Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'replacement fuel tank'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Toyota Motorhomes
    • General Discussion
    • Engines - Transmissions - Drive Train - Suspension - Chassis - Steering - Exhaust - Tires - Etc.
    • Coach ApplianceTech Issues
    • Electrical
    • Improvement and Do-It-Yourself Projects you have done to Share!
    • Whoops, Mishaps and Murphy's Law
    • Fuel Tanks
    • Communications and Electronics
    • Reviews - New Products - Campgrounds - Links of Interest
    • Pet Zone
    • Rallies & Toy Ins
    • RV CHOW
    • Miscellaneous & Non-related
    • Trip Reports
    • News - Forum Help & Discussion
    • <u>Toyotamotorhomes For Sale - Free Want Ads</u>

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Interests


My Toyota Motorhome


Location

Found 1 result

  1. I have a 1989 Leisure Odyssey Americana with the 3VZE engine. Two years ago I was diagnosing a power/performance issue and it came down to two injectors totally blocked with rust dust. I eventually cleaned the fuel rails and replaced all injectors, filters, fuel lines, and tank to rid myself of rust. (The tank had sat empty for fifteen years by PO and was lined in rust, the root cause of the problem). All is well and the RV has no power problems. However, the one big mistake I made was replacing the fuel tank. Being naive I purchased a nice inexpensive new non-OEM tank from an online site for about $90. This tank was the same shape as the original; the only difference was the original had a drain plug and this did not. No big deal. Then the replacement tank started leaking in six months. I got a warranty replacement, but had to ship back the leaking one which was almost as much as I paid for it. The replacement failed in six months too, and no warranty this time. Bought s third online. It failed too. The fourth one I got from Advance Auto for over twice the price and received THE SAME TANK. Yep, you guessed it; that one just failed, seven months later. This time though all I had to do was return it to a store near me (no shipping) but the warranty replacement still took a week to arrive, stranding me in Seattle on a long road trip. So now I am on my FIFTH replacement fuel tank in two years. All the tanks have had the identical failure mechanism. They are much thinner steel than the OEM tank, and there is a slosh basket spot-welded to the inside bottom of the tank in which the fuel pump sits. Those spot welds create a stress riser in the steel tank skin, and since the bottom is flat and oil cans as you drive, the welds eventually crack through at the edges and leak. In the last failure all eight welds had broken and the basket was flailing around loose in the tank. This time when I installed the new tank (same lousy design) I coated the outside bottom in two layers of fiberglass and epoxy first. When these welds break, as they undoubtedly will, hopefully the fiberglass and epoxy will prevent a leak and the show will go on. Bottom line: Stay as far away as possible from replacement fuel tanks. If yours is rusty, find a way to line it with epoxy. I've inquired around from a dozen different sources and every one sells the identical crap tank. AFAIK there is only ONE aftermarket manufacturer and their product is garbage. On a positive note, I highly recommend the Fuel Tank Patch Kit made by PermaTex and sold at O'Rielly's. There seem to be two types: A cold-mix solid epoxy stick and a liquid epoxy that comes with a fiberglass patch and a mastic plug to stop the leak while you patch it. The first is useless as it can't patch a leaking hole. However the second is great; the mastic stuff they include really stops the leak so you can then clean and dry the surface to apply the patch. Just be aware the epoxy fires off VERY quickly so be ready to work fast. I am attaching a video showing the leaking spot welds. IMG_4815.MOV
×
×
  • Create New...