a good place in AZ to get gas tank cleaned? 83 fuel unit same as 76. interchangable?

[down4thakrown]

wheres a good cheap place to have my gas tank cleaned? or would it be alright to pop the sending unit and clean it my selft with water+ decreaser, then rinse out with gas? its been sitting out with the 3 smaller tubes on top not plugded
also are the 76 fuel sending units differ from a 83 fuel sending unit? if so can i put a 76 unit on a 83 tank?

 

[pauly383]

That sucks , I just got rid of a near new LMC one

 

[down4thakrown]

yes that does

 

[kennyw]

The sending units will be interchangeable between the same size tanks, ie 31 gallons to 31 gallons. I think there have been some do it yourself gas tank kits on the market mainly aimed and cleaning and sealing any rust inside a tank. Might check out the Eastwood catalog.

 

[fatbob]

Any radiator shop should be able to put the gas tank in their vat to clean it out. I used a place on west Mcdowell and I think they charged me $40, but my tank leaked and they cleaned, fixed the leak,and painted it. It might be alot cheaper if you just need it vatted.

 

[dyeager535]

Take it out/empty it, and remove the sending unit. See if it needs any work at all. Most tanks I have taken apart don't need anything on the inside. If it DOES need work, then you'll know for sure, instead of buying stuff you may not need.

Unless you've got pretty large hands you can fit yours in the sending unit hole and wipe it out with a rag, etc., as there will probably be some sediment. Good idea to blow the sender off with compressed air before opening it, as rocks and dirt get in the lock ring assembly and tend to fall in when you remove it. I don't think I'd use water, but it would simply evaporate if you left it somewhere dry overnight and there wasn't much in it. There will probably be enough gas left (depending on how long it was out, etc) that a rag will soak it up and you won't need anything.

Don't forget, new tanks are about $120, so it may be worthwhile to get a brand new one if yours has problems.

 

[R72K5]

im not sure they can clean them with the plastic baffle in them

cuz they boil thjem in really hot tank

i know they can do the old 67-72 tanks and such but im unsure aboutthe 70s 80s ones

id talk to them about it, take it to the shop and show them

see what they recommend

if not then junkyard or someoen around town parting an k5,, just ride around town loking for a junky loking or halfway apart or wrecked or soemthing k5 and leave a note for them to call you about it

thats what i do

good luck

 

[dyeager535]

Plastic baffles are injected '87-91 tanks only, I don't think the older gas tanks had baffles at all, but if they do, they are probably like the carbed cars of the same vintage, there is one steel vertical piece to the rear of the sending unit.

 

[down4thakrown]

i know theres nothing wrong with the tank, it's just been sitting outta the truck with the 3 little tubes coming outta the top un plugged and i was just goin to get it cleaned while i have it out. i can see surface rust in the tubes.

 

[dyeager535]

All the senders I've seen, even on newer tanks, rust. They are the highest point in the tank, condensation will be worse there because of it. Pulling the sender isn't hard, so try it.

I'd be more worried about wasps and what not plugging the lines.

 

[down4thakrown]

just popped the sending unit and it looks very good. there was no rust at all. just a lot of dirt around and under the unit. i think im just goin to use some acetone, then rinse with water,dry it, then one more time with acetone and it should be ok. what do you guys think?
nobody out there knows for sure bout the units bein interchangable huh? guess i will find out for sure tomarrow.

 

[dyeager535]

If they are both the "lock ring" style senders, then they should physically interchange. If the tank from the same year vehicles interchanges (check gastanks.com or something) then the sender will too.

Only difference in carbed senders, besides length for tank depth, is the amount of fittings on the sender. Earlier will use less fittings. Fuel to carb, fuel return, and EVAP on most later senders.

 

[down4thakrown]

ummm.... wow i didnt think they where that much
i think im just goin to reuse mine. maybe spray some wd40 int he hose fittings to take care of the surface rust and i'll still clean the tank out.