Fuel Tank Removal

billandalita · February 06, 2008, 07:30:52 PM

I am trying to remove the fuel tank on my 2002 C34 MKII in order to clean it. The tank is plastic/fiberglass. All fuel lines are currently disconnected, and mounting screws on the forward end of tank removed. Unfortunately the fuel vent fitting on the top rear of the tank (which appears to be integral to the tank) protrudes about an inch above the top of the tank and prevents the tank from sliding out of its compartment. I feel there must be a procedure for removing this tank from the boat, but at the moment can't see how it is done. Any advice will be appreciated.

Ken Juul · February 07, 2008, 04:28:20 AM

Just guessing. Try measuring the forward end of the opening to see if there is enough clearance. The tank may need to be pivoted, front end out first, vent end slid forward then out.

Jeff Kaplan · February 07, 2008, 07:01:03 AM

i can only speak of the mark1, but i removed and replaced my fuel tank last fall with no problems. i agree with ken that you probably will have to move and tip the tank around to remove it. if they got it in, you can get it out. you didn't state if you completely removed all the fuel, which if you did, you can tip the tank a little, pull foward and slide out. good luck...jeff

billandalita · February 07, 2008, 07:22:24 AM

Thanks. I will be down at the boat today to see if I can't pull the tank forward and then ease it out front end first.

Jack Hutteball · February 07, 2008, 05:58:10 PM

I will be interested in hearing how you accomplished your task. I have the same tank in my 2001 and it is only a matter of time before I will be doing the same thing.
Jack

billandalita · February 08, 2008, 06:05:47 PM

Well I was finally able to remove the fuel tank. Thanks for all the suggestions. As suggested, once I had removed all fittings (fuel outlet, fuel gage and fuel return) such that were no protrusions at all on the forward top of the tank I could move the tank forward and the forward side out. Must not be more than a 1/16 clearance here. Then the rear of the tank could be moved forward and pulled out of the opening by tilting and tugging on the tank. The tank actually flexes quite a bit in order for it to be pulled through the opening. A real press fit. I also found it necessary to pull the fuel line to the engine out of the tank compartment down to the engine compartment. This left enough room (barely) to move the tank forward and sideways enough for its withdrawal. In order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here? There is quite a bit of black goo and slime on the inside bottom of the tank, so it was time to pull it out. -- Bill

thereefs · February 09, 2008, 12:03:50 PM

Just a question for the board.What Billdalita is going thru to remove the tank for cleaning .Couldnt the cleaning process be as equally well done by a fuel polishing service?The reason I ask is that I am about to do the same on my 99mk11,it doesnt sound like fun,removing the tank,cleaning,and disposing of the bad fuel,etc.thanks!

Jeff Kaplan · February 09, 2008, 12:31:33 PM

reefs, i don't know what fuel polishing is all about, but, getting the tank out and cleaning it isn't really all that big a deal. a little time consuming and not very comfortable, but doable. the trick is to either use up as much fuel as possible or pump out into jerry jugs. about a 1/2 gal, if that, will remain and that is easy to dispose of. once tank is out, pour in some acetone to clean and your ready to reinstall. when i took my tank out last fall, i was surprised at how clean the bottom was, no crud. i attribute that to the use of fuel cond. and adding a little bioside at the start of each season. the tank was over 20 years old, no sign of pinholes, but i got a new tank from catalina just as a precaution, not much worse than the smell of diesel in the cabin. good luck...jeff

Ron Hill · February 09, 2008, 01:26:45 PM

ther : If your fuel system is set up correctly (tank - filter - then fuel pump) the fuel that you pump out of your tank (using the electric fuel pump from the out side of the Racor) to empty the tank is "filtered fuel" and can be reused. The only fuel that you have to dispose of is the residual in the tank that won't come out - less than one gal as I recall.

I believe that polishing (cleaning) fuel and then putting it back in a dirty tank doesn't make much sense and is a waste of money!! Infact in some locations, the cost of polishing fuel is almost the same as buying a new tank !!

Mike and Joanne Stimmler · February 09, 2008, 07:38:17 PM

Ron, did you make a mistake the the order of the fuel line you posted?

Shouldn't it be tank - filter - then fuel pump.

Mike

Mark Elkin · February 10, 2008, 08:05:04 AM

QuoteIn order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here?

I had this done on Y.Rose a couple years ago. While that was happening, of course, I had the tank cleaned and the fuel "professionally" polished, i.e. run through a multistage filter (4 filters as I recall), both when it was emptied from the boat and again when it was pumped back in. [So clean, you could wash with it.

]

I'm heading to the boat today and will take some pictures of the access ports.

billandalita · February 10, 2008, 11:42:25 AM

Thanks for the info. I will be very interested in the photos you took of the tank access panel you installed. I know it cannot protrude very much in height above the top of the tank in order for to slide back into it's compartment--Bill

Mark Elkin · February 11, 2008, 08:55:02 PM

Quote
Quote
In order not to have to go through this again, I am thinking about having an access panel about 6 inches dia. placed on the top of the tank and installing the same size access opening in the port lazarette for clean-out purposes. Any suggestions here?

I had this done on Y.Rose a couple years ago. ... I'm heading to the boat today and will take some pictures of the access ports.

Here's the pictures. Fuel tank port is about 6" diameter. The lazarette access port is 12". I didn't measure the height that the tank port adds. But I think that if it got in the way of removing the whole tank, simply removing the port first would resolve that.

Mark

billandalita · February 12, 2008, 08:55:56 AM

Mark

Thanks for the photos. I was thinking of a 4 inch access hatch but now will go with a 6 inch access as you have. I will order Seabuilt plates. I will probably have to install and remove plate before taking the tank in and out, but that should not be a problem. Also, do you remember where you got the lazarette hatch? I would send some photos of how tight the tank opening is, but I am not sure yet on how to add photos to this message board. Bill

Stu Jackson · February 12, 2008, 10:30:05 AM

Bill

It's relatively simple. When you post a reply, below the type-in screen is a note: Additional Options. Click on it and it will pop up "Attach" and just browse to the filename of the photo you want to post.

The size of the photo needs to be small (below 75 KB as noted below the filenmae entry space). To do that, see this: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3701.0