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twin tanks, using ifs tanks?

muddybuddy

muddybuddy

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im trying to find the best way to get the most fuel capacity possible. my diesel k30 is already plumbed for dual tanks so if i could keep that setup that would be great. would tanks from an 88+ truck work? summit sells them, 25gal as well as 34gal tanks, and the filler neck appears to be in the middle of the tank. they are ment for the 6.2 in ifs trucks. i know it would probably need a little fab work for bracing, but would they work? this would give me 50gal or 68gal capacity and that would be sweet.

does anybody make bigger stock tanks? thanks
 
Other than getting in the way of the exhaust, it might be possible. Also, aren't the frames on the K30's narrower than K10/K20's to begin with? Especially since I think IFS truck frames are wider than their older counterparts. May want to make sure it'll fit between the driveshaft and the frame.
 
yea im going to do some further investigation, was lookin to get some opinions from everyone on here. the 34gal tanks sell for $150 each from summit, which is alot cheaper than the other systems :) so if its doable that would be sweet. a buddy has a '89 k1500 so ill compare everything on that and see what i get.
 
Read this link on putting a fuel tank inboard.

I came across this a long time ago when I was doing research on the (media fabricated) exploding gas tank issue.

Clicky

Keep in mind there are alot of saftey issues to address when fabbing and custom mounting fuel tanks. Little things like deburring, putting a seam on a particular side, etc, go along way to pass tests or cause problems.
 
73k5blazer said:
Read this link on putting a fuel tank inboard.

I came across this a long time ago when I was doing research on the (media fabricated) exploding gas tank issue.

Clicky

Keep in mind there are alot of saftey issues to address when fabbing and custom mounting fuel tanks. Little things like deburring, putting a seam on a particular side, etc, go along way to pass tests or cause problems.
Click to expand...

Interesting read that's for sure. What's interesting is that Chevy had to pay out all that money for the design flaw even though it was in compliance with the standards of the day, yet not one dime went to owners to correct the situation through a recall. Part of the agreement, but interesting none the less. If the trucks weren't going to be repaired to a safety standard what was the purpose of doing the tests to set a standard at all?

Have I seen that right?

Manny
 
could always plumb a 40 gallon burb tank inline with one of the saddles
 
MuddinManny said:
If the trucks weren't going to be repaired to a safety standard what was the purpose of doing the tests to set a standard at all?
Click to expand...

I think the point of that particular study was to have a third party evaluation of viable alternatives, because GM claimed it too expensive to "fix".

GM did pay, well, kinda, I received a $1000 voucher good towards any GM vehicle in the late 90's. Because I was the owner of a pickup in question during a particular time period the class action lawsuit had named.
Yeah, the lawyers on the plaintiffs side got many many millions, and we got vouchers.

I still drive my '86 c10, and I added the second side saddle tank on the other side. Am I worried about it, no, I'm not. Should GM have done something, especially later like in the early 80's when many engineers had come forth saying there's a problem and some easy fixes, yes, they should have.
 
73k5blazer said:
Read this link on putting a fuel tank inboard.

I came across this a long time ago when I was doing research on the (media fabricated) exploding gas tank issue.

Clicky

Keep in mind there are alot of saftey issues to address when fabbing and custom mounting fuel tanks. Little things like deburring, putting a seam on a particular side, etc, go along way to pass tests or cause problems.
Click to expand...

so are you saying that it might not be a good idea? or are you just saying to be careful? what do you think about it? thanks
 
the ifs tanks are way to wide. and the best way to get 80 gal of fuel is to 20 gal saddles and a 4 gal burb tank in the back. or a custom tank in bed and dont tell the man. :rolleyes:
 
sweetk30 said:
the ifs tanks are way to wide. and the best way to get 80 gal of fuel is to 20 gal saddles and a 4 gal burb tank in the back. or a custom tank in bed and dont tell the man. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

dang it. do you think even the 25gal tanks will be too wide? does anybody make an aftermarket stock replacement that holds more? i made a thread about toolbox/tank combos but they cost so much and have a very tiny tool box storage space, id really rather have twin tanks underneath and a normal tool box up top
 
that test was proven by several labs to be totally incorrect. in '93 when it was carried out, the test was done by a lab hired by consumer reports. the got caught rigging the test pickups with model rocket engines in the tanks so they could get the explosion result they wanted. during the actual, no rigged, impacts no sidesaddle tanks ever caught fire. It was a huge deal and all over the national news back when it was coducted. It came right on the heals of another consumer reports rigged test. The infamous samurai rollover that doomed that product line. That little baby had the shocks removed before the rollover test to ensure their "desired" result.
 
