Replacement fuel tank?

[Tiger]

Hey,
I got a friend who needs a used gas tank for his 1996 740iL.. where did some of you pick up your replacement tank? Who fixes them? I an In NJ/NY area.

[yaofeng]

Search here,

http://car-part.com/

Cost about $100.

[Bill R.]

Stan just call a number of wrecking yards in your area there's probably a bunch of them that don't post on car-parts... At least in my area there is.
Fuel tanks here aren't a common item so they don't bring much money, in the last few months i've gotten one for mine and for 4 customers cars, buick ,toyota,etc, typically around 25 to 50.00. For some reason i've been seeing a number of them that won't pass emissions on newer cars because the tank won't hold pressure for the evap. emissions system.





Hey,
I got a friend who needs a used gas tank for his 1996 740iL.. where did some of you pick up your replacement tank? Who fixes them? I an In NJ/NY area.

[Mordan]

how can a fuel tank fail? I don't understand?

[Bill R.]

how can a fuel tank fail? I don't understand?

Most of them fail when somebody drives over a big rock and punches a hole in the bottom of it.... or in the case of my 535, i let the car sit for over a year without driving it and the gas went bad, turned to gum and solvent, gummed up the fuel pump and rusted up the inside of the tank from condensation and ethanol in the gas attracting moisture.
Or in the case of the newer obdII cars with evap sensors and plastic tanks, the smallest vacum leak in the tank, smaller than 10 microns will trigger a engine code and you won't pass emissions here in the US until its fixed... typically on a plastic tank its where the factory glued a bung or fitting to the tank that is now leaking, when i smoke test them its visible smoke leaking out of the small crack or crevice. As cheap as junkyard tanks are its not worthwhile to try and reseal the leaks.

[Tiger]

I think that is what he told me... small leak. I will call around to see who has them. Thanks Bill!

[yaofeng]

The small vent pipe on the filler neck is a frequent failure point. It rusted and broke off resulting in the tank not holding pressure.

[ryan roopnarine]

didn't think that something like that would happen. bill, my e34 has been sitting for a really long time now with about 5 gallons (including reserve) max in it. is this a condition that might lead to a similar situation as yours? i was thinking about taking the fuel pump out and draining it as well as i can, but if there's no way to reverse/amelioriate it.....



Most of them fail when somebody drives over a big rock and punches a hole in the bottom of it.... or in the case of my 535, i let the car sit for over a year without driving it and the gas went bad, turned to gum and solvent, gummed up the fuel pump and rusted up the inside of the tank from condensation and ethanol in the gas attracting moisture.
Or in the case of the newer obdII cars with evap sensors and plastic tanks, the smallest vacum leak in the tank, smaller than 10 microns will trigger a engine code and you won't pass emissions here in the US until its fixed... typically on a plastic tank its where the factory glued a bung or fitting to the tank that is now leaking, when i smoke test them its visible smoke leaking out of the small crack or crevice. As cheap as junkyard tanks are its not worthwhile to try and reseal the leaks.

[Derek A.]

Mine failed. I tried to patch it, held for about 6 months and then started leaking again. I ended up just buying a new tank from the dealer.
http://www.opus45.com/pics/e34_gastank.jpg

[Tiger]

I would at the least put in Sta-bil... fuel stabilizer.