Fuel Tank Woes

[ksechler]

I made a very frustrating discovery this weekend.  I've been working hard to get my 280z to the point where I could fire the engine.  Saturday was the day.  I managed to download my ignition parameters to my XDi2 pretty easily which was a treat since I was expecting it to be difficult.  So I put power to the fuel pump and couldn't get any pressure.  That was not an area I was expecting trouble.  After a lot of cussing and some trial and error I found that the fuel pickup from the tank was plugged.  Man did a light go off in my head!  I had to do a LOT of work on that tank including patching it and lining it.  Should've blown out the pickups before the liner dried...  So my tanks probably ruined.  

Can anyone suggest a method for unplugging those lines?  I haven't been able to find a small diameter snake and I doubt it could make the 90 degree pend in the pickup anyway. 

Now assuming the tank is a write off...  I've never been real confident about this tank because I did have to weld on it and I'm not a very good welder.  So a few months ago I chanced upon a '76 280z tank in fairly decent condition and knowing how hard they are to find I snatched it up.  The tank is solid but has a lot of rust inside.  No pitting, but It needs to be cleaned.  That I can do, but I'm a little nervous about coating it for the obvious reason.  If the tank cleans up nice and doesn't leak, does it need to be coated?  

[wheee!]

Stainless steel welding rod.... push it through the lines.

[Dave WM]

No harm in trying the new tank after cleaning but not coating. If its a problem you can always go back and coat it.

[ksechler]

1 hour ago, wheee! said:

Stainless steel welding rod.... push it through the lines.

Too many corners.  

[Dave WM]

ever seen those long springy pickup tools, the ones that have the 4 jaws that deploy with a push button on the end? Maybe that could work its way around.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Flex-Cable-4-Finger-Retriever-Pro-Tools/dp/B006ZEOXJY

Edited July 18, 2016 by Dave WM

[siteunseen]

2 hours ago, wheee! said:

Stainless steel welding rod.... push it through the lines.

Maybe he meant TIG wire?  You could try the ground wire stripped out a piece of Romex, it's pretty flexible.  Guitar string, piano wire...

[wheee!]

Yes, TIG rod or stainless MIG wire would work too. I would not recommend the softer aluminum TIG rods..

[siteunseen]

If you look at Blue's Tech Tips on atlantic Zs he has write up dropping and cleaning a tank. Its under EFI & FUEL.

He doesn't coat his. The important thing is to neutralize the acid ASAP so you won't get flash rust. 

[Zed Head]

You could remove the gas cap and try air pressure at the outlet.  90 psi might pop the film off of the pickup end.  Shouldn't hurt anything.  A rubber tipped air nozzle should allow you to get full pressure in to the tube.

[ksechler]

17 hours ago, Zed Head said:

You could remove the gas cap and try air pressure at the outlet.  90 psi might pop the film off of the pickup end.  Shouldn't hurt anything.  A rubber tipped air nozzle should allow you to get full pressure in to the tube.

Not yet.  That's my next step.  I had to take a mental health pause and work on something else.  I make mistakes (or make them worse) when I'm frustrated.

[madkaw]

90 psi on a sealed fuel tank? Might try a bit less at first- IMHO

[EuroDat]

You could try one of those spiral cable pullers, don't know the correct name for it in english. Here they call them trekveer and the steel variety cost about €20. Theg go around bends very easily and you can force them through.

https://www.google.nl/search?q=trekveer+kabel+trekken&client=tablet-android-samsung&biw=1024&bih=768&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj06uPC8P_NAhWLuhQKHdh1CNcQ_AUIBygB#imgrc=MxTne-QRaNRZqM%3A

https://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klusspullen.nl%2Fproductimages%2Fcatalog%2F265680_wymefa_speciaal_trekv_10m_spec.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiptopkado.nl%2Fwymefa-trekveer-30mtr-metaal.html&docid=Q5nakjsO8DdTMM&tbnid=aZ8vUkQ_Zhtl6M%3A&w=513&h=513&itg=1&client=tablet-android-samsung&bih=768&biw=1024&ved=0ahUKEwjr8MvP8__NAhXMLcAKHRuTCIYQMwhxKEswSw&iact=mrc&uact=8

Here you can see how they work. Forget the gadget, its the spiral cable you want. Look at about 23 seconds into the clip.

You should be able the clean it with the tank still in the car.

Chas