L300 long range fuel tank (warning: 600KB attachment)

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:55 pm

I'm sick of getting only 400km to a tank of diesel (or 300km if I'm towing the caravan.) Only one solution: a long-range fuel tank. It took a while to figure it out and It's not quite functional yet, but the difficult part is done.

Start with one SWB Pajero fuel tank. I think it's from a V23 but I can't be sure

:

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Remove anything that will get in the way of the Delica's frame (which is quite a lot):

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Patch up the holes, then apply fuel tank sealant inside and epoxy paint outside:

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and install.

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It doesn't actually hang down too far,

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I've put the fuel syphon (small outlet) below the filler