| lance99 | -- 04-06-2018 @ 10:28 AM |
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Last night I siphoned the +10 yr old gas from the tank then removed it from the car for a good flushing. Was a pain as one of the blind catch nuts on the tank came free and was difficult to hold while removing the bolt but finally I got it. But question is what is the thing on the underside of the tank? Its all rusty and buggered up as seen in the pic. Looks like maybe was a drain? Recommendations on what do to with it? Thx
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| ken ct. | -- 04-06-2018 @ 10:45 AM |
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Its a drain plug or bung,not sure what I would do about it,but if its not leaking probably do nothing but clean it up and paint the bottom of tank with flat-black paint. OMO ken ct. If you try to remove it you may be opening the proverjiul can of worms.
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 04-06-2018 @ 11:27 AM |
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I agree with ken ct. and if it's not leaking leave it alone. It looks like it's rusted solid and you can't put heat on it and drilling it out can also be dangerous. Putting too much torque on it with a wrench might compromise the bung itself. The only safe way to remove the plug is to remove the tank and bring it to a shop geared for this type of job.
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| woodiewagon46 | -- 04-06-2018 @ 12:59 PM |
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I just checked the drain plug on a spare '46 tank I have for my Woodie and the plug threads look like 1/4" pipe. I don't know if that helps you at all.
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| TomO | -- 04-07-2018 @ 6:26 AM |
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I agree, leave the plug alone. The only way that it will come out is with heat. Those plugs are a pipe thread and to prevent mangling them like the one in the photo, use a 10" or larger adjustable wrench and keep the square end as close to the joint of the two jaws. Most plugs will come out without damage. If the wrench does not loosen the plug, penetrating oil may help loosen it. Be careful as the 10" wrench could twist off the square wrenching surface. When you tighten the plug, just tighten it enough to stop the leak. I don't have to worry about those things, I have lost enough muscle so that I could never overtighten. I replaced mine with a brass plug painted black. For cars with unpainted tanks, paint the plug with cast iron colored paint. Tom
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| supereal | -- 04-08-2018 @ 1:42 PM |
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Ford coated the gas tanks with a substance called "terne" which is akin to solder. This usually locks the plug on the bottom, making removal unlikely. Many tanks develop pinhole leaks on the top surface, which gathers road dirt and, when wetted, attacks any voids in the coating resulting in rust. If you smell gas, it is likely caused by this process, calling for tank replacement.
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| 42wagon | -- 04-09-2018 @ 6:46 AM |
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Not sure where in the process the terne coating was applied. It is an alloy of tin and lead so it probably would be possible to solder the joints and use terne coated sheets to form the tank. In any event I have an original gas tank with a rusted plug in the bottom that certainly was not covered with the terne coating as it is fairly well rusted.
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| Drbrown | -- 04-12-2018 @ 9:40 PM |
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Just as an informational point .... Terne coating was basically a lead formulation with Tin added to extend its volume/coverage. This is reminiscent of the older solder formula used for soldering copper pipe joints which was 50% lead/50% tin. Terne coated sheet metal roofing was a comparatively expensive roof system but used because it was an attractive and durable color of gray, resistant to surface corrosion. Then the Fed's stepped in and made the use of lead illegal due to the fact that lead could leach into the ground, water, skin of production workers, etc. Lead was eliminated from gas, use as a car body repair filler, common temperature thermometers, paint, cast iron pipe joints, pipe solder and terne roofing stopped being produced. .... had a distant relative die from mining lead. One can still buy lead and lead products, mined and produced by/in other counties. This message was edited by Drbrown on 4-12-18 @ 9:48 PM
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