draining a fuel tank - Car Troubleshooting


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draining a fuel tank

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angelekrose
New User

Sep 25, 2013, 6:27 PM

Post #1 of 7 (1795 views)

draining a fuel tank	Sign In

1999 saturn sc1

what is a safe way to drain the fuel tank. The anti theft on the gas tank is not allowing me to siphon gas out very well. i need to change the fuel pump which is located in the fuel tank.

thank you.

Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 25, 2013, 6:39 PM

Post #2 of 7 (1785 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

There is no easy way. The tank has to be dropped with the fuel in it.

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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.

angelekrose
New User

Sep 25, 2013, 6:41 PM

Post #3 of 7 (1781 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

that is a bummer. it was filled right before it happened:(

Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Sep 25, 2013, 6:44 PM

Post #4 of 7 (1780 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

Once you remove the filler hose from the tank nipple, you may be able to siphon through there. If not, you're pretty much screwed. It happens to me all the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.

angelekrose
New User

Sep 25, 2013, 6:45 PM

Post #5 of 7 (1778 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

thanks for responding

angelekrose
New User

Sep 25, 2013, 6:47 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1776 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

a freind of mine is thinking about drilling a hole in it? then patching it up. i told him didnt think it was very safe. would it work?

nickwarner
Veteran / Moderator
nickwarner profile image

Sep 26, 2013, 2:25 AM

Post #7 of 7 (1761 views)

Re: draining a fuel tank	Sign In

In Reply To

a freind of mine is thinking about drilling a hole in it? then patching it up. i told him didnt think it was very safe. would it work?

NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

That friend is on track to earn a Darwin Award. A drill uses an electric motor. An electric motor creates sparks inside it where the brushes contact the armature. Try running one in a room with no lights on and look through the vents on the side. You'll see a little spark show. So the drill bit punches through the tank, gas spurts out, hits a nice juicy spark and your local fire department gets a workout along with the local mortician having a closed casket funeral or two. Bad bad bad bad idea and I'm glad you didn't let him do it.

It does seem that Murphy's Law kicks in with fuel pumps, as they never seem to go out when on empty but will readily quit on a full tank. We deal with it all the time. I like to use a transmission jack to support the tank solidly. You can try as Hammer suggested to get the fill hose off and see if you can get a siphon tube in that way. If that method doesn't work, and you can't get ahold of a transmission jack, you can make something that will help. I will assume you have a full-sized floor jack or can borrow one.

The pad that contacts your car on those has a peg on the bottom of it that slides into a hole to keep it in place. Take it off and measure the diameter and length. Now go to a local welding shop and have them cut a piece of round stock or pipe that size and weld it to the center of an 18"x18" piece of 3/16 steel plate. Put that on your jack in place of the original pad and you will have a solid platform that will help hold up the weight.

Bear in mind that a shop jack isn't wide like a trans jack, so it tends to get very tippy when you use something like this. A lot of finess and good centering of the load are needed. Absolutely do not use a trouble light with an incandescent bulb in it. Should anything hit it while working on the fuel system you get a shower of sparks with a bunch on gas fumes and we're back to the fallout of the drill idea.

Your best bet is to look in the yellow pages for a tool rental place and rent a proper transmission jack. Its not that much money and the safest and easiest way to do this. Once you get the tank out just siphon the fuel into cans and pour it back in when you get the tank bolted back up. I suggested the steel plate idea as I used it once when I was about 16 and in a pinch. An extra set of hands to steady the tank on its way down will be needed if you try it.

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