After today's meeting, Steve, Dewey, I and Mike retreated to Northlake Automotive and began the process of removing the fuel tank and pump. After a minor spill from a full tank, we pumped the rest of the 12 gallons out of the tank and brought it down.
The pump is dead. It only thumps a little when power is applied. We sloshed the remaining fuel around in the tank and dumped it. It was somewhere between the color of milk and dark chocolates. Mike tipped the tank up on end and heard and felt a thud. When he looked inside, there was a huge chunk of rust particles that had landed on one of the baffles. After all the junk Roger and I flushed out until the water ran clear, I am amazed at the amount of rust that had formed in the tank over a period of 2 years.
Several of the small fuel hoses are brittle and began to split, so we left the tank out of the car. Mike will flush it out in the coming months. The sending unit needs to be cleaned up and checked for float accuracy. We'll replace the rubber hoses that attach to it. I have the pump and sending unit and will get it assembled to save time when we get back to the installation.
It probably will be January at least before we work on it again, due to the upcoming Christmas party at the next meeting.
