| View single post by Gary Martin JH 15371 | |||||||||||||
| Posted: 01-27-2008 01:36 am |
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Gary Martin JH 15371
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I also bought the Aluminum tank back the fall of 2005 as part of the original order of tanks. However I am still working to paint my car and have not installed it yet. The tank is pretty much an exact copy of the original, the only difference I see is some of the vent tubing inside the top of the tank is a little different, but not an issue. The welds on my tank look fine. As noted the main issue with the tank is the seal on the side for the sending unit. Do not use the plastic ring that came with the tank. It is the right thickness, but is too hard to seal properly. The original rubber seal is too thin, either try to use a second seal like Erik Harkes has done, or perhaps construct a thin Aluminum ring to take up the extra space. Place the ring or second seal outside between the sending unit and locking ring. Tighten carefully so you do not bend the three tabs, or deform the sealing surface inside. Its too bad they did not use some thicker Aluminum for the sending unit flange area. I would not be opposed to using a small amount of some gas resistant sealant on the rubber seal if it did leak. Try first without. Once you have the sending unit sealed, it may not be a bad idea to have the tank pressure checked before installing to make sure all is well. I would stay away from coating the inside of the tank unless the welds leaked. I also would not paint the outside, Aluminum oxidizes and naturally prevents corrosion. See the 6 pages of comments in this forum under New Aluminum Tanks. When installing the tank, use rubber strips underneath and behind the tank. Be sure to place some rubber between the steel tank straps and the Aluminum tank, or construct some Aluminum straps. If you don't, you can get what is called Galvanic corrosion, that is corrosion between to dissimilar types of metal. Gary
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