Gas tank removal

I went to remove the gas tank in my dads 70 cj5 today, i had the tie down removed, the fuel line on the top removed, and tried to remove it with many difficulties. come to find out that there is a fuel line coming out the bottom of the tank. Is the correct thing to do remove this line and let all the gas drain out? i do not have a siphon to remove the gas out of the filler neck so is this what i should do or is there something else i could do. Thank You for any help,
Mitchell

 

I would put an approved gas can under it and drain it into the can/cans, no open flames anywhere or anything that will spark. and remember the empty gas tank is just as dangerous as it still holds vapor that is extremly flammable. Be very careful with this project

 

Big ditto on the safety. A friend of mine set a truck on fire just by operating a cordless drill near the tank he was draining.

 

The connection on the bottom of the gas tank should be a drain only. There shouldn't be a line to it. Both supply and return come out of the top of the tank on mine. I ended up pulling the tank with gas in it, because I didn't want to break the seal on the bottom. What doea the line on the bottom of your tank connect to?

 

both of mine come out the bottom

 

V-6 tanks had the feed line out the top and a drain in the bottom. F-4 tanks had the feed line and drain out the bottom. Not knowing what you have hard to give advise. Filling in this type of info saves time and gets you more accurate info.


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Wait...you guys mean the lines come through the bottom of the body, but, they are connected on top of the tank?

 

No. See my post above.


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that makes me wonder if my tank has been changed? 67/8 v6 both lines out the bottom.

 

i have a v6 which would make since. also once the tank was out there was a big whole about three inches in the floor, what is this for? looks like it could be a drain hole but also looks to big for that.

 

The tank didn't have just a fitting for the drain, there was a kind of downward bubble with the drain fitting in the middle at the lowest point. This bubble fit into the hole in the floor. That's why the hole is fairly large.


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There could be variations of course but the V-6 tanks I've seen were as described above. Some had a return line that went into the top of the tank and some did not. It's possible that some early V-6 tanks had the feed from the bottom although I haven't seen this. I do know the F-4 tanks had the 6 screw sending unit and the drain and feed line in the bottom of the tank.


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I have a '70 :v6: with the stock under seat tank-it is as nickmil described-feed & return lines out the top, and the sender held in by a lock ring. AFAIK all :v6: tanks were this way, and 4 cyl tanks had the fuel line out the bottom with the sender held in by 6 screws.

 

My '66 cj5 has the "bubble" (or funnel) described above with a nipple onto which the hose attaches, sticking through the floor. Someone smart before me added a small valve in-line just outside of the tank. I turn the valve off, unscrew the radiator clamp, disconnect the hose and discharge directly into an empty gas can before removing the tank....which leads me to the reason I logged in today....I have a leak....small pin hole along the tank wall near the edge/seam. Looks like leaves turned to mulch and held moisture here in humid Florida that rotted it from the outside. Tank is in solid shape otherwise. What are the options for repair, or are the poly replacements the way to go?

 

Jville,

A pinhole can be fixed. If you get the tank safely cleaned (remove ALL fumes and fuel residue to prevent explosion, and fill with inert gas like CO2, etc.) it can be soldered or brazed.

Also a two-part epoxy gas tank repair material, or fiberglas and resin will work.

In all cases the key to success is absolutely clean surfaces - sandblasted or acid etched, for instance.

I patched about 100 holes in my M38A1.

 

Find a radiator shop that still solders and recores radiators, and likely they can fix your tank. They will boil it out and solder the leaks. You can also fix pin hole leaks with "tank slosh." I used the Bill Hirsch product on my CJ-6, and it's been fine for a few years now. http://www.hirschauto.com/products.asp?dept=4

 

Thanks to you and PeteL for the quick response - I'll give it a shot.

 

Got a chance to chip away at the damage this evening - it's more than a pin-hole. The largest one is 0.5 x 0.25 inch, with a few pin holes as well near the large one. Is this still a candidate for solder and/or the Hirsch product? I read up on the Hirsch site where they talk about the epoxy for holes - but didn't want to spend $50 on the kit without hearing from yall. I believe the rust is from the outside (rather than inside) because the holes are on just one side where accumlated leaves had rotted and near the bottom, well within the normal fuel level for even a low tank. I'll be looking for the solder option via radiator shop as suggested previously - solder seems to be a longer term solution than the epoxy.
I have a few pics but my posting permissions don't allow me to post attachments for some reason.

 

My V6 has the fuel line connected on the bottom, the PO replaced the tank, so I think he just mixed it up.