Aux Tank Fitting Time

Submitted: Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 18:51
ThreadID: 43136 Views:1895 Replies:6 FollowUps:5
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Hi I have just purchased a aux fuel tank for my NP Pajero has anyone of lot ever fitted one before.How long do you think it would take.

After unpacking it I was very impressed with the construction gusset's on the corners and all the bit's needed to fit it.The duel filler is a very classy looking ,better looking then the one in the 4wd Aust mag a few months back.

Just wondering how long the 4b may be out of action.
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Reply By: Kev M (NSW) - Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 19:31

Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 19:31
Jeff,

I did a main tank replacement at home and all up it took me about 4 hours, but that included a trip to Super Crap to get a few bits I couldn't find in the shed (someone borrowed them). I haven't seen a sub tank installed but I don't think it should take much longer if they have supplied the dual filler.

Have fun
Kev
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AnswerID: 226775

Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 20:02

Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 20:02
Jeff,

If this is your first fitting of a fuel tank, and being a aux tank I would allow all weekend to do it and if you could con someone to help it would also help. If you finish early, go down to the servo and fill it up. This is not the time to find a leak in the system.

The tank itself should not take that long but the plumbing and the wiring can be a nightmare. When the tanks are designed they have the vehicle on a hoist. Most 4WD shops have a hoist and that is where they do the fitting of the tanks. Doing the instillation at home on the ground could prove testing.

When I fitted the aux tank to the Troopie I had to jack the back of the vehicle up just to get the tank in. It was a lot easer on the hoist when I was fitting tanks many years ago.

A diesel tank will be a little easer than a petrol as with the petrol the fuel has to be pumped into the main tank. A pump will have to be fitted and wired, this should all be in the kit. A diesel tank will only require a pick up pipe.

A change over port will have to be wired and plumbed into the system. The fuel sender unit on the aux tank, which should already be fitted, will have to be wired to the original fuel gauge, via a relay of some sort and a switch to change from one tank to the other.

I am not trying to put you off doing the job but read the instruction very carefully and make sure that you understand them completely.

Wayne
AnswerID: 226782

Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 21:49

Sunday, Mar 11, 2007 at 21:49
A mate and I spent about 7 hours under my Patrol today, fitting a 80 litre LR sub tank in place of the standard 30 odd litre tank. We used the pit in his garage; not quite as convenient as a hoist, but heaps better than doing it at ground level. In my case it was a fairly straight forward changeover (on paper at least), but we still got "caught" with time consuming little jobs and trying to interpret the "destructions"........they were too scummy to even include a diagram or photos. However, once the job was done, the instructions all made sense....hahaha

If you've gotta muck around with new filler set-ups and wiring to gauge solenoids etc, I'd say you need to allow at least a full day, maybe 2.

What brand is the tank?
AnswerID: 226806

Follow Up By: Trevor M (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:29

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:29
Hi Roachie,

Was the one you fitted a 4WD Systems tank? I have ordered a long range sub tank for my GU, just waiting on it to be made (quite a wait at present). I was hoping the instructions would be extensive but sounds like yours were a bit "wanting".

If it was, any clues or things to look out for would be appreciated. Will be doing it at ground level as no access to pit or hoist so might be interesting!

Trev
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FollowupID: 487796

Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:08

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:08
G'day Trevor,
In my case the biggest time wasters were

1). trying to work out what the LVL valve is (this is where a diagram would have been a big help)........ as it turns out there is a breather type set-up just inside the sub tank. Access via the big hole (of course) and you have to unclip the white breather gizmo that sits just above the filler pipe (inside the tank). A small mirror is handy so you can see what it is you're supposed to be unclipping. There are actually 2 of those breathers in the tank but you only need to use one of them in the new tank.

2). We test fitted the tank and found that 3 of the slots (2 at each end) needed to be widened on the driver's side, to enable the bolts to fit in to the captive nuts to secure the tank......some careful work with the angle grinder was needed.

3). The lengthening of the float wire in the tank is a bit hit and miss. I bent up the new bit of wire so it matched the shape of the bottom section that actually holds the plastic float. I then cut the original bit of wire off near where it started to bend and tried to weld the new bit onto it. DAMN......too hot and melted the wire. Managed to get the joint done, but I reckon the float is gunna be about 30mm or more off the bottom of the tank at it's lowest point. This will mean the pump will cut-out (cos it thinks the tank is empty) when there may well be 15+ litres of fuel still in it........time will tell. I have already thought out 2 options to correct it if this is the case. One will be to remove the back seat again, pull up the carpet again, remove the sender unit again and try to do the job properly (a bit hit and miss for my liking). OR.....the more likely fix will be to hook up a momentary contact switch/push-button, so that I can manually operate the electric transfer pump to get the last of the fuel.

4). Re-fitting the 4 hoses. One is really easy; the pick-up hose which accessed through the hole in the floor. There is another one on top of the tank which fits onto a brass barb.....it's about 100mm on the driver's side of the hole, so you can't see it, only try to do it by contorting your hand into an un-natural pose. This may have been easier to do if it was done before the retaining bolts had been tightened up. The main filler pipe is a bit tight to get on, but my mate got it on for me..... The 4th pipe is actually the 16mm breather pipe, which involves another brass barb that is right next to the chassis at the rear of the tank. The rubber hose that is supposed to connect onto it was too short. I decided to use a piece of new hose 1.4m long and took it right from the brass barb back up to the top of the filler neck, thus bypassing the steel tubing that is there in the first place.

Hope this helps mate

Cheers

Roachie
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FollowupID: 487803

Follow Up By: Trevor M (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:31

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:31
Thanks for the tips, looks like I might have an interesting time ahead!

Thanks
Trev
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FollowupID: 487806

Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 19:08

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 19:08
Roachie,

What were you doing,"The main filler pipe is a bit tight to get on, but my mate got it on for me..... " No wounder it took 7 hours.

Reading your post brought back memories that I thought I had under control, back to the green pills again for me.

It always amused me when I had the 4WD shop and people would complain that I was ripping them off when I quoted the fitting price. If only they knew what was involved.

Wayne
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FollowupID: 487816

Reply By: Member - jeff M (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 00:27

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 00:27
Hi not sure but I think their is no gauge to worry about just have to fit the tank duel filler and a tranfer pump which is all supplied as I understand it.
It bolts up under the 3rd seat well at the back.
To be safe maybe allow 2 day's after the reply's.

Thanks for the reply's guy's .
Cheers Jeff M (SA)
AnswerID: 226853

Follow Up By: Richard W (NSW) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 07:19

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 07:19
I had ARB put a Long Ranger in my old NM Petrol Pajero. ARB had the vehicle for the day. A pump transfers the fuel from the sub to the main and there is no gauge . The transfer took about half an hour unless they have made some changes. I did find that stationary on a very steep slope for a while the fuel from the main tank drained back into the sub and then overflowed out the filler pipe. They may have fixed this as well.
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FollowupID: 487723

Reply By: Allan JJ - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 06:31

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 06:31
If it is one of these, they show the fitting time

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AnswerID: 226873

Reply By: marq - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:47

Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 17:47
I am fitting a www.longrangeautomotive.com.au/ 80lt Aux tank next week.
AnswerID: 226983

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