Replacing Gas tank

[90fomoco]

I have purchased a gas tank for my FI Festiva. Anyone out there done this task? Any tips or wisdom to pass along? I know I will need some lengths of FI rated flexible fuel line; but dont know which sizes I will need. What about changing the filter on the pickup? Any help is appreciated. Brad

[Spike]

First task when I got my Auto was replacing the tank.. really wasn't that bad. Four bolts to remove underneath, 8 screws up top. My problem was finding my tank was held on by two bolts.. and one of the empty holes was completely stripped out (still is). :p I had a lot of trouble getting the tank up in there, though. Pushed and pushed for like three hours, ended up getting a second pair of hands to hold it up while I tightened it down.

Oh yeah. Remember to put ALL NEW CLAMPS on, ones with screws instead of those cheesy pliers-sprung kind. Once I got it all back together, I realized one of those had broken in the process (and was leaking a lot of gas).. ended up having to do it all over again to get to that ONE SINGLE CLAMP. Plus, those clamps are 20+ years old..

~Joe

[bravekozak]

First siphon out most of the gas (never orally).

Lift up the rear carpet, unscrew the metal plate and disconnect the electrical connections, then the fuel line connections to the gas tank.

Unscrew the metal plate to the fuel filler hose and disconnect all of those hoses.
Better label the hoses to the evap canister for re-connection. I permanently took care of that problem.

Undo the retaining nut for the ebrake cable support on the top corner of the gas tank.
Then remove two bolts diagonally. Support the tank lightly before removing the last two bolts

Carefully lower the tank.

Reverse this procedure for the install.

[Movin]

FI, the hoses that go bad are 8mm and 6mm.
Carb has a smaller size too.

[90fomoco]

I finished up replacing the gas tank yesterday without any troubles along the way. It was a 2 person job getting the fill hose connected while holding the tank in place, but really not any trouble. Not leaks so far and after a year of only putting in 3 gallons at a time, I now have a full tank!!! Here is the only issue, the gas gauge reads slightly over 1/2 when the tank is full; I put in about 9.5 gallons once I got the tank installed. I don't think I bent any of the float linkage when going from the old tank to the new tank; it slipped out easily and into the new tank just as easy. Has anyone seen this issue? Is there a way to calibrate the gauge? The new tank is a Spectra and everything seems the same as the old one. The gauge worked fine with the old tank when I was still filling it full, but like I said, that has been over a year now.

[bravekozak]

As long as the continuous wrapped wire on the variable resistor in the fuel level sender isn't frayed or broken, you should be able to calibrate it.

Remove the sender a couple of inches, put your key in the ignition to check your fuel level.
Lift the float with your finger and see if it goes from empty to full.
If it goes to full, then bend the float rod to give a reading that approximately matches the volume of gas in your tank.

Good luck.

[90fomoco]

Thanks for the tip, I will try this weekend.

[Larry Hampton]

How does the #&@%*#%@ tank slip out easily?!???!?!!!

I'm getting ready to drop the axle, the exhaust and remove the ebrake cable. Everything is disconnected and loose, but the rear flange hits the axle, whether the jack stands are under the axle or on the pinchwelds.

Gotta drop the tank to get it flushed, it has a drainplug in it, aftermarket?

[Damkid]

Replacing Gas tank

Ive pulled a gas tank without touching anything else, it is possible

[Movin]

I had to have the car up high enough to jocky things around..

[Larry Hampton]

I disconnected the driver's side trailing arm and swung it back far enough to get it to drop out. Found out both rear wheel bearings are loose, so I think while the tank is at the shop getting cleaned out, I'll swap in the Aspire axle beam and axle stubs. Someone modified some Festy backing plates to fit the Aspire stubs so I can still use my Festy aluminum wheels. As soon as I get some aftermarket wheels (4x100/4x114) and tires I'll finish getting Aspire drums so I can complete the swap. Thinking of doi.g the Rio swap up front.

[bravekozak]

When you get the gas tank back again, don't use any gas with ethanol.
Then, you won't have to do that ever again.
Your Festiva will have a slight tilt forward with the larger wheels in the back, until you do the Rio front. Your car will still stop a little better with the larger drums.

[Larry Hampton]

I never run ethanol based gas. I've been plagued with a hard start issue. If I pull into a store and come back, no problem, sitting for hours causes the need for 3-4 5 second cranks before she sputters to life. Once running all seems well. My initial thought was fuel filter. I changed it with a $25 Wix and it got a bit better, but eventually came back. I'm guessing a PO ran the cheap stuff though, the bottom 1" of the tank walls and all of the floor have spots of rust. I'm guessing from the alcohol absorbing water then it sitting and dropping out. Could it be a bad pressure regulator or a weak fuel pump? The old fuel filter (I'd never replaced before) didn't seem too bad.

[Larry Hampton]

Wait, that's a lie, I've run E10 twice to see how the mileage was affected, same route, same speed, same driving habits, only got ~350 out of those tanks compared to 400+ for straight 87. But I fill up every two weeks. I've had the car since May 2011 and have been driving it steady since that July and have put 22,000 on it since. It never sits more than a couple days, my Sport Trac will sit a month plus.

[defprun]

What cars other than the Festiva come with the same gastank?