need large bolts

Maybe you could install a marine replacement gas tank fitting.

jsw

Proly suggested already, but threaded rod, with welded or even epoxied nuts? OR, double-nutted, jammed tight??!!

: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Most automotive gas tanks have a 2" or 3" access hole to fish out the fuel tank float level indicator or fuel pump. Maybe you could just drill out the section with the old tube using a hole saw and install an access cover complete with a new dip tube. As an added benefit, you'd have access to the inside of the tank to clean it out.

"Denis G." fired this volley in news:f8e5c9cb- snipped-for-privacy@f5g2000vbt.googlegroups.com:

Yep... not quite "automotive" style, though. The access hole/level sensor is in a port about 3" below the dip tube, in the side of the tank, rather than the top.

It is _possible_ that I might re-jigger that port with a brand new tube. Although the original tube is inaccessible, the sensor port cover is reasonably so, with tiny hands and right-angle tools. I have the latter, not the former, but I have help that might get it done.

That's a good idea!

Lloyd

My first thought was to install a bulkhead fitting in place of the welded tube, but you need access to both sides of the tank wall to tighten the nut on a bulkhead fitting. I don't know if that may be another option with your access from the side hole. It sounds like you might have to do a Houdini trick.

Small hands are what we have wives for. ;)

Given the cost, I wondered why Ig wasn't welding it up. Weight, maybe. Welds don't dismantle very easily.

Yup, you easily proved your previous diagnostics there.

R&R welded tank. That may be a bit easier said than done. ;)

I made and modified a whole lot of tools when I wrenched for a living. That's too bad. Auto tanks have removable dip tubes/guage floats.

I guess I'd drain it, fill it with water + argon, and use a plasma cutter to remove the lid. Then I could cut the front out and make a slightly smaller tank (with removable dip tube) which could be bolted in. Weld 4 nuts to the bottom drill and tap them through, then strap it down. You'll lose a few gallons of capacity, but it would be a better setup.

To drain it, maybe focus a stream of argon on a hacksaw as you take a couple swipes at a bottom corner. Getting a drip pan under it could be tricky. Maybe a funnel and long hose?

Filling it with water through the leaky dip tube would be a cinch. I've been playing with my buddy's plasma recently. What a magnificent time saver _those_ are! I also have a new respect for precision measurement now that I'm building the CNC router. Metal is much less fluid and forgiving than wood. I had done very little precision drilling before this. Now I have his mill, lathe, tig (doing heliarc with it is a neat new trick I'm learning, too.) at my fingertips. I'm a lucky man.

-- Believe nothing. No matter where you read it, Or who said it, Even if I have said it, Unless it agrees with your own reason And your own common sense. -- Buddha

If the tank held gasoline, you'll need to do some fancy tricks to get the vapors out of there before you risk a tool which can generate sparks like a hole saw.

Good Luck, DoN.

"DoN. Nichols" fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@Katana.d-and-d.com:

The fitting where the fuel line attaches is completely hidden... it isn't even "tool accessible". I can _just_ get a long screwdriver in there to loosen the hose clamp.

I wouldn't try to cut it off, I'd just pull off the hose and stuff a wad of epoxy putty in and over the end of the barb to make sure that spot didn't let out fumes.

LLoyd

-My first thought was to install a bulkhead fitting in place of the

-welded tube, but you need access to both sides of the tank wall to

-tighten the nut on a bulkhead fitting. I don't know if that may be

-another option with your access from the side hole. It sounds like

-you might have to do a Houdini trick.

I ran into that problem when installing an access hatch over the transmission of a VW Beetle, to get at the starter, fuel line and upper engine bolts.

I made a tapped nut plate from bar stock that fit underneath and eventually secured it to the sheet metal with extra screws.

To initially install the hatch and nut plate from one side I put in one screw to hold the plate, a second through the (skewed) hatch and plate, then removed the first screw and aligned the hatch and plate with a wire to put in the second screw which kept them aligned.

IIRC then I drilled and tapped all the other holes.

I mentioned the garden sprayer as a solution for a bolt-through fitting. The bolt goes inside, the nut outside. Attach a handle to the bolt to position it and keep it from turning.

Another possibility is a brass compression fitting drilled to let the tube pass clear through. Solder the fitting to the tank, extend the tube until it hits bottom and then retract it and tighten the sleeve nut. If you cut the dip tube end at an angle the shift as the nut tightens won't matter.

You could put a tap-sized hole in the tank and notch and spread the side to let the fitting screw in for added mechanical support.

jsw

It seems like designing things for easy maintenance is a distant afterthought.

"Denis G." fired this volley in news:2adeb3cc- snipped-for-privacy@f27g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:

Well, my fork truck was definitely NOT designed for ease of maintenance, but I've got the problem - if not solved - well in hand now.

I was finally able to finagle the fuel sensor port off the tank, and can actually see the pitting and holes in the dip tube.

There's plenty enough room in the gauge plate to install a small bulkhead fitting, and put a new dip tube in the tank.

While I've got it open and empty, I'm going to EvapoRust the inside, too... it's badly corroded.

I might even drill a drain port in the bottom while I've got it clean of gasoline.

LLoyd

The garden sprayer was easy enough to disassemble by reaching through the filler hole.

I got the idea for the access hatch from Army VW racers in Germany who chopped a ragged hole there. The sheet metal is corrugated and the nut plate straps were a challenge to bend to a close fit. It was worth the effort later when the starter solenoid braided connecting strap failed, and when I pulled the engine to install a new heater box. The invisible upper engine bolts have to be located and installed very quickly while your buddy is holding the engine more or less in place. We didn't have cheap import shop tools like floor jacks in the 60's and early 70's.

The Army procedure was the big guy balanced the engine on his chest while the rest of us lower the rear of the car down over it. IIRC an engine swap took about 3 minutes, after they had permanently removed all interfering sheet metal.

Said buddy had a Land Rover with a similar access plate over the transmission. When we hung it up balanced on a stump we removed the plate to see the problem. I could imagine trying to replace the clutch while hungry lions circled outside.

jsw

That is not my project

Denis G. Inscribed thus:

You could use "rivnuts" !

You might look at the web site of Joseph Fazzio's.

If I can be of any help in shipping , let me know.

Dan

wrote

No 3/4 by 10 bolts but they do have 7/8 by 10 grade 8 bolts if you can go a little bigger. I bought some 1 1/2 heavy nuts there at $2 each. Which was cheaper than other places. Dan

The True Value store here carries 3/4-10 in Grade ? and Grade 8.

jsw

Gunner Asch fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

No, it's called "micro-miniature contorsionism".

You can't get to the top of the tank, except by boring holes in the OUTSIDE of the body of the truck. The body plate (1/2" thick) IS the tank top. I don't want tubes on the tank hanging outside the engine compartment. You cannot get to the ends, except for one 2" diameter level gauge port on one end, only.

This is _period_, not "if I had small enough hands, or a drill that did three zigs and a zags."

Besides, you're a running behind. I posted that I already decided to put a new dip tube in the sensor plate. I electrolytically de-rusted the tank Thursday, since I had the port cover off, anyway. I drilled and tapped a 1/2" drain in the bottom.

LLoyd