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Fuel tank question

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K

Kuz

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Could you put a later model sending unit ( with pickup) in an early tank? The one I'm working on has a stopped up tube. The filter on the end is fine, but the tube is plugged solid,sometimes. 100 psi blown into the pickup connection does nothing.
I was thinking ,abandon the old pickup and install a new sending unit with pickup.
 
How about pressure in the tank from a compresser through the filler and a wire to plunge into the tube from the outside, again and again, maybe even a bit of coat hanger smashed flat on the end so you can dig around the gook.
 
Making the sharp 90 degree turn going into the tank prevents getting anything hard enough to hit in the hole. I pumped air in through the vent with everything but the pickup sealed , and got only a little air coming out of the pickup. This tank is less than a year old, rust free, but the pickup is clogged solid.
 
If the tank is out, set it so you can fill the pick up tube with carb cleaner and let it soak, keep filling for a day or so. Then blast with pressure on the fill side.

In fact second thought, use the carb cleaner under prissure on the tube if possible. Tape the small plastic tube to the tank.
 
Why not just get another correct sending unit?
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The one I'm working on has a stopped up tube. The filter on the end is fine, but the tube is plugged solid,sometimes.[/QUOTE]
Sometimes? Not always?

I'd pull that sucker & take it to a radiator shop to have it boiled overnight!
 
If a new tank sending unit with pickup would fit, thats the solution. Sometimes, once 100 ponds of air cleared it , thought we were done, but a few minutes of the pump running it was clogged again. Now 100 psi does nothing. It appears to be something solid stuck in the tube. So far no local radiator will touch a gas tank. I have tried the two major shops in the area.
 
David's Radiator Shop in Huntsville does mine all the time...gotta go pick one up in a week when I get home...if you still need one, I'll have it.
 
Yep, I dropped one off at David's just now....I still say his can be repaired...my first inclination was the little filter at the bottom of the pickup but if its clean, then something's inside the tube or there's rust or crap in the bottom of the tank that is being picked up & clogging it...have you tried pushing a welding rod down through the pickup tube to clear it?
 
Can he drop down to something a bit thinner?
 
A suggestion. We used to use old speedo cable insides. They work good, as they're flexible, you can cut them to any length that you want(need) and you can even slightly fray the ends so that they spread when the drill is turned on. Using a reversible drill and carb clean spray we used to clean(roto-rooter) coked carbon from intake manifolds and other small passages.

Might give that a try.
 
That's a great idea - like a plumber's snake.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]A suggestion. We used to use old speedo cable insides. They work good, as they're flexible, you can cut them to any length that you want(need) and you can even slightly fray the ends so that they spread when the drill is turned on. Using a reversible drill and carb clean spray we used to clean(roto-rooter) coked carbon from intake manifolds and other small passages.[/QUOTE]
Great tip!!
 
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