Best Way to Drain 69 Fuel Tank?

[ernie d]

Hi guys,

I need to drain my fuel tank to get to a stuck sending unit (says I always have 3/4 tank, wish it was true! :L )

What's the best way to drain the fuel enough to lower tank and get to sending unit?

Thanks

 

[like2drive]

drain the gas tank, huh? Lend it to a friend. Stay at Motel 6 in Atlanta. Don't put any gas in....it'll soon evaporate if its like mine. (tongue in cheek of course).
If all you wanna do is get the sending unit out, do you haveto get rid of the gas? I'd use a "Georgia Credit Card" and syphon it out! Luck to you, put the cigarette out. Jim

 

[Ol Blue]

Ernie d

Go to the hardware store and buy 4 or 5 feet of clear flexible hose with 3/8" id. Put one end in the bottom of the tank, letting it droop down over the back of the deck to about the bumper height. Standing up suck on the hose until gas comes up out of the tank and your can see it as it goes down to the lowest part of the hose.

STOP SUCKING, put your finger over the open end of the hose. Then take the end that you had in your mouth and place it in an approved gas container and take your finger off of the hole. You may need to move the hose around in the tank a bit to get all of the gas out.

Or if you don't like the thought of sucking the gas up, fill the hose with water, hold your finger over one end, put the other end in the tank, lower the other end into the gas container and take your finger off of the end to let the water and gas flow into your container. You could also let the water run in a different container until you saw gas coming out, then swith the hose to the gas can.

Or, just go buy a syphon kit.
Ol Blue
PS I don't think you have to remove the tank to get the sender out. It comes out of the bottom of the tank. At least it does on 63's.

 

[like2drive]

ol blue, thats what I said to do, get a "Georgia Credit Card"!

 

[Red69]

I just drained the gas from my 69, so this is easy. I used a small vice grip to clamp the rubber feed line closed to the sender. With a drain hose ready and one end in a fuel container; wrap a rag around the hose as you slowly remove it from the sender elbow. The rag will absorb escaping gas as you quickly slip the ready hose over the elbow. BTW, any size hose will work as long as the elbow is inside. I used a short piece of garden hose that was handy at the time. If you have more to drain than the available container, just slip the clamped hose back into place while you empty fuel into another car.

 

[lone73]

Installing a fuel shutoff ball valve

If you're not concerned about originality you might think about putting a 1/2" or 3/8" ball valve inline just off the tank. You can ty-wrap or bolt it down to the right side of the frame. I did that on my car when I installed F/I and it has really come in handy for shutting off the fuel when doing any kind of maintenance downstream.

Every time I worked on my fuel system I always would get a little fuel on me, my shirt and the floor while trying to fumble with a plastic cap to cap off the end of the tube on the tank. It really freaks me out to think of getting a spark while doing this. You probably wouldn't be able to ignore the flames long enough to get the cap securely on the end of the fuel line and if you didn't you'd have a good source of fuel for an even bigger fire to cook yourself with. The other day unfortunately I had to break into the fuel system upstream of the ball valve to replace the fuel line. I handed my wife a fire extinguisher and told her to put me out if I caught fire.

Obviously the best way to prevent an accident is to completely drain the tank before you work on the system but that can be a major pita most of the time. Better alternative than burning though...

good luck with it
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[vette-dude]

Hi guys,

I need to drain my fuel tank to get to a stuck sending unit (says I always have 3/4 tank, wish it was true! :L )

What's the best way to drain the fuel enough to lower tank and get to sending unit?

Thanks

Race a Mustang!!!!!

Randy

 

[74bigblock]

Race a Mustang!!!!!

Randy

Damn right!!! Best way to drain the tank is to drive it empty!

My buddy imploded his replacement tank once (Gas cap vent got clogged with debris somehow), so he had to get a replacement for his replacement! We were cruising home from a show about 3 miles away. As we pulled up on his driveway the car stalled. He got out and looked at me like death had sweapt over him. I laughed and said "bet you are out of gas"!!! He said no way, and I looked. "yes way"! How perfect to run out of gas in your driveway unplanned when you have a replacement tank in your garage waiting to go in? The whole thing was unplanned.

However, when driving is not an option, the hose option mentined above will be the easiest... a make shift syphon.