Has anyone snapped bolts off in the tank while changing the fuel pump? Any suggestions how to get them out? Don't want to drop the tank unless I have to.

 

standard broken bolt removal. cover the holes open into the tank, drill into broken bolt, insert easy out. Just because I would be paranoid about crap in tank I might have my shop vac hose near bolt while drilling. You don't drill all the way through the bolt, just deep enough for easy out to grip. I usually put tape on drill bit to mark "go no further".

 

How many did you break off?

 

2 broke off, stopped after that.

 

No worries about sparks? From the drill?

 

You need to be very careful about sparks from the drill and drill motor. Obviously gas vapors explode easily, not sure how I would do this without removing the tank from the car, draining all the fuel, and filling it with water to eliminate any chance of fuel vapors exploding.

 

Run an electric drill with the lights off. Not sure you would want to do this above a tank of gas.

 

This is purely for informational purposes, but when I had that problem, the rust had spread beyond the rotted bolts themselves and to the filler hole where the sender bolts on.

I opted to just replace the tank on good advice.

But when I removed the old tank, the true scope of the problem exposed itself.

It was between the tank and the rear bumper where you only have a few inches of space so it got overlooked.




You should probably give that area a look wth a flashlight as best you can get a beam in there to see and really give your tank a thorough inspection before messing around with the bolts. These tanks, at least the oem ones, rot from the iside out. At least that's what I concluded after really looking at the old one that I pulled out. Over time, the inner liner of the oem ones start to separate and moisture gets in between it and the tank on the inside. At least in my case anyway. I'm sure it's not an isolated occurance, though.

Fuel tanks are relatively inexpensive for these cars. It's a one man job to just replace. And you get new bolts and gasket. At least I did with the one I ordered from Zip.

 

I would buy a new gas tank.

 

Good catch. I should have added good venting is a requirement. If the filler neck had been completely out you can wait a bit after sealing up the holes prior to drill work to allow fumes to go away. Doing it outside is also good.

but having seen the post that two snapped and work stopped means the seal on tank is still intact.

 

i broke four. not easy to centerpunch the broken bolts due to the spring action of the gas tank flange. i shifted the bolt holes somewhere around 5/16" and drilled and taped for new bolts - match drilled the sending unit flange and same with the gasket. all went back together w/o issues and w/o dropping the tank. all is good.