Best way to drain fuel tank?

myselfnjit · #1 12-10-2009, 05:44 AM

Car is starting pretty hard and I just changed the GP's (one of them died a week later though so I should check them again. Getting a very slow, low putter with my foot on the pedal for a bit after cranking and then it picks up to normal. I will check the GP's but I am also thinking about draining the fuel tank as my veg system returns a tiny bit of veg to the diesel tank whenever I switch back to diesel. I know it is not ideal but I havent changed the single 6 port switch out for a couple of 3 ports...

Anyone know the easiset way to drain the tank?

I will drive it as low as I can first but then???

Jason · #2 12-10-2009, 09:05 AM

If you have a compressor handy you can take off the fuel inlet banjo on top of the filter housing and pressurize the gas tank with a few PSI and it will force the fuel out. That would probably be the easiest way to do it, just don't push too much pressure. I would say around 5lbs or so is all you should need.

Jason

myselfnjit · #3 12-10-2009, 10:31 AM

At the risk of sounding dumb...
If I am pressurizing through this hose wont the fuel have to come back out this way too?

Jason · #4 12-10-2009, 11:51 AM

Take off the fuel cap and stuff the hose and a rag down the filler neck.

Jason

myselfnjit · #5 12-10-2009, 03:22 PM

I see, so the pressure I am pumping from the filter end will push it out the hose in the filler neck. Well I tried sucking from the filler neck before but got nowhere. I couldnt get the hose down far enough. Is there on odd bend or anti siphon device?

Jason · #6 12-10-2009, 07:32 PM

No, sorry I've got you confused. Put the air source and rag down the filler neck, unbolt the banjo fitting from the filter head at the engine and the fuel will come from there.

Jason

myselfnjit · #7 12-11-2009, 03:57 AM

Yeah, that makes more sense to me!

MRDART · #8 01-13-2010, 02:46 AM

I put a piece of tape over the ventholes in the tankcap and then took off the fuel return and feeder hoses in the engine bay, then i put along hose from the feederline to a jerrycan (preferebly plastic transparent for obvious reasons) then pressurised the tank through the returnline... but it is quite time consuming took me about 40-45 minutes to drain 50 litres

piper109 · #9 01-13-2010, 03:40 AM

All of those methods will only get the fuel that the normal pickup would reach. There will be quite a lot left, about a gallon. A year ago I switched from gas to diesel in a wagon and I wanted to get the tank very empty for obvious reasons.
Granted I was having to remove the pick-up/tank sender unit anyway to eliminate the gas pump, but having removed that, I used a 12 volt Facet pump to get the rest out.

Its not hard to remove the pick-up/sender unit, 4 nuts and you have to wrangle off 2 hoses and disconnect 1 wire. Its done through a panel under the hinged floor section of the wagon.

Steve