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In July 2005 I gave the rusty fuel system in my 1982 K-jet car a thorough going over. I was able to take this project on and have what success I did thanks in no small part to the generous suggestions and advice of the Brickboard. Here's an update three years out:
The car had sat for a while and by the time I put it back on the road the tank was shedding tons of rust. Before I knew better, I suppose I allowed that rusty precipitation to deliver the death blow to both fuel pumps. I didn't have time to take on the complete overhaul right away so I tried to flush what rust I could out the tank drain and hope that the new tank-pump strainers I was putting in would block the rest. I never succeeded in outrunning the tank rust, but I did get a lot of practice pulling that tank sender unit.
Once I found the time to get completely after this project I had a new main pump, an upgraded tank pump, a clean boneyard sender unit, and a decent boneyard tank. I didn't want to take any chances with the traces of rust I found in the new tank so I gave it a thorough internal washing and the full POR-15 treatment. Let me tell you, that was an olfactory treat for the neighbors!
I was back in the tank last week to change the tank pump strainer and hose and here's what I found: After about 50 thousand miles and almost three years, the inside of the tank looks as clean as the day I installed it in the car. It's still got that silvery-gray POR-15 look and the sender unit--which was clean and never got the POR-15 treatment--is spotless, too, which I take to mean there wasn't enough loose tank rust to migrate to the sender. That stuff is a very effective way to rehab a fuel tank. Excellent results.
For the tank pump hose I used about two inches of 5/16" fuel-injection hose and a couple of new clamps. When I pulled the tank last week, that hose was still intact but had gotten quite hard during its life in the tank. There was some separation between the layers of rubber visible at the cut ends but the hose had not failed. Three years is about as long as I'd leave a tank strainer in place so I suppose fuel-injection hose is a suitable choice for this application.
When I re-installed the sender this time, I used a fuel-submersible hose intended for that purpose. It's something I came across, thanks again to the Brickboard, since my major rehab of the tank three years ago: Gates submersible fuel hose, 5/16", part number 27093. That hose is expensive at about $20 per foot but it may last even longer.
I had the new hose on hand before I got into the tank, but had I seen the condition of the old hose I might not have gone for the specialty hose. My conclusion about choice of hose for the tank pump: Two inches of the twenty-dollar hose may last a lifetime, but two inches of the six-dollar hose may last long enough.
Tanks a lot!
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