Rusted Left Hand Fuel Tank On A 2000 V8

[Zhastaph]

As per title really, my left hand fuel tank is quite badly rusty and although not advanced enough yet that it is losing fuel it does smell very badly of petrol.

Short of crying I don't really know what to do.

I generally have done all work on the car myself, but from what I've read about removing these things it's going to be a nightmare. Does anyone know of any dealerships in the south of england that would do this?

I see that if I was going to do this for myself then my biggest problem is going to be getting the thing in and out with the elbow for the cross over pipe still sttached to the tank and that some peeps have had tanks made especially that are easier to refitt back into the car. Does anyone know any more about this?

Any help would be very gratefully appreciated

[V8 Owners Fem Slave]

Not really answering your question

but i advise that you look into doing BOTH tanks at the same time, i know you may have already thought of this lol. better to do them at the same time rather than having the other go several months later

purza

[toyroom]

[bad news, I'm afraid. I know that this is not a rare problem in Esprits and the problem is getting the thing out without busting the window above it. I know someone (Liverpool) who will do the job but most dealers want to take the engine out to do this safely. This will cost

Edited May 20, 2007 by toyroom

[Advantage]

Colin,

Try giving Cos at Sportomotive (they're in Salisbury) a call. Both him and Dave are very experienced about such matters and will be more than happy to give you advise over the phone about your various options to fix this. 01722 410893.

Weren't there tanks available in the Parts Sale?? (if you fancy the diy route)

[Zhastaph]

Now that I've stopped crying I've pretty much decided I'm going to do the job myself, hopefully without taking the engine out I've had a look and seen a couple of guys have managed it ableit with a bit of butchering of the car/tank. I'm unsure yet as to whether to stick a new tank in there or remove this one and get it repaired, I spose a lot depends on availability/price of new tanks.

I have to admit John that paying someone 2 grand and getting them to do the lot sounds quite appealing to me especially as there are other things that could do with doing whilst the engine is out, like the heatshields, and small leaks etc - but Liverpool is a bit far, I'm on the Isle of Wight I might scout round some of the southern dealers ....

[toyroom]

Now that I've stopped crying I've pretty much decided I'm going to do the job myself, hopefully without taking the engine out I've had a look and seen a couple of guys have managed it ableit with a bit of butchering of the car/tank. I'm unsure yet as to whether to stick a new tank in there or remove this one and get it repaired, I spose a lot depends on availability/price of new tanks.

I have to admit John that paying someone 2 grand and getting them to do the lot sounds quite appealing to me especially as there are other things that could do with doing whilst the engine is out, like the heatshields, and small leaks etc - but Liverpool is a bit far, I'm on the Isle of Wight I might scout round some of the southern dealers ....

Two grand sounds a lot. Sounds like the main dealer price for the engine out, new tanks, cam and fan belts and fix the rattly shield. I would expect half that for a non franchised dealer

[toyroom]

Now that I've stopped crying I've pretty much decided I'm going to do the job myself, hopefully without taking the engine out I've had a look and seen a couple of guys have managed it ableit with a bit of butchering of the car/tank. I'm unsure yet as to whether to stick a new tank in there or remove this one and get it repaired, I spose a lot depends on availability/price of new tanks.

I have to admit John that paying someone 2 grand and getting them to do the lot sounds quite appealing to me especially as there are other things that could do with doing whilst the engine is out, like the heatshields, and small leaks etc - but Liverpool is a bit far, I'm on the Isle of Wight I might scout round some of the southern dealers ....

Two grand sounds a lot. Sounds like the main dealer price for the engine out, new tanks, cam and fan belts and fix the rattly shield. I would expect half that for a non franchised dealer

[Tentenths]

Give Geoff at Esprit Engineering a ring. He's not a million miles from you and is both very competitive and very well regarded. Clicky

[98GT3]

Give Geoff at Esprit Engineering a ring. He's not a million miles from you and is both very competitive and very well regarded. Clicky

And he does alloy tanks for them as well ..........that would get rid of the problem!

Phil

98GT3

[Günter]

there was/is a "DIY" story with parts resources in LEW's tecnical gide page ... if i remember ?!

[jeff_hooper]

I did both tanks 18 months ago. I have a full photographic record. The process isn't that different to the 4 cylinder cars.

I would say YES, definately do both tanks at once, my none leaky tank looked much the same rust wise as the leaking tank. So I guess was a short period of starting to leak itself. I found no evidence to support the view that's it leaky side windows that cause the problem (though I made every effort to ensure they were properly sealed just in case). I think its more likely getting in from underneath when the cars being driven in wet conditions. My car was sat for about 4 months before I got the tanks out and those bloody mats that the tanks sit on were still very wet so I guess once they have got wet from whatever source that's it! - I replaced the upper and lower mats with thick honeycombed rubber floor mat material that wouldn't retain water in the future.

- Rear hatch off, sun roof out, Drivers seats out - standing in the cabin and being able to lean in from the front through the sun roof hole is a BIG help especially for access by 2 people -helping hands are needed at times and some jobs are much easier accesed from the front. Strip out rear boot/carpeted side trim.

- Then all the stuff on top of the tanks. Recording labelling noting photographing stuff as you go along. Important to be meticulous as there are lots of variations and small changes between cars - remember its a hand built car. If your set up is unusual you need to be able to get back to it. Mine was.

- The side bulkheads have to be freed - a Dremel is a god send here for removing the heads of corroded fixings where space is very limited (I didn't take mine out completely (the wiring loom goes through them and a whole mass of stuff would need to be disconnected). I disconnected as much as I could pulled through various pipes and individual wires etc. Then I simply rolled teh bulkhead up and over and back towards the the boot area. Use Loads of dust sheets and padding to protect areas and stuff as you end up putting weight on them.

- Fuel filler neck and fitting (care with the rubber gaskets that seal to the body work both mine were knackered anyway but they are

Edited May 28, 2007 by jeff_hooper

[lotus4s]

Nice write-up Jeff, the first I've seen on a V8 and you covered it well, almost made it sound easy.

FWIW, I agree with you on the leaky side window theory. On the couple of cars I've pulled tanks on, the window seals were fine with no evidence of leaking there.

Cheers,

[Zhastaph]

Yes, i agree nice write up Jeff. Worth talking to Kato about getting it added to the 4 pot fuel tank replacement pages.

For myself, I've decided it's too much for me to want to do it, she's not seen a garage since i've owned her so I've decided to spend a few bob {plus my house }, get them to pull the motor, replace the tank{s} and do any other pm work whilst there at it. There's a couple of rattly heat shields, a small leak and some other stuff that you really cant get at with the engine in situ.

Fuel filler neck and fitting (care with the rubber gaskets that seal to the body work both mine were knackered anyway but they are

[Kato]

Jeff,

Email me all the details and pictures and we'll get to working putting it on LEW!