Aux tank install Q?s

[Panther]

Sup ya'll

I'm in the process of doing the clutch (again) in my cherokee and am swapping out the stock gas tank for a aux tank I just picked up.

The dilemma I see is how the aux tank is installed. I don't have a body lift and the space between the body (bed) and the bottom on the frame crossmember is 6" but the tank is 8" in depth. Are you supposed to have a 2" body lift with the aux tank?
Also, how does the front of the tank mount?
There is a crossmember right where the front mounting bracket on the tank is but I don't see how it attaches.

If anyone has any pics of the aux tank installed or any insight it'd really help.
Thx Lee

[Panther]

The way it is now I have to do either a 2" body lift or lower the tank 2" below the frame, neither of which do I want to do.

Any ideas?

[ August 28, 2003, 09:00 AM: Message edited by: Panther ]

[Max Power]

I pulled one from an early 80s waggie, the tank was suspended from the spare tire tab on the frame x-member above the diff, and from the rearmost frame cross member.

heres how the fill hoses were routed... you can just see the corner of the tank on the left.

http://www.rbk3.com/fsj/junkyard/gashose.jpg

heres a view of the installed tank from the driver side. The dumb monkeys at the junkyard supported the entire rear of the waggie on that rim. [barely even scratched the tank tho} In the upper right you can see one of the 'arms' of the hitch thats bolted to the bottom of the framerail. The tank is above this 'arm' , but not by much.

http://www.rbk3.com/fsj/junkyard/gasoriginal.jpg

good luck,
Robert

[Panther]

Thx Robert that helps
I don't have a spare tire bracket or anything under mine so I was wondering how the front of the tank attached. In the 2nd pic, the bracket that attached to the crossmember and then to the tab on the front of the tank is a spare tire bracket?

The rear tab on the tank that attaches to the crossmember on mine can't fit on top of the crossmber like it does in the 2nd pic, that's what still has me puzzled. Mine is also an 80 and I think the tank is from a 79. When you get a chance could you measure the depth of the tank?
Lee

[woodstock]

Lee:

Check out Todd's RiverBeast website for info on the tank setup your want to do. Here is the address http://home.earthlink.net/~riverbeast/ Just click on 33 Gallon Tank. It's a good write-up with some pictures.

Robert:

I pulled a similar tank setup from a 1970s wag in a junkyard. How did you set up the fuel lines? The one I pulled was just setup with one line running from the aux tank to a switch on the floor board. There was no return line for the aux tank. I've read on other posts that this can cause a problem with the return puling all the fuel from the aux tank to the main or pressurizing the main. Do you have any problems with your setup? I was thinking I could just put in an aftermarket pump and pump the aux into the main? I don't know yet.

[Max Power]

Sorry, I sold it to Badaboom, I had those pics left over from ebay, but don't know the measurements.

http://www.rbk3.com/fsj/junkyard/gsbottom.jpg

heres one more pic looking at the bottom of the tank, the tab to the rear rests on the bottom side of the rear frame x-member, ok bear with me now... to attach it they went pretty lo-tek.. b/c you could NEVER get a wrench up there with the tank in place, they welded a 2 inch piece of square stock horizontally to the top of the bolt head to keep it from spinning, then just drop the bolt down thru the hole in the bottom of the rear frame x-member and thru the mounting tab on the tank. Like magic, the modified bolt head is prevented from spinning by the x-member wall you run the nut on from the bottom.

make sense sort of?

[Max Power]

Ok the front, they drilled a hole thru the the frame x-member {above the diff} the went right thru the mounting tab for the spare tire, I guess cuz its double thick there, that should be the only hole ya gotta drill.

EZ - That is the 64k question, the waggie that I pulled it from had the engine removed b-4 I got there, but there were 2 lines from that tank that went up to the engine compartment, But beyond that, its a mystery. I've thought about it alot, and I think the easiest thing to do would be to plug the vent hole on the aux tank, {you don't need it cause this tank is connected to the main tank via the fill hose, look closely at the first pic.} Then just put an electric pump and one way valve on the aux tank pickup line and T into the return line on the main tank. When your main tank is gettin empty, just pump the aux tank into it, you'll hear when the fuel pump sucks it dry.

I want to stress that I've never done this, but I've sure thought about it. Just my .02