petrol tank swap

[clarkster]

when swapping to a plastic tank, does the GTs filler neck/pipe from the petrol flap down the wheel arch mate up to the inlet spout on a standard punto tank or is any modification needed to join the two? i take it the clips on the two pipes must be pretty much air tight otherwise i'll get pump pressure problems?


i know about the brackets.

the GT tank isnt in the habit of weeping slightly when filled to the brim is it as this is the only time mine does it? (i dont want to replace if its normal when brimmed).

also can someone remind me about the fuel pump. is it a straight swap of the GT pump from its carrier into the carrier that you get on the standard tank?
i have a new metal sealing ring but is there also a gasket I should buy?

[Superman]

Ive never done it as i only swapped to GT tank for GT tank, the proper way...

But if you want to use the plastic one, im sure the senders and therefore the pump just go from metal tank to plastic tank, and then seal witht he ring and bolts.

I imagine the necks are interchangable.

Clips do need to be air tight, if they're not air tight then they could leak fuel too.


Under no circumstances should the tank weep, if it does it is broken. Petrol is very viscous so will seep through the smallest hole.

[munch8987]

You can get away with using the gt filler neck, aslong as you use the adaptor that comes with the plastic tank. Its just a rubber spacer that enables the filler spout to join the tank neck and seal properly.

[GTT_Raider]

I'm not too sure whats happened with other peoples, but the filler necks are exactly the same!!

The metal tanks also have the above mentioned rubber seal, a plastic filler neck joinging to a metal pipe is never going to make an air tight seal otherwise is it lol

I put a plastic tank on mine and didn't have to touch the filler neck. The hardest part of this job, without a doubt, is unclipping all the brake lines from the top of the tank (seriously, wtf was going on in the design room at Fiat when they decided on that one?!) without bending all the pipes.

You have to lower the tank just enough to get your arms up in otherwise you will bend/kink them. Its the re-clipping to the tank that was a nightmare.

the GT tank isnt in the habit of weeping slightly when filled to the brim is it as this is the only time mine does it? (i dont want to replace if its normal when brimmed)

No petrol tank should leak, ever!

also can someone remind me about the fuel pump. is it a straight swap of the GT pump from its carrier into the carrier that you get on the standard tank?

You can take the complete assembly straight out of your metal tank and drop it straight into the plastic tank, no need to do anything over and above that.

i have a new metal sealing ring but is there also a gasket I should buy?

Metal sealing ring??? If you're talking about the one with about a millioon 8mm nuts holding it down, you don't need that as the plastic tanks don't use it. Instead they have the worlds biggest nylon nut that can be a nightmare to get back on the thread straight

[clarkster]

cheers.

now one other thing ive only just spotted...theres a small valve at the rear of the tank next to the pump (purge valve?) which runs into a blue fuel line. this one was just cut for speed to get it out of the donor car but on mine where do you split this pipe?
is that blue line one long line to the front of the car or is there a connector I can unclip it from partway along its length?

there is a small length (3 inches) of black rubber "joiner" tube that fits onto the valve one end and the blue fuel line runs into the other end secured by two of those horrible factory clips that cannot be reused. presumably i need to remove one of these clips on my old tanks purge valve, pull the line out and push it into the joiner of the new tank and secure with a fresh clip?
i might tackle this the next weekend we are due some decent weather again.

[GTT_Raider]

You can either undo a clip like you've suggested and do it like that, or that valve simply twists out of the tank.......probably easier i dare say!

I ripped that line off mine as its only running to the charcoal cannister and seeing as i removed that too, i saw little point in keeping it

I've blocked the valve off on mine

[callen]

whats the charcoal cannister actually for?
any advantage removing it??

[GTT_Raider]

To comply with ever changing legislation. It allows the fuel vapour created in the tank to be re-circulated into the engine as opposed to venting to the atmosphere (pollution)

Doing so won't make your car rapid if thats what you are thinking lol. It sheds a bit of weight, enables you to lose a fair amount of vacuum pipework in the engine bay too. Also quite common to cause air leaks later in life, which in turn can cause poor running.

Some people are under the impression your car will fail an emissions test come MOT time......urban myth!

[callen]

ok mate what would i need to do to remove it? i dont like the pipe work thats going into the inner wing or across the engine, i think it looks messy.

[GTT_Raider]

Unbolt it and remove it pretty much lol.