best way to drain fuel tank?

[matt 2LT]

ive almost finished taking off all the bits of my donor sierra for my kit car.

now as the car is in the garage without wheels Etc, and don't have/know anyone with a trailer/winch. im thinking the best way to do this is to just chop it up and weigh it in at the scrappy.

before doing this i think its probably best to drain all the fuel before i go cutting into fuel lines Etc.

now the fuel tank is metal so can't just drive a screwdriver in, and don't fancy drilling a hole, incase of any sparks.

so any ideas?

cheers

[shalmaneser]

just wire up the pump to the battery and let it do the work?

failing that, siphon it off i guess.

[supra legend]

Are there any fuel lines running underneath? I ask this as I had on old corsa company car and someone cut the pipes and took half a tank. Work were not impressed!

[Petrol Only]

Heavy right foot

Edit: stupid smilies

Edited by Petrol Only on Monday 5th July 00:23

[dan19evans]

Petrol Only said:

Heavy right foot;)

Seriously though, can't you just remove the tank and tip the petrol out through the filler pipe ?

Edited by dan19evans on Monday 5th July 00:23

[109 Bob]

Don't know about sierras but you might be able to get to it under the rear seat, if you can there should be a removable plate on top of the tank where the tubes go in then hand or electric pump or siphon.

But saying that, surely you can get in the filler neck somewhere.

ETA. How much fuel is in it? How about sticking a hose in the filler neck & letting it run for 20/30 mins so that most of the fuel will have washed away, leave the tank full of water & then drill your hole. Bloody wet & messy way of doing things but better than going up with a big bang.

Edited by 109 Bob on Monday 5th July 00:38

[matt 2LT]

well i can't use the fuel pump as ive removed all the ignition/wiring. and i don't fancy attatching the fuel pump wiring to a battery incase there is a spark, and the whole garage and me go boom.

i might have a look at removing the whole tank.

or would it be best to undo the fuel pipe and drain most that way first.

just that little bit worried of causing a spark whilst ive got petrol draining.

i had far too many bad experiances with petrol whilst young

[109 Bob]

matt 2LT said:

well i can't use the fuel pump as ive removed all the ignition/wiring. and i don't fancy attatching the fuel pump wiring to a battery incase there is a spark, and the whole garage and me go boom.

i might have a look at removing the whole tank.

or would it be best to undo the fuel pipe and drain most that way first.

just that little bit worried of causing a spark whilst ive got petrol draining.

i had far too many bad experiances with petrol whilst young

I thought from your post that you couldn't for some reason get under the car. Yes, remove the fuel pipe & drain as much as you can then plug the hole somehow & remove tank. If you're still not happy put a few gallons of water in it, but you really shouldn't need to.

[bimsb6]

to empty my lads 306 tank i connected my little compressor to the return pipe under the bonnet and extended the flow pipe into cans and blew it through ,worked a treat .it was a diesel so safer than a petrol model .

[littlebasher]

The last time the tank was drained on my Sierra, the local Pikeys did it for me FOC with a screwdriver.......

Edited by littlebasher on Monday 5th July 07:22

[The Wookie]

matt 2LT said:

now the fuel tank is metal so can't just drive a screwdriver inrs

Why not?

Hammer + Screwdriver + Bucket = job's a goodun

[bazking69]

The Wookie said:

matt 2LT said:

now the fuel tank is metal so can't just drive a screwdriver inrs

Why not?

Hammer + Screwdriver + Bucket = job's a goodun

Petrol + screwdriver + spark = brown bread.

[JB!]

might take a while, but rust a hole in it?

rub down a small patch somewhere, use vinegar/salt spray/anything else that eats metal.

[marlinmunro]

Be very careful you may think all the fuel has been emptied, it only needs a small amount for explosive gas and a spark and you will be no longer with us. Get expert advise

[GKP]

The Wookie said:

matt 2LT said:

now the fuel tank is metal so can't just drive a screwdriver inrs

Why not?

Hammer + Screwdriver + Bucket = job's a goodun

As long as it's big bucket. I recently dismantled a crashed Esprit and had to drain the fuel tanks (there's two small tanks on an Esprit located behind the rear bulkhead, linked by a large bore pipe) as the car was a non runner I had no idea how much petrol was on board. It turns out the previous owner had filled up just before hitting the tree and when my second trug was getting full with no signs of the flow slowing, I started to panic - desperately scrabbling around under the workbench for any old jerry cans...


The house stank of petrol for about two days, but the garge floor has never been cleaner thanks to the wash by ten or so litres of unleaded.

[HellDiver]

I'm wondering where all these spaerking screwdrivers come from? I've never seen a screwdrive sparking, apart from when one as used to short out the high current starter cables on the old tractor we had (because the solenoid was knackered).

Don't be a fanny, bosh a hole in the tank and drain it.

[Cock Womble 7]

Slightly related question, but where can you dispose of old petrol? I've got a Jerry can about half full of fuel contaminated with water (long story) that I took out of the Rocco a while back.

Will it go in the used oil thing at the local tip?

[GKP]

Cock Womble 7 said:

Slightly related question, but where can you dispose of old petrol? I've got a Jerry can about half full of fuel contaminated with water (long story) that I took out of the Rocco a while back.

Will it go in the used oil thing at the local tip?

Yep, chuck it in.



(and a non-patronising "well done" for not just tipping it down the drain)

[Cock Womble 7]

GKP said:

Cock Womble 7 said:

Will it go in the used oil thing at the local tip?

Yep, chuck it in.

Good. Thought so - I've got some old oil as well, so I'll take that too.

GKP said:

(and a non-patronising "well done" for not just tipping it down the drain)

No way, I care about the environment (and I just know I'd forget and then chuck a fag-end down there afterwards...)

Edited by Cock Womble 7 on Monday 5th July 09:49

[matt 2LT]

ok so you think im safish to just hammer an old philips through the tank?


if i die, im blaming you lot!