fuel tank

Welcome to the site!

I had a couple of FIST SIZED holes in my tank which resembled swiss cheese. I'd check all other avenues (fittings, hoses, etc.) first. If you do have a leaky tank pulling it isn't that technically difficult, just a good way to waste a saturday. I did mine in a way similar to whale before I knew about this site or even had a computer. I gave a detailed post a while back how I did it. Do it yourself and save your money for fun stuff.

p.s. Be SURE to evacuate all gas and more imporatantly fumes from your boat before tearing into this project, or else you could end up like the sugar refinery!
 
1. Take boat out of water
2. Drain/wick dry bilge
3. Check fiil tube, vent tube and other tube
4. Shut off gas valve to motor, tilt boat and observe for tank leak
5. If leak, syphon gas and hold
6. Order tank
7. Pull tank
8. replace tank
9. replace floor and seal
10. refill with gas, all but last 5-10 gallons
11. Drink Makers and Gingerale
12. Watch wife shake head back and forth in lighthearted disgust

How bout it, whats's missing guys?

Do I glass the new tank in? Confused on the foam or no foam part. I sa the post on using ratchet clamps and 2x6 to hoist it out.

If no major leak is detected from steps 1-4 what is to say there is not a super small leak hole? Looks as if I may pull it anyway for piece of mind. Might be getting ahead of myself though. I'll start Sunday morning and post pics of the whole thing, also of my neighbor's wife who gardens in a white bikini.
 
The most time consuming and hardest part of pulling a fuel tank is removing the foam from around the tank. I have removed 2 tanks from V-20's and both times it was a pain to get the tank free from the foam. I bought a 40 gallon poly tank and havent installed it yet. I figure if theres ever a time where I need more than 40 gallons to go to where the fish are I probably need a bigger boat. While you are changing out the tank inspect your fuel fill and vent hoses. The fuel fill hose is expensive but now is the time to replace it.
 
Hey, this guy ain't all bad. A lot of guys have had problems with digging the foam out and the foams "grip" on the tank. I was just think that somewhere in my past I have worked with a solvent that disolves foam....can't remember what it is as it obviously disolves brain cells as well:hi:
 
fishingwithblue said:
11. Drink Makers and Gingerale
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Leave out the ginger ale.

Other than that, it's all good.
 
Foam is a cheap and easy way for the factory to secure the tank in place. Only problem is it holds moisture and eventually rots out the tank. I cut the foam out of mine with about 10 bucks worth of quarters and a pressure washer at the carwash. I used a floor jack sitting atop two 4x4 posts laid across the gunnels to pop the tank out after flushing the tank and cutting two holes in the forward corners with a chain through them and across the jack.
 
welcome fwb, Iam in the process of replacing my tank now , Iam not the one doing the work tho my mechanic is doing it but the tank is out and the new one is being made to replace it ... they are welding brackets on it to fasten it back in the hull I want to get some pics of it before during and after installation if I can,
I too had fuel in the bielge mine was coming from pin hole around the fill hose connection and at the seams of the tank.

DSC05156.jpg


DSC05153.jpg
 
Make sure they put something else with that tank! I have never found them tabs they weld on to the tanks still attached to the tank when it gets older?
 
lumberslinger178 said:
welcome fwb, Iam in the process of replacing my tank now , Iam not the one doing the work tho my mechanic is doing it but the tank is out and the new one is being made to replace it ... they are welding brackets on it to fasten it back in the hull I want to get some pics of it before during and after installation if I can,
I too had fuel in the bielge mine was coming from pin hole around the fill hose connection and at the seams of the tank.

DSC05156.jpg


DSC05153.jpg
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looks good and clean....I think mine is gonna be one of those stories that the tank is wider than the hole. I'm geared up for the extraction but i'm nervous about the reinstall. I've researched many post on reinstall but I'm trying to understand the wires that go to the tank. Did you pull new fill/vent/engine hoses while you were in there, they look new.
 
The reinstall is easy. You've got a pos and neg for the sender and a ground. If you get your tank custom made have them build it to the dieminsions of the hole in has to go through. I 5200ed pressure treated 2x4s to the bottom of the hull and then 5200ed the tank on top of them. Used a few tubes.
 
Correction on the sender (unless I don't know about the newer tanks), positive wire will go directly to the gauge (terminal "I") , negetive wire will go to the gauge (terminal "G"), tank and/or sender ground, then the sender wire goes to the gauge (terminal "S").
I have 2 saddle tanks. This was the post in the thread. Yours will be easier


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Re: Specs
Got most of the electronics wired but figured I’d show you the gas gauge set up with two tanks and one gauge.
Needed one pull switch that had basically an off, on, on (left & right tanks).
Picture152.jpg

A regular 3 terminal navigation switch won’t work. This 4 terminal did fine.
Don’t depend on the schematic being correct, in my case the bow lights and battery were reversed.
Picture153.jpg

The gauge had terminals for “S” sending unit, “G” ground and “I” ignition or hot and a wire to the dash light bulb.
Picture154.jpg

The “I” terminal is fed from the hot feeding the navigation lights switch.
The “G” terminal goes to the fuse panel ground and the two sending units frame ground.
The “S” terminal goes to the three position switch to the common or in this case labeled “battery”.
The other two terminals on the switch go to the sending units in this case “running lights” for the left tank and “anchor lights“ for the right tank.
The remaining terminal “bow lights” is vacant.
I connected the gauge bulb to the dash light switch but I didn’t connect the navigation lights in the traditional sense by the first position being anchor and the second position being all. What I did was the first position would be all exterior navigation lights and the second position would include the dash lights. This way if the dash lights caused night blindness I could simply exclude them at night. I have a bad habit running at night without lights on so as to be able to see the water.
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Re: Specs
Sending units
Picture067.jpg
 
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bradford said:
The reinstall is easy. You've got a pos and neg for the sender and a ground. If you get your tank custom made have them build it to the dieminsions of the hole in has to go through. I 5200ed pressure treated 2x4s to the bottom of the hull and then 5200ed the tank on top of them. Used a few tubes.
Click to expand...
2x4's should run bow to stearn or port to starboard? Is that all it takes to secure the tank so you can hook it up and seal the deck back?
 
fishingwithblue said:
looks good and clean....I think mine is gonna be one of those stories that the tank is wider than the hole. I'm geared up for the extraction but i'm nervous about the reinstall. I've researched many post on reinstall but I'm trying to understand the wires that go to the tank. Did you pull new fill/vent/engine hoses while you were in there, they look new.
Click to expand...


Fwb , Yes all my hoses were new last season , and wires will be addressed before new install:sun:
 
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