Tricky fuel tank removal

Post by **mowogg** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:05 pm

I am trying to remove a fule tank -i have drained it from teh base, but 8 of the self tapping screws are rounded off and wont remove, despite coating with wd40 for 4 weeks.

is there a safe way of griding of the bolts? or another safe method -perhaps using a cold chissel. I am very concnered at both of these due to the risks of sparks? I really need the tank off the car!

Any thoughts appreciated

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:17 pm

Try an impact driver ? Or Vice grips - or cut a slot across the head with a small saw and use a flat screwdriver - or drill the head off !

Post by **downsey** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 11:44 pm

just grind them off, should go pretty quick, they're pretty small

Post by **ADO16** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:25 am

Mowogg,

I just removed my fuel tank after it's been in the car since 1951 and the way that I did it was simple without sparks if your concerned with that. All I did was crawl underneath the tank with small mole grips (we call them vise grips here) and gripped them and twisted it counter clock wise until they're out.

Steve

Post by **MarkyB** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:09 am

WD40 is not a penetrating oil.
You need to use PlusGas or something similar.

Post by **8009STEVE** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:47 am

If you are worried about the tank exploding, run a length of hose from a second car's exhaust into the tank. Filling the tank with exhaust fumes will remove all explosive gases and make the tank safe. I have used this method before when it was needed to weld a tank.

Post by **Kevin** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:31 am

MarkyB wrote:WD40 is not a penetrating oil.
You need to use PlusGas or something similar.

Seconded

Post by **simmitc** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:29 pm

A combination of Plus Gas and small mole grips, perhaps with a bit of hammering the break the rust should work. If that fails then careful grinding - make sure that the tank is sealed and that you are working in a well ventilated area. With the pipe to the pump, the filler, and the gauge sender unit are all connected, there "shouldn't" be any petrol vapour to ignite - but the exhaust gas trick sounds like a good one to add to the precautions.

Post by **aupickup** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:50 pm

sometimes it help to try and turn the bolts , screws as if to tighten, sometimes this works better in breaking the seal of rust

we use this way in the building for removing stubborn screws