On Sun, 5 May 1996, Tim Clayton wrote:
> Seems the vent pipe on my gas tank has sheared - in removing tank to sand,
> paint, and have cleaned I couldn't get the bolt out - the whole assembly
> turned. So I took out the tank with the vent pipe on. Do I need to get the
> tank welded now, before cleaning, or is it OK as is? I've already sanded,
> primed, and painted the tank.
Several different attachment methods were used for TR4 vent pipes. Mine
(a very early TR4) has a banjo fitting, with the banjo bolt screwed into a
threaded insert in the top of the tank. The insert is crimped into place,
but appeared to have also been soldered. It had broken loose and turned
freely in the tank, and allowed enough seepage that with a nearly full
tank there was a very strong odor of gasoline in the car.
I removed the tank, cleaned it out thoroughly, filled it nearly full of
water, and silver soldered the threaded insert to the tank. Hasn't given
me any trouble since.
The original vent pipe (on early cars, at least) is a steel tube that runs
from the banjo fitting on top of the tank down through a hole in the trunk
floor. If the tube isn't bent just right, or if the bottom end gets
knocked around, it puts a strain on that threaded insert. If you're not
concerned about 100% originality, you can reduce the strain by cutting the
tubing off just below the top bend and using neoprene fuel hose from there
on down.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO (daily driver)
fold@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us
If cars had evolved as fast as computers have, by now they'd cost a
quarter, run for a year on a half-gallon of gas, and explode once a day.
|