dustin280zx Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 I want to weld the fittings on the bottom of the fuel tank instead of having my fuel pump pumping it from the top which makes the fuel hot. I want to keep the stock tank if possible because i'm trying to make the car look as stock as possible. I'd like to know what you have to do to the tank to try not to make it a bomb. I googled it and searched on here and couldnt find much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Unscrew the bottom drain plug and tap it for your connetion. IE no welding required. This is the safest way or use a bulkhead connection still no welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 I just drained mine and rinsed it out with water. I also made sure I vented it well before drilling or welding on it. I placed an air hose inside the tank and left in on when working. Don’t let the air stagnate. There were a couple of recent threads on modifying tanks that I thought were quite excellent. Had lots of pictures and excellent ideas on how to build an internal swirl pot. Using the drain plug is common, but since you don’t mind welding on the tank I think you can do better. Coming in through the side of the tank will keep the stock look. Ahh. Here it is. It contains a link to an earlier thread. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=120951 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.jonas Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Clean or have your tank cleaned first of all.Even then you are still going to want to purge the interior with inert gas(which i assume you have if your welding,Argon,c02 ect) before or ideally while welding to displace the oxygen in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjc5500 Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Clean or have your tank cleaned first of all.Even then you are still going to want to purge the interior with inert gas(which i assume you have if your welding,Argon,c02 ect) before or ideally while welding to displace the oxygen in the tank. beat me to it. always purge with an inert gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin280zx Posted June 3, 2007 Author Share Posted June 3, 2007 I have thought about putting a bulkhead in. I'll keep reading. I want to make sure it is 100% safe before my arm goes anywhere near it. I saw one link from google that the guy would rinse the tank with water. Then he would run buy it with a burning cloth and throw it in and get about a 2 foot flame. Then fill the tank with water to were he is welding. I also read about the filling it with inert gas too. If I lose my courage i'll just get a fuel cell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I have done this a few times. Just keep it well ventilated with plain ole air and you will be fine. The inert gas isn't going to do you any good unless you can keep it continuously filled with the stuff. Plus you will have to go through the better part of a cylinder to display all the air in the first place. Trust me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it out. As stated above its something that probably needs to be done anyway and you need to get rid of as much rust and dirt as possible inside the tank near the weld area. I've welded a bunch of 240Z fuel tanks and unless you clean out the inside of the tank near where you're welding the fitting there's a good change of contaminating the weld. That means leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I welded a sump on mine. Drained it, rinsed with water then ran exhaust from my pickup into it for about 10 minutes. I'm still here so no boom but I was pretty nervous the first time I struck an arc with my MIG. What John says is very important also, I fought pin hole leaks in mine until I finally threw it away. I gave up more because it was shedding lots of rust from the sump than because of the leaks though. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexicoker Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I was welding on one that I washed with water for about 10 minutes, and then filled with water right up to where I was going to weld, and it still blew up in my face. Not very much fun. Now I will never do anything but purge with argon. Brazing is also going to give you alot better odds for getting a leak-free connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifton Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 You could probably run a banjo fitting of the drain plug. Pulling fuel from the bottom compared to the top won't gain you anything though. I rinse them real good, fill it with water a few times and drain then run a shop vac blowing through the filler inlet and out the sender hole for a good half hour. You don't want any vapor in there. I've welded on 4 tanks and haven't had any problems yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustin280zx Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 You could probably run a banjo fitting of the drain plug. Pulling fuel from the bottom compared to the top won't gain you anything though. . I'm running an A-1000 and the guy from aeromotive said it will pull fuel to 30 feet in the air but the only problem is that the fuel will get heated when being pulled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 I got the tank clean and seal kit from eastwood, followed their flush and clean instructions, welded on the sump, then recleaned and sealed the tank, no problems at all, just flush with water several times then aa wash with metal wash, ojh I did add a section of heavy chain to the tank to help scrub the surfaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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