Aero Fuel tanks and others.

[Hedgehog]

Has anybody got any experience with Aero fuel tanks? My understanding is that these are decent quality 20 gallon steel fuel tanks. Apparently they aren't cheap either. The website shows a price for the tank and a labor cost. It seems like an odd pricing arrangement.

I'm looking for positives and negatives on poly fuel tanks. I'm in a bit of a state of confusion. One minute I'm thinking that they are alright, the next I hear that they crack.

With my front axle project moving along as expected I'm looking toward my final push toward the Jeep I think I need, at least right now. The PO put on a rear bumper and did some .... ahhhh .... be nice now ..... interesting work installing it. I simply CAN'T get to the bolts attaching the tank to the frame. The problem is, I'm getting a lot of fuel smell from the left rear of the Jeep and I simply can't find the source. The tank needs to be lowered. Since I'm going to build a new rear bumper, both projects go hand in hand. The plan is to start cutting away the PO attached steel until I find unmolested Jeep, repair and build out from there.

The project probably won't be that difficult, while the PO added metal to the back of the frame the base or Jeep steel is in decent condition, we simply don't have the rust found in other parts of the country.

 

[Torxhead]

Aero builds their tanks from aluminum as I recall, and are quite proud of them. For a Jeep CJ, I would go with either a steel or poly, but can't really decide on which is best. It is an interesting topic though.

 

[Shifter]

Poly tanks are used in almost all production vehicles nowadays...

 

[Hedgehog]

True, most vehicles come with poly tanks. I wonder a little though, the CJ tank design is relatively old, I suppose it is possible that they didn't have the design down as well as they do today.

 

[Torxhead]

The ability to take rock hits would be a plus for a CJ with a metal tank. Plastic tends to get harder and easier to break as it gets older.

 

[hole]

When I was considering a larger poly tank I had heard the same things about the poly tanks prone to cracking. While I was still in kick it around mode, I overheard a guy at a car show (who claimed to be an automotive engineer) talking about poly tanks. He quoted names and dates of reports, some military, some not, with the findings concluded that the tanks could crack/rupture under severe cold temps for an extended period of time. Mind you, this guy looked like Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future, so I suppose he could've been a crackpot too. In the end I decided I needed one to replace the rusting 15 gal one I had, and even if the old guy was right, it doesnt get below 30* here in SoCal anyways

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Well, my OEM, 20 gal poly is 29+ years old and never an issue to date.
I do have it sit'n in a custom 3/16 thick gas tank skid plate because the OEM s'plate was a joke.
LG