95 e300d replaced fuel tank

[connerm]

Couldn't get it to go past 65mph. I put in a used tank from Potomac German Auto, new tank screen from dealer, new tank vent from dealer and it feels like a totally different car. I actually got it to go to 85mph! Old tank screen was about 75% clogged with fungus goo and rust particles. Original tank filler neck was covered on the inside with rust. Its going to the metal pile at the landfill tomorrow.

Key tools for this job are 13mm deep well socket for removing the four retaining nuts, a crow foot flare nut wrench to remove the main fuel hose, and long needle nose pliers to remove the vent and return hose clamps. FYI, it took a large pipe wrench to remove the original tank screen.

and...

Harbor Freight sells a $6 hand pump for liquids. I used it to pump out all of the fuel from the original tank. The pvc tubing that came with it was curled so I ziptied it to an old arrow shaft so I could push it way down inside the tank. For $6, its going to the landfill too. However, tomorrow I'm going back to HF to buy a few more of those little hand pumps. It worked extremely well and pumped about 3 gallons in maybe 10 minutes.

[JimmyL]

Any idea how your tank got so bad? How much was the replacement tank if I could be so rude to ask? They always jab holes in them at PNP....

[jobah]

I had to replace the tank on my 190D. It sat around with little use for four years. had a bad line. After I fixed the line, it sprung a leak in the tank itself (the next weakest point). The tank cost me $170.00 from LKQ. Now its back to working like a charm and DRIP..DRIP...DRIP free.

[sixto]

Jimmy, for reference, www.car-part.com shows C&D Auto Recyclers in Dallas has a 95 E300D (sic) fuel tank for $100.

Sixto
87 300D

[connerm]

No idea how the original tank filler neck got so rusty. Inside of the orig. tank was pretty clean except for one line of rust along a seam about 18" long and about 3mm wide. Replacement tank cost $275 delivered to my driveway.

There was some goo in the replacement tank but I got out most of it with a spoon and some flat sticks. Also, I hung the replacement tank by a rope and sloshed a couple of gallons around to clean it out. The little Harbor Freight hand pump made it easy to get rid of the dirty fuel. Radiator shop wanted $125 to clean it out, but I didn't feel like having to supervise them as they would probably have not done a very good job. Bought the enzyme fuel additive and regularly run Stanadyne.

It occured to me that when the plant is up on the boil, it needs all 3" of that tank strainer. Start limiting the available fuel and you get power problems.

Seriously, it seems like someone put a new engine in this thing. I should have done this job 5 years ago.

[el sea]

Fuel tanks rust on the inside due to condensation. Water from the condensation collects on the bottom of the tank, and this is where the 'goo' starts to develop. Condensation also hangs on the walls and fill tube causing rust.

I cleaned the tank on my 240D two weeks ago, no 'goo', no water, no sludge.

[sixto]

Originally Posted by el sea

I cleaned the tank on my 240D two weeks ago, no 'goo', no water, no sludge.

So the cleaning was more of a light dusting?

Are those pictures of a service you run to clean fuel tanks?

Sixto
87 300D

[el sea]

Light Dusting, not really. This was the first time I cleaned an automobile tank, most of the tanks I clean are construction equipment, generators, boats, fleet, farm equipment, etc. The velocity of my system is upwards of 720-800 gph. So the process for cleaning these small tanks is a bit different. Normally I place two hoses into the tanks and agitate the daylife out of the crud inside a tank. Then recirculate the fuel through a filter. BUT in these small tanks, due to the fill nozzle only one hose can be inserted, so the process is remove the fuel, return the fuel at a very high rate, then remove the fuel again until the filters no longer foul. We uses different cleaning solution that break up the crud and helps the process.

[tankowner]

Originally Posted by connerm

I put in a used tank from Potomac German Auto, new tank screen from dealer, new tank vent from dealer and it feels like a totally different car.

Hey guys, where is the tank vent on these 95s - I have noticed fuel seeping out around my cap and down the side of the car. Also, when I take the full cap off I sometimes get a nice blast of built up air. I assume the vent is plugged up - just not sure where it is (haven't really look yet either.)

Yeah, I bought one of those HF hand pumps a couple weeks ago when I did a fuel pump replacement job for a guy - you're right the hose is so bent up it is worthless; I just went to the hardware story and bought some nice flexible clear hose that actually lays out straight.

[JimmyL]

I have both of these from Harbor Freight and they both do an excellent job. I probably prefer the red pump model but they both work very well. My clear tubing straightened out fine after freeing it from its packaging and letting it hang for a bit.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93290

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3878

[connerm]

Funny that you mention the woosh. I was getting that expulsion when I removed the cap, not every time, but often. I thought installing a new vent would fix it. After installing the new vent and making a long test run, when I went to fillerup I got the same woosh. I tested the new and old vents by mouth and they were exactly the same. The valve is designed to prevent the tank from building up a vacuum. Although you can blow through it, it is designed to let air into the tank.

I used the red hand pump from HF.

[Chris W.]

Good on ya for the tank job, but if the car only does 85 now, something is still wrong. It should easily do much more than that. As I've said in other posts, if the car doesn't shift at 4800 - 5000 rpm pulling hard all the way when you floor it, you have other issues.

About the whoosh, I had that together with a weird stalling issue which happened like clockwork a few minutes after a cold start. Replacing the lift pump has solved both.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 282K

[connerm]

Although I did say I got it to go to 85mph, I was on the HOV lanes with lots of Sat. morning traffic so I couldn't really open it up. It felt like there was plenty left on the throttle.

[connerm]

What does the lift pump do?

[Chris W.]

It is the only fuel pump our cars have besides the injection pump. AFAIK it provides the fuel to the IP.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 282K