How to drain the gas tank 98 Explorer

[tchalm]

Well, I really screwed up - sustained enough damage on my 98 Explorer to total it. I'd keep it, but I have no place to store it or work on it.

So, how do I get 18 gallons of gas out of the tank?

I have put a hose down the filler tube to try to siphon, but the hose gets stopped before it touches gas.

I'm in the Portland, OR area if anyone is interested in buying the rig for parts.

 

[Hacra]

Got charcoal canister bracket and if you do, will you ship it internationally?

Also could use turn signal switch and cruiser control switch

Edit: Couldn't you remove fuel filter and just supply 12V to fuel pump and let the thing empty it self automatically?

 

[lobo411]

I didn't want to deal with fuel being pumped out under full operating pressure, so I disconnected the fuel filler hose at the tank and started the siphon from there.

 

[Dono]

You can get a syphon tube thru the fill hole. I have done it many times.
It has fought me a few times, but a hose does go down.

Maybe the hose you are using is too large in diameter?

 

[410Fortune]

unplug the fuel line from the engine
put a piece of hose over it (3/8" line fits snug) run it into your favorite fuel container
Use a jumper box or car battery to jumper the two power wires to the pump, the electrical connector is above pass rear tire on the frame rail.
The power and ground wires are easy to identify (usually yellow/wh is + and black/wh is -) because they are a larger gauge wire then the others

I do this with every truck we recycle

 

[J_C]

I just disconnected the filler tube and siphoned direct from the tank as lobo411 mentioned. I must have also tried too large a hose because the one I had, maybe 1/2" O.D., wouldn't go down all the way through the filler tube.

 

[tchalm]

Hey all: Thanks for the good ideas. I'll see if I can get something to work.

The hose I have is 1/2" OD like J_C said, and goes in 36". But taking a look underneath, I see that it's a long way to the gas tank.

Sorry Hacra, but I'm not able to part it out for anyone - I've got post-polio, so really don't have the energy and strength to do very much wrenching anymore. I had a not too terribly bad case of polio before the vaccines were developed and recovered quite well, but now post-polio is a beast.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Hey all: Thanks for the good ideas. I'll see if I can get something to work.

The hose I have is 1/2" OD like J_C said, and goes in 36". But taking a look underneath, I see that it's a long way to the gas tank.

Sorry Hacra, but I'm not able to part it out for anyone - I've got post-polio, so really don't have the energy and strength to do very much wrenching anymore. I had a not too terribly bad case of polio before the vaccines were developed and recovered quite well, but now post-polio is a beast.

Get well soon, friend.

 

[koda2000]

I've used a 3/8" OD clear plastic line to siphon the fuel from my Explorer tanks. I cut the tip at about a 60 degree angle, fold the point over before inserting it (through a funnel to hold the metal filler flap open) and when it hits the tank bung I twist the hose to get past the lip. This has worked on every Explorer I've ever tried it on (except my Sport Trac). It takes a while to empty the tank this way, but you'll never get a 1/2" hose past the lip of the bung.