Toronado.org

Removing Old Gasoline Part II: The Revenge

Hello, I didn't know whether to continue/contribute to the old thread topic or start anew so here goes,

After following some advice from the forum I attempted to remove the metal fuel line that meets the carburetor at the front, while loosening the nut the metal line snapped easily from the rust. So, using several pumps and tools I tried to appropriate hoses and pump to siphon the remaining opening that leads to the underside fuel line. Nothing. Then I cut the rubber hosing following the steps and photos posted in a reply by Otto Skorzeny (Thank you so much Otto). With the line open, a fair ammount of liquid spewd on to my hand that smelled exaclty like paint varnish. Bingo! And yet, nothing siphoned out again. I figured I am just going to have to replace all the fuel lines that run the gasoline from the tank to the carburetor no anyways, so on to the next step.

I am now trying to clean off all the immense ammount of hardened baked-on oil under the tank. It looks like the underbelly of my gas tank is a damn coral reef....with massive ammount of various Gunk sprays and a paint scrapper in hand for a few days I've gotten about half of it off where I can now see the two large straps holding the gas tank to the underneath of my Toro.

How do I go about disconnecting the fuel lines and lowering the gas tank (using the two straps) to remove everything from the tank and clean it out? I figured as difficult of a process as this is, I keep my genuine car parts in tact as much as I can and its inexpensive if I do everything myself. Any advice or other alternative methods are greatly appreciated!

Metroidz
"Everyone drives a car, how many people drive the car they want to drive."

Are you able to siphon the remaining fuel out of the tank through the filler tube behind the license plate?

You might not need to remove the tank unless you're certain that it's corroded or full of debris.

I think I would leave the tank in place - at least for now - and try to run the car with a tank full of fresh fuel.

Install a clear filter in the line so you can see if it fills up with debris. If it does, you'll know that the tank and/or lines need attention. If it doesn't, your tank is probably OK as-is.

Your carburetor is probably all varnished up but it will probably run enough for you to figure out the fuel tank/fuel line situation. Once that's settled you can rebuild the carburetor if required.

Are you able to siphon the remaining fuel out of the tank through the filler tube behind the license plate?

No, inside that filler tube is an anti-siphoning device, much to my dismay. Its a tight metal coil and I cannot get any sized tube down it.

I have added almost 10 gallons of fresh gasoline to it prior to all of this and the gas tank meter reads in the middle as it always has, continued to try to start the engine past it just turning over and nothing. The fuel lines will need to be replaced anyways since I cut them and need to get new metal pipes that lead to the carburetor. I will rebuild the carburetor down the line.

Metroidz

If you do not wish to make your own steel fuel lines, this company will do it for you at a very reasonable cost. They're pre-bent to the factory specs.

Inline Tube
800-385-9452
http://www.inlinetube.com/

If you are going to have your carburetor rebuilt, I highly recommend this company:

Daytona Parts Company
386-427-7108
http://www.daytonaparts.com
mail@daytonaparts.com
Ask for Ron Hewitt or Tim Hewitt.


They have rebuilt several carburetors for me over the last 15 years or so. They use ethanol tolerant rubber (some parts of which are made especially for them to their own specs). When your carburetor is returned there will be virtually no adjustments for you to make other than possibly the idle speed.

It will also look so good you'll feel bad about putting it on your car instead of in a display case.

My '56 Cadillac's carb was done by them 10 years and over 50,000 miles ago and I've never had to touch it.

There are other carburetor rebuilders, some even specialize in Quadrajets but Daytona is the only one I've had personal experience with.

metroidz wrote:I have added almost 10 gallons of fresh gasoline to it prior to all of this and the gas tank meter reads in the middle as it always has, continued to try to start the engine past it just turning over and nothing. The fuel lines will need to be replaced anyways since I cut them and need to get new metal pipes that lead to the carburetor. I will rebuild the carburetor down the line.

Metroidz

Have you tried to run the car? Is the fuel pump working?

Otto Skorzeny wrote:

metroidz wrote:I have added almost 10 gallons of fresh gasoline to it prior to all of this and the gas tank meter reads in the middle as it always has, continued to try to start the engine past it just turning over and nothing. The fuel lines will need to be replaced anyways since I cut them and need to get new metal pipes that lead to the carburetor. I will rebuild the carburetor down the line.

Metroidz

Have you tried to run the car? Is the fuel pump working?

Yes, on several occasions. I think fuel is just not going through the lines whatsoever. Video for proof if you need: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_JHiris_U

It sounds like that ever day/time I tried to start it.

My suggestion: remove the tank and clean it out properly. If you don't, it may not work even if you clean/replace everything else. That varnish will be plugging the filter sock in the tank, and it maybe be an inch or more thick at the bottom of the tank. If the rest of the lines are fouled, there's a good bet the tank is even worse. Make the effort to do this correct now and the fuel system integrity will be great. You probably should also consider replacing the sender unit when the tank comes out.

There are some metal fuel lines from pump to carb, then rubber fuel through frame, then a long straight metal tube along frame rail, then rubber tubing through frame to fuel tank. There's not that much bending to do so buy or borrow the tool to do it yourself. It's not that difficult, and will cost you less. If your car has AC, it has the two fuel lines: main line and return line (which is smaller diameter).

I would also put another filter inline as Otto suggested.

The filter sock rests on the floor of the tank. I'm not really sure why you can't siphon gas out of the filler neck. Doesn't make sense to me. The fact that you put 10 gallons of fresh gas in the tank tells me the filter sock is clogged with varnish. You must remove the tank and fix it correctly.

Can one of you post the back-end underbelly of your car? I need to figure out how to lower the two straps that hold the tank up but I can't find any photos or help online in doing so. The two straps are held up by some bolts or large pins of some kind but mine are covered in baked-on road grime or fire-retardant. Thanks.