Dreaded pickup tube??

[pegasus76]

Can a copper or other type of tubing be slipped inside the original line to repair the rusted pickup tube. I have a 78 280 that has no fuel pressure 1/2 tank or less. It has pressure, just no fuel. Has anyone ever tried this before?

Thanks

[FastWoman]

That's a pretty long, convoluted tube. I doubt you'd be able to slip anything inside it. Maybe see what a radiator shop can do for you? They sometimes work on gas tanks.

[Walter Moore]

Rumor has it that copper can degrade when used in a fuel system because the sulfur in gasoline attacks the metal. Of course here in the U.S. the EPA has heavily restricted the sulfur content of all motor fuels to protect the emissions control systems. But I still wouldn't take the risk.

[pegasus76]

Thanks for the input. I just hate that I have to drop the tank at this point. Was wondering if this would be possible as a quick fix(cheating I guess)

I may tru to get a piece of plastic fuel line in there just to try. There arwe a lot of tanks out there that have this issue and the tanks are good other than the friigin pick up tube being bad.

[FastWoman]

I wonder whether it would be possible to modify the fuel level sender assembly to include a fuel pickup tube. It might have to be brazed, but all you would have to remove would be the sender. (You would remove it through the inspection hole in your hatch floor.)

[chaztg]

if your gas tank has a drain plug, a fuel feed port can be rigged to draw fuel from the bottom out that opening. I did it when my 240 was first converted to turbo EFI to get around running a non-FI fuel tank...I later switched to a '75 gas tank, but in the interim I just had to ensure that the fuel level stayed above 1/4 full, to prevent fuel starvation from slosh. It could be something to limp along until you got a hold of another tank or got yours repaired.

[pegasus76]

I am trying to figure something out so a person could fix a common problem with little effort. Fastwoman, I am not sure how I could modify the sender to do this. I am thinking more in line with what chaztg says about going in through the drain opening and using an in line filter. I was actually going to break or disconnect the pickup tube off the inside of the fuel outlet and make a new tube that sits just above the tank bottom, so it didnt suck in dirt. What do you think?

[pegasus76]

Well I finally got around to pulling the tank out yesterday. It turns out the supply and pickup tube is fine. The return line is clogged solid. I guess this is causing the supply hose to slam shut from being air locked. The tank is pretty bad inside, I may need another tank. Anyone have a tank for 1978 Z laying around?

[FastWoman]

As long as the tank isn't swiss cheese, you should be able to eat out the rust with an acid (muriatic/ HCl) and coat with epoxy (POR-15). You can probably have a radiator shop do the work. There are also companies that refurbish heating oil tanks with plastic linings.

[pegasus76]

I am going to try the Acid myself. If that doesnt work, I'll take it to the Rad shop. I don't think its rust. Car sat for 5 years with some gas in it.

Thanks for the input.