Pull for about $40. The tank was a bit rusty and white-salted (that’s oxide of zink, telling you the protective coating on the steel is going away in bulk). I washed the inside of the the replacement tank, sanded the outside thoroughly to steel-shiny, the painted several coats of Rust Oleum titanium silver primer & paint. The photos show the results. I should have left the tank outside for one or two more days so paint does not smell in the cabin…
Coillapsed tank in the car:
Tp of the collapsed tank, out of the car:
Replacement tank, as obtained:
So this is what the top of the tank is supposed to look like:
Replacement tank - painted, ready to install:
Replacement tank, installed:
This is glorious - My fuel indicator was at one bar, and I went to a gas station, and got 22.5 gallons in! Now I am still driving with fuel cap loose, until I clean and replace vapor recovery system (charcoal cannister and related valves), which is probably at fault for collapsing the tank. Advice on diagnosing that would be greatly appreciated!
