Remove gas tank tips?

[Jeepmerunning]

I had repair shop look at my Carter carb, and he said he thinks I have junk in my gas tank. He suggested remove and clean or replace the tank. What kind of job is that to do at home for a remedial repair guy?

 

[Tommy]

Just went through that with my '81 CJ5 . It was my first time but I got it done over the weekend. My tank was strapped to the skid plate so disconnecting all the fuel lines, filler line and sending unit wires took a little while. There is a strap that goes over the center of the tank from front to back that does not need to be removed. The strap has a bolt on the end of it which is longer than the other skid plate bolts. It has a tendency to break easily if the tank has not been removed in a while. Before starting, empty out as much gas as you can. It's heavier than most people realize, about 9 pounds per gallon. Because of the size and fuel, it's a little awkward when you start to drop it, so let the jack down slowly. Emptying the tank and cleaning it out can take some time depending on how bad it is. I put in all fresh rubber gas lines while I had it down. Putting it back in goes pretty quick. Now that I have done it once, I think I could do it again in a day. It's pretty straight forward just take your time and label which lines go where. Some of the pros here might have a quicker way to get it done. They have given me invaluable information in the 4 months I've been here.

 

[TDHofstetter]

It's not bad at all if you start with the tank pretty much empty and keep the area totally free of any spark or other means of igniting the remaining fuel in the tank. Please remember - the most dangerous tank is an EMPTY one. While it may appear to be safe, it's highly explosive because of vapor buildup. The safest tank is one that's totally full of water, or one that's had about a pound of dry ice dropped into it, then had a chance to sit until the dry ice has had plenty of time to sublime (turn into carbon dioxide gas).

Getting one to be vapor-free (and therefore not explosive) while empty takes a lot of doing; gasoline vapors are very persistent.

 

[radman]

one reminder tho... the gauge sending unit is there for replacing!
be careful because MANY replacement sending units tend to allow
fuel into the float. i'm on my third and it needs replacement! a solid
float would be best!!!

that's my $0.02 cents

obtw, if you have access to a Transmission jack (or the likes) it'll be
a lot easier