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Reserve or oh shit fuel tank

Stoney

Stoney

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Location
Elmira ny
So as many of you know me and my truck have been having a great disagreement with each other. Well this is no different. Before I start this I got to give thanks to @Will L. For staying on the phone with me for a few hours and giving me some good guidance on how to make this work.. I'm not going to guarantee this is legal in all 50 states LOL.
Every time I change my fuel filter there is a little silver metallic stuff in the bottom of the FFM. Could never figure out what it was. So when I finally decide to put an inline fuel filter before my lift pump and eliminate the sock filter in the fuel tank I made a discovery. In the fuel tank was all kinds of neat little silver flakes which come to find out is the liner of the tank. I don't know if it's just from age or from when the gas station accidentally put gasoline in the tank if that could have damaged it I don't know. Doesn't really matter. The top half of the tank is rusting all to hell and peeling and I do not have the money to buy a fuel tank right now.
So I improvised.
It's so happens that I have a 35 gallon auxiliary fuel tank / transfer tank that is aluminum. Not really set up for this application so I adapted it again with Will's help on how to do it. There won't be any filter in the tank just a line going in and a line going out and on the side of it there are fittings for a tank heater to hook it to the cooling system which will be beneficial here in New York.
Really all I had to do was drill two holes in the top of the tank, and made a trip to AutoZone got two pieces of brake line and a couple of nipples and couplers out of the help section and a bunch of 3/8" fuel hose. Just got it finished finally waiting for the permatex to dry overnight before I hook the hoses up..KIMG4144.JPGKIMG4140.JPGKIMG4176.JPGKIMG4219.JPGKIMG4223.JPG
 
Oh boy, You’ll be able to go some distance now.
By drilling and installing two 90* elbbows, one top side and another near the bottom, pointing them towards each other then link them together with clear hose, You then would have a fuel gauge too. 🤷‍♂️
 
That's actually a good idea..I'm not sure but I think that round black thing sticking up in top middle of the tank might be to hook to fuel gauge. Its got 2 wires coming from it. And inside the tank there's a tube that comes out the bottom of it and goes almost to the bottom of the tank..not really sure what it is.
 
If this tank works ok, Which I'll know tomorrow, I'm gonna drop the old tank out of the tank and scrap it. When I have the $ I'll buy a new plastic one and a new sending unit also cause this one looks like shit.. besides that's one one less thing to catch salt under the truck this winter..
 
Stoney said:
That's actually a good idea..I'm not sure but I think that round black thing sticking up in top middle of the tank might be to hook to fuel gauge. Its got 2 wires coming from it. And inside the tank there's a tube that comes out the bottom of it and goes almost to the bottom of the tank..not really sure what it is.
Click to expand...
Might try hooking a multimeter to the wires, ohms resistance setting, read the meter as You are filling the tank and see what happens.
Might also try removing that object and see what is attached to it.
Also if You could find a book on that tank, it might tell that if it is a sending unit, what ohms gauge would be needed to make it to properly function. Might be able to hook the trucks tank gauge wires to ot and it might work just fine on the dash.
 
Hell @Will L. We really enjoyed talking to you that night . have not laughed that much in a long time😂...gotta do it again one of these nights!!...
Didn't use actual permatex, got the gray stuff that's fuel rated..can't remember the name..I'll look in the a.m.
Still gotta figure out how to vent the tank.
 
It appears that maybe that red fuel cap might already have a vent port incorporated onto it. 🤷‍♂️
I would think that the tank builder would have some sort of a venting fixture.
 
Yeah, I should have made more clear- don’t out in pressure that will make it swell. If it doesn’t vent right away and begins to trap air- stop.
Then thinking about it more- your new return line is going into the fluid. If it does build any pressure, when you remove the airhose, fuel is coming back out that hose under pressure.
It wouldn’t be horrible, but your wife was already complaining about getting fuel on her and the smell- so doing it again might not be funny...

Or maybe it is? Haha
 
Rather than tapping two holes on the side for an improvised sight-gauge, might consider the old aircraft method of a bobber that sticks out of the top (dip-stick in reverse) and lowers with fuel consumption. If something whacks that sight gauge, the tank is going to empty. Especially as this is going to mount in the bed where stuff can whack. So, yeah, more fuel for an argument with the wife ;)

One addition to the bobber method is that I'd fabricate something where I could push the bobber completely 'In' all the way with some sort of removable cap and then pop the cap to get a reading. This way it limits the amount of contaminates that can enter through the bobber's port. Might even help with venting.

For testing whether the tank vents, as mentioned, see what happens when removing the fill cap. At the risk of insulting, I'd do this with a completely empty tank (want maximum amount of air) and start the test around midnight by opening the cap (this equalizes the pressure (duh) but the main goal is to ingest the coolest air possible). Wait until around 2 PM when it is likely the hottest and open the cap to see what happens. Bonus is if the tank gets direct sunlight the whole time.
 
Hey @ Husker6.5 you mentioned in another thread
The seal has most likely failed, sucking air instead of Dexron. Other possibility, but a long shot, the transmission pump is kaput. @THEFERMANATOR IS the transmission expert!
Was that ment towards me and my tranny issue or the guy that posted that thread?
 
Hey, I'm old, what thread title was that, @Stoney? I was replying to whomever it was that was complaining that after a repower that suddenly they just couldn't seem to move forward or backward very well/at all and it didn't seem to shift into/through gears. They also commented that, upon FERM's suggestion to check, that there didn't appear to be much difference on the tranny dipstick between engine off cold and engine running, ie fluid wasn't being pumped through the tranny.
 
I've been wanting to do this to my aux tank for some time. but the only thing that keeps stopping me is where the filler cap is. I'd have to climb into the bed to reach it to fill! one of these days I would like to incorporate a filler neck hose over to the drivers side. maybe even when mounting a camper shell over the bed, have a fuel door on the side of it. :)
 
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