fuel tank removal and cleaning

[Timberghost]

so today i wanted to pull my fuel tanks for a good cleaning and test for leaks. wow what a job. my boat is a 94 Astro 18DCX,it has duel 22gal tanks that is poly/plastic. i wanted to remove them both and only install 1 tank back in because i will never use 44gals of fuel and it would be much easier to keep fresh fuel in 22gal rather than 44gal. i worked about all evening trying to get the tanks out. i dont think i can get them out. i have never seen tanks that wouldnt come out but for the life of me i can not get them out. so i guess i will remove the fuel sending unit and use my 12v electric pump to get all the fuel out. i wanted to pressure test the tank to make sure i didnt have any leaks in the tank but i guess thats out of the question to. the only way i see the tanks could come out is to remove both live wells and that might give them enough clearance to come out. removing the live wells are going to be more trouble than its worth. i will try to get some pics to show exactly how tight they are mounted in the boat to see if any of you guys might know a old indian trick to get them out..it is a bigger job than i had thought but i need to replace the fuel lines anyway.

 

[TOMMY 20RXD]

DRAIN ONE TANK AND USE THE OTHER?

 

[Timberghost]

thats what i did, i drained both tanks and put new fuel line on the #1 tank to the motor and just running the one tank. the # 2 tank had about 20gal of dead rotten stinking gas in it,no telling how long its been in there, i have always just used the # 1 tank and filled it up with 100% E free gas.. emoThumbsup

 

[rodbuilder2]

If its like a bullet the plastic tanks swell up some over the years and they are terrible to get out and back in i just had mine out for the seconed time they put the bildge pump and areators under the fuel tank they have to slide back and pick the front up to come out

 

[BulletTJ]

Some fuel tanks are installed before the top cap is attached to the boat. As for using an electric pump to pump gas out of a gas tank. BE VERY CAREFUL. One spark and you are history. I would use and old fuel line with a primer bulb. Park the boat on a slight incline and you should be able to get the gas out. I would just use one tank and leave the other one in the boat. When you try to resale the boat the new owner may want both tanks. JMHO

 

[Timberghost]

yes that is correct, the tanks were installed then the top cap was installed on the boat so no their is really no easy way to get them out without doing some cutting and that wasnt worth it to me. i did use a 12v electric pump and removed the sending unit and got all the old E gas out of both tanks, i left both tanks in but just ran a new line from tank #1 to the motor so if i ever want to use both tanks i can..not a fun job at all