Any pros and cons?

I want to use the 50-gal metal GASOLINE tank in the 1977 motorhome for the newly swapped Cummins, instead of the 30-gal plastic tank from the donor vehicle.

Also realated question: the gas tank sending unit has no sock or strainer at all. Which inline DIESEL fuel strainer can I use and can get from my local auto parts store? I would think a COARSE filter would serve the purpose of the sock.

 

As long as you didn't have rust/filter problems before with the gas, you shouldn't have any problem with diesel fuel. A clear inline filter works great for something like this. You can keep an eye on it for rust and sediment build up.

 

My grief with a metal tank is they will rust and you can put a dent in it that will decrease its capacity

 

My Ford has THREE fuel-tanks.

It came factory-issue with a 20-gallon STEEL front tank and a 20-gallon PLASTIC rear tank.

One of the first additions I made was a 52-gallon ALUMINUM tank.

Of the three, the PLASTIC has been by far the most trouble-free.

A couple years ago, the STEEL tank developed a leak from the O-ring that seals the sending-unit mechanism; a dollar swap-meet O-ring cured that for probably the next 20+ years.

The ALUMINUM tank has been drained and repaired at least twice and more likely three times, but is currently leak-free.



I would not hesitate to use your steel tank.

If you can manage it, I would suggest you use BOTH tanks.

There are infinite advantages to having multiple fuel-tanks; the least of which is more capacity/range.

Many times, having more than one tank has allowed me to keep the truck in use while some issue or another was being resolved with either of the other tanks.

 

Yup, (steel)metal=rust . Ya might be able to get the inside coated with an anti rust coating though, not for sure though. Aluminum tank would be another option.

 

As for a strainer :

I strongly recommend against having any kind of strainer/filter INSIDE the tank.

Reason being, some day, in the pitch black darkness, way out in the middle of nowhere, in sub-zero temperatures, with you in your Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, that strainer is gonna clog and shut-down the flow of fuel.

You will think of and replace everything else under there before you find the problem, maybe even give up and junk the truck.


I highly recommend one of those simple CHEAP see-thru plastic in-line filters as Bgilbert suggested, located OUTSIDE the tank, preferably somewhere where it can be easily seen, even if it means using fifteen more feet of fuel-line to route it high up under the hood, so long as this pre-filter is AHEAD of the lift-pump.


I have come to really like the popular GoldenRod sediment-bowl/filter units as a first line of defense.

 

thanks for all the tips.

I should have inspected the inside before I put it back in the vehicle. I tried to peek inside but believe me the hole for the sender on this 1977 tank is like a dollar coin compared to the 1993 hole (like I can fit my head in it). I dropped the tank just to drain it and to replace the strainer if it had one. It didn't occur to me to inspect for rust inside because when I drained the gasoline into white containers the gas was clean/clear.

Anyway, the strainer that I found that is supposed to be good is a Fleetguard or Wix wire mesh inline strainers BUT they are not in clear plastic. I like the Wix because at its rating of 140 micron, it is as coarse as a sock/strainer.

Does anyone know a good inline clear plastic strainer that is wire mesh (100 micron or above)?

 

If that metal tank had enough rust for worries, it would be leaking through a million pin-holes.


GoldenRod makes a wire-mesh strainer that fits inside their see-thru sediment-bowl.

 

Thanks BK, that's just what I want: GoldenRod 495 for $30 and an additional filter element 80-mesh/175 micron stainless steel mesh for $11. Too bad they don't sell them packaged with the mesh.