muddybuddy said:
dang it. do you think even the 25gal tanks will be too wide? does anybody make an aftermarket stock replacement that holds more? i made a thread about toolbox/tank combos but they cost so much and have a very tiny tool box storage space, id really rather have twin tanks underneath and a normal tool box up top
Click to expand...

The difference between the 26 and 34 gal IFS tanks is length, not width..

John
 
consumer reports is known for twisting facts. anyhow, just go get a suburban tank and brackets for the rear. you need the two crossmembers it bolts to. I have that and a tank in the bed in mine, but i'm going to be making a custom tank underneath similar to what they did one day soon.
 
muddybuddy said:
so are you saying that it might not be a good idea? or are you just saying to be careful? what do you think about it? thanks
Click to expand...

No, I just posted that link for an idea on how to mount a tank inboard of the frame rail if you had the space. And added a general note about safety, just to put a little extra thinking about safety when going outside the norm when it comes to fuel supply and storage.

GM did have a somewhat rare factory option for a rear mounted tank for pickups. Not sure how easy it is to find those or if anybody makes those, I'm sure somebody does, they are slightly different than a burb tank so it might fit easier with the existing crossmembers.

(click to enlarge)



06=Blazer 16=Suburban 03=Pickup
When you look at the actual part numbers, there are three different tanks for each of the three models. The illustration here is just "typical' installation so a parts guy can look up service parts.

I think it was offer either as the only tank, or it was used as an aux tank without a switch valve. That it is, I think they just put a lift pump off it and had a switch in the cab, so when you saw your main tank level getting low, you would flip the lift pump switch and it would transfer the fuel from that tank to the main tank. That's a good setup if you really want three tanks too, because the plumbing can get trickey with three tanks.
 
they list that rear tank in the lmc catalog. listed as a 25 gal tank I think.
 
So, 73k5Blazer -- or anybody else -- let's talk about a "lift pump" :ears:

I'm thinking about hanging a Burb tank back there on my longbed, and yeah, plumbing multiple tanks is a beeyotch... so I was thinking about just re-filling from the back tank to a saddle tank.

However, the transfer pumps I see are either crazy expensive, or don't pump very much, like a coupla GPH, which seems like it would defeat the purpose.

Any off-the-shelf affordable solutions / ideas for such a pump?

-- A
 
Most any electric low pressure pump will do. The lift pump on my '97 K2500 diesel (the 6.5's have a lift pump to draw from the tank and get the fuel up to the injection pump) is only like $40. Canister style pump, external, 2 wires. I think it's 30-40gph.

I just bought this pump here for my k5, to feed the 1 liter surge tank that my high pressure bosch pump will draw from for the EFI. 72GPH. I found mine on eBay for $40, new in box, a GM part, with bracket and rubber mounting grommets, etc.

Check summit racing for low pressure pumps, you can search for fuel pumps, then drill down by certain criteria, like gph requirments and psi. Start here, I guess there not that cheap. That carter one IS the GM one, the gm one I got says carter on the bottom.

Another idea, I've not checked myself, alot of OTR tractors have either a balancing tube on the low side of the tanks or, and I know some have a transfer pump, they are probably expensive, but it's an idea.
 
Alright, I lied, the K2500's pump is $69 at autozone, 89 on gm parts direct. I could have sworn I paid like 40-50 when I replcaed it a couple years ago, I got it from RockAuto, an AC delco part.

That GM performance parts one would work well too I'm sure, 72gph.

I would try to find a TBI type vehicle that had an external pump and see what those go for. Or scour eBay for cheap new electric fuel pumps, that's where I got mine! :)
 
well i think im going to stick with adding a driverside 20gal tank. if thats not enough ill look into and auxillary tank
 
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