Good Morning!

I've been able to do a little bit of work to my XJ, and the first order of business was tackling the fuel pump. When I dropped the tank, I noticed that there was a bit of rust on the outside of the tank. Not much, just a little surface rust starting in some spots. The inside of the tank is clean as a whistle. I am thinking of painting the outside of the gas tank to keep it from rusting any further. It will only have the little plastic shield underneath the tank for the time being. It's not an off road vehicle, so an actual skid plate is low on the list of things to do.

I'm looking for suggestions as far as what paint to use. Any recommendations would be helpful

 

Eastwood sells a paint for that, probably others do as well, id imagine. Never used it myself, but its an option. Engine paint, and even regular paint works just fine. I replaced the tank in the Mustang a couple years ago and used regular paint. There is some surface rust poking thru around the lip as i didnt bother sanding any edges down, but its not bad enough to warrant a respray.

I didnt have to worry as the tank i used was new, but for a tank that has had fuel in it recently, like yous, try not to make sparks. The fumes are what gives fuel its bang.

 

Yeah, point of fact. Liquid gasoline will not burn. Vapor is explosive. Gasoline vaporizes at very low temperatures. Enough said.

I witnessed a guy who tried to cut a 55gal drum that had held diesel with a cutoff grinder. They took him to the hospital. And that was with diesel!

 

fb97xj1- I was thinking about getting the eastwood tank tone paint, but I would probably need like 3 cans for a total of like $50 with shipping, not to mention that I want to get it finished this weekend. I think I may go with Krylon's Rust Tough enamel. I've used it before and it has worked well for me on previous projects. The truck won't see much in the way of winter salt, etc.

dave- I've seen some stupid stuff, that would rank pretty high for me though. I never try to mess with sparks and fuel.

I dropped the tank two weeks ago, and pumped as much fuel out of it as possible, then used some rags to get the tank dry. I left it open so any fumes will dissipate.

 

Just get your carcass down to the home improvement store and get some Rustoleum Rust Reformer. Have at it. Don't make it complicated.

 

Best idea in the low end of the budget.

High end, if you are planning on giving this Jeep to the great grand kids, PPG Amercoat primer and topcoat. Same stuff they use on the Golden Gate Bridge and all sorts of salt water applications.

 

Did you drop the tank with gas in it? if so, how much? I know its best to drop with no gas but due to possible overheating problems I can't drive around to use up the rest of the gas.

 

The gas in the tank weighs about 8 pounds per gallon. If you can get a floor jack under it, life will be much easier.

Since you have a 92, the pump assembly is on top where you can't get to it until you drop the tank. I don't know where you'd take something off of the tank to get access to siphoning until you drop it.

Expect your tank straps to be toast, or at least, the J nuts. The dealer wants about a gazillion dollars for the J nuts that hold them together, and you are probably going to have to cut them to drop the tank. If they aren't rusted beyond recognition, it's a miracle. Several people have posted creative alternatives to the factory J nuts. Can't remember where the thread its, but do a search on J nuts and you should find some good ideas. I don't remember what it was that I used on my 94 some years back, but I recall it was something I found at Lowes, and it was 8 bucks a side (there are two). Dealer on those things is forty something, IIRC.

 

318- I would love to go the high end route on everything, but sadly it's just not in the budget. The truck is in real good shape, but I can't justify the PPG. More important places the money can go on the truck.

Mark- The pump is on the front side of the tank, so technically the pump could be removed without dropping the tank, but I just wanted to make sure the tank was clean inside and out before I put a new pump in. Being that I am young and foolish, as my father would say, I decided to drop the tank without a floor jack. Luckily the tank only had about 4 or 5 gallons in it, so it was a little awkward to remove it, but it came out. I held the tank while he disconnected the fill and vent hose. Fortunately for me, the truck was garage kept its entire life, and well maintained. The J bolts are perfectly usable, to the point where they broke loose without any wd40. (They were a little stiff, but a quick shot of wd40 after they broke loose, and I was able to zip them right down with my 9/16 ratcheting wrench.)

Painted the tank today with Krylon Rust tough enamel spray. I will try to post pictures within the next few days, but I will be a little busy. In addition to the gas tank on the XJ, I am doing the intake manifold on my Mercury Grand Marquis this weekend, so time will be scarce.

 

Interesting. Your pump doesn't belong in the front, IIRC. That's a later model tank, I'm thinking. AFAIK, that's 97 and later. Maybe someone swapped yours out at some point, which would explain why your J-nuts are fine.

I've actually thought about doing that with my 96. I have a 97 tank (plastic) and pump sitting here, and it's a nice upgrade to get away from the metal tank.

 

Mark- I'm pretty sure that the 84-96 are in the front of the metal tank, while the 97-01 are on the top of the plastic tank. The tank and pump/sending unit were original. Everything went back in pretty well. The tank is reading 1/8, with the low fuel light on, but I also only put about 4 gallons in it at the moment.

The first two pictures are of the tank while I was cleaning it up, the last picture is of the painted tank with the new pump and sending unit installed. The paint didn't come out too bad. I am not really worried about it being perfect, as long as it doesn't rust, I couldn't care less. If I ever have to replace the gas tank, I will get a new one and coat it with rust bullet. That stuff sticks like glue.




My apologies for the pictures, for some reason they flip over when I upload them.

 

Well, mebbe I'm remembering backwards.

Looks like a nice job on the tank.

 

Eastwood and others have 2 part epoxy in a rattle can now.

 

I went and looked at my 97 tank this morning (it's out of the vehicle). Yep, you are right. I was remembering backwards.

 

Hey man, we can't know everything about these Jeep's. That's for Cruiser54 to know.

I appreciate any and all help I cant get from all of you guys on the forum.

The Jeep has been laid up pretty much since I've brought it, just driven around the block every now and then. So this morning, early, took it around town. Definitely need to do the shocks and check out the front suspension. Little wobbly, but since the shocks are original, that's the first place I am going to start when "Shocktober" promotions roll around.