project fuel tank replacement

[Brakebuster]

as eluded to in another thread, my new project has begun

i have had intermittent issues with fuel starvation , this manifests its self on long smooth roads and i get a stall or a stutter in the engine, i traced the fault to the fine mesh filter on the end of the pickup tube in the sump tank getting blocked up with fine debris from the fuel tank , funny thing is, on bouncy city streets or undulating lanes, this issue doesn't arise, probably from the fuel being bounced around keeping any debris suspended in the fuel rather than clinging ( sucked onto ) the pick up tube filter

so , i decided to find a replacement tank , i have been looking for years, missed a few on ebay for various reasons, but last week my luck was in and a new old stock one came up on ebay , it had actually been fitted to a car, but never got back on the road, the tank came with the sump tank and the fuel sender to , and everything was in great condition ,

I stripped everything down , and decided to paint the tank before installing it into the car , for added protection and to give it a longer life , a bit of rubbing back with some wet and dry , and masking off, and sprayed with hammerite smooth black paint, a few runs , but hey , its all hidden , lol

the side foams were glued back on today , and i test fitted a new breather pipe for the sump , it was bought years ago , but as my own breather pipe nut has rounded off and stuck solid , i decided not to fit it, and risk damaging my old tank

below is the pic of the new tank , all painted up and ready to fit

IMG_2449 by MyPix on Talk Photography



IMG_2454 by MyPix on Talk Photography

i have some new rubber seals for the tank sender unit, they are the same as the seal for the pickup tube in the sump , this pic shows the interior with the new seal waiting for my original sender , unless i find a new one ,as can be seen , practically zero corrosion inside

IMG_2453 by MyPix on Talk Photography

removing the tank sender or sump tank pickup locking ring is really simple, just get a tool to hold to one of the three tangs, and give a firm tap anticlockwise, the ring will move and come away from the device, and then pull from the tank the rubber seal will be behind that



IMG_2451 by MyPix on Talk Photography

just got to find a few weekends strung together to complete the project

BB

[J44EAG]

Any corrosion proofing being done to the inside, Vince? Perhaps aviation grade PRC based coating.

Mike

[poprivet]

Good project BB, its always good to see pics and read the reports.

I'm glad your replacement is a 'modified' tank. I doubt there are any early ones left by now, especially as spares. For the unwary, the outlet at lower centre was a tight 90 degree fitting rather then your easy sweep bend with a support. Those early ones had a habit of partially shearing off which would ruin the day especially if someone had just filled up with 20 gallons. It was the subject of a manufacturers recall but many got through without replacement. I think I have a photo somewhere, if i find it I will add it for reference.

[Brakebuster]

good point pop ,
my existing tank has the original threaded 90 degree outlet, which is a pain to undo as its recessed as well ,

BB

[Brakebuster]

so, the task in hand ,

take this out, and put the other one back in , lol

IMG_2465 by MyPix on Talk Photography

untangle this lot

IMG_2469 by MyPix on Talk Photography

figure out how i can put these back on

IMG_2470 by MyPix on Talk Photography

should get most of it done tomorrow, but may be held back by refurbishing the brackets etc, and i have a new return pipe ordered from the net to turn up next week , then all the pipes will be brand new

BB

[steve_m]

Don't forget to check the magnetic pickup.

[Brakebuster]

so , today has been a long day , and i must admit its been a struggle , leaning over the car all day has done for my back and knees, but it needed to be done

i ran the car to as low a fuel load as possible, and then drained the rest this way , i cut the swirl pot vent tube and with some pipe clamps decanted the rest into the jug , four and a half gallons later it was empty
IMG_2474 by MyPix on Talk Photography

then all the brackets, vent tubes , filler tube and everything else stopping the tank from coming out was removed , then i pulled the tank

IMG_2475 by MyPix on Talk Photography

with the tank out i could inspect the internal bodywork, and to my great relief it is totally rot free ,
IMG_2477 by MyPix on Talk Photography


IMG_2478 by MyPix on Talk Photography

then i spotted the legendary ' rivet ' , you know, the one that wears a hole in the bottom of the tank

IMG_2476 by MyPix on Talk Photography

here it is.....damage to the tank....

IMG_2479 by MyPix on Talk Photography

i then added some foam to my new tank , in a similar way to the original ,

IMG_2480 by MyPix on Talk Photography

and then put it into the car

IMG_2482 by MyPix on Talk Photography

i then refitted the filler tube and seals

IMG_2483 by MyPix on Talk Photography

and put all the bracing straps back after refurbishing them all

IMG_2484 by MyPix on Talk Photography

the swirl pot got all new pipework and a new fuel pump was installed

IMG_2489 by MyPix on Talk Photography

a few more bits and pieces and that was enough for today ( 10.00 -19.30 )

here is the old tank , what a state, i found that it had been out before, and painted black over the original olive colour, but totally rotten inside , needed to be done

IMG_2485 by MyPix on Talk Photography


IMG_2487 by MyPix on Talk Photography


IMG_2488 by MyPix on Talk Photography

off to the Eastern JEC show tomorrow , so hopefully a relaxing day

BB

[Brakebuster]

for those who are wondering about the rivet issue, i filed it down almost flat, and glued in this foam pad for the tank to sit on

IMG_2481 by MyPix on Talk Photography

BB

[Brakebuster]

so last night i spent an hour fitting the fuel return pipe that came in the post , and fitted the battery tray that also supports the swirl pot

i then decided to put the removed petrol back into the tank and checked for any leaks , fortunately there weren't any and i put the car to bed for the night

when i got back from work today i opened the boot and for the first time in ownership i wasn't met with a face full of petrol fumes, just a slight smell of fresh paint

i connected the battery and turned the car to position two on the ignition , the new fuel pump span into life and cut out when the pressure was up , i turned back the key and then to pos two , and the pump span up again , all was good and no leaks from the now pressurised system and i carried over the key to start the car, no hesitation what so ever and she sprang into life , great

time to put al the trim back its surprising how much there is , but it all goes back and looks quite good again

IMG_2504 by MyPix on Talk Photography



IMG_2505 by MyPix on Talk Photography



IMG_2507 by MyPix on Talk Photography


what do you think ??


just got to throw a load of junk in the boot and go for a drive so it can all bounce around


job done..................

BB

[steve_m]

Nice job Vince and the photos are helpful as ever.
I cheated and got someone else to do it for me!

[GordonJ]

The pictorial display you produce of all the work you do must be tremendous for all other XJS owners looking to doing their own maintenance. Although not an XJS owner I do like to follow the work you do on the car.

Congrats

[Brakebuster]

Thanks gents


Though i'm always conscious that i may be boring people to death , lol

BB

[cfarlow]

Thank you
Nice comprehensive coverage.
I'll currently looking for a fuel for my XJS Cab, not an easy task as you all know its different from the rest.
I also found out that later 'cab tanks' have metric fittings as opposed to A/F on earlier models.

This narrows it down a bit to very difficult to find!.

Any suggestions would be more than welcome as I'm now using the car when weather permits.

Thanks & regards Billy Cat.

[J44EAG]

My local Plumb Centre sells Metric to Imperial and various other converter adaptors for pipes. It might be worth sourcing a tank and then find suitable pipe adaptors as required. I often find myself having to do similar modifications in the marine industry to get over such issues.

Mike K

[greenlane]

Just enjoyed the photos, BB. Good thorough job. Simon.