gas tanks -fuel cells - replacement

[norvin]

my gas tank was leaking, so yesterday i dropped it...what a joy that is !
anyway, as you well know it's a plastic tank. the only steel in it is in and around the sending unit and steel fuel lines are there as well. Mine is rusted pretty badly there, the metal is very soft and scaly. i need to replace the sending unit and lock ring but the steel insert in the tank into which the sending unit and lockring connect seems to be quite bad as well. i cant seem to find any type of aftermarket tanks, and Ford wants 893$ for a new replacement tank...has anyone else been down this road? any ideas suggestions or thoughts ? please advise. Marc

 

[rookieshooter]

Are you telling me the decimal point is behind the 3 as in $ 893 POINT oo WOW!
OOps just noticed your in Canada, What would that be in US or is that US?
Welcome

 

[CodePoet]

I think in Canadian that's still a "HOLY CRAP" price.

 

[410Fortune]

junk yard

 

[norvin]

thats 737.66$ USD - not cheap - so i'm really interested in hearing alternatives to buying a new one! i will have to buy a new sending unit- NAPA has those for 167$ (USD) which is a good chunk of change already !
best
marc

 

[norvin]

my concern with the junkyard, is that i'm only going to get something that is already rusted...i'll look though, at these prices all options will be explored...

 

[410Fortune]

This is not a common place for rust? Are you sure your tank is not repairable?

 

[norvin]

who was it that told me welding on gas tanks is not a good idea ???? ;-)
i managed to pry away a completely disintegrated lock ring from the sending unit, my leak , as it turns out was coming from the sending unit. easy enough to replace right ?
except that the metal tabs that are cast into the tank/plastic were also rusty. One in fact was just too soft to hold the assembly. i filled the tank with water, and built up the tab with the tig welder, then i spent a great deal of time with a file, the die grinder and the foredom 'sculpting' a new tab. i used a wire brush and got all of the rust off the remaining steel, gave it a rust treatment and then painted it. the new sending unit is in over at Carquest, so i'll go and install it now and see how good the work was. thanks for your tips !
marc

 

[DeRocha]

This is not a common place for rust? Are you sure your tank is not repairable?

It is very common in the salt belt for the lockring and mating flange on the tank to be BADLY rusted. If my flange was really bad i would attempt to fix it as best I could and then seal it in place with epoxy or some other sealant not effected by gas. Yeah it may be a one time fix, but it would save me having to drop $$$ for a replacement tank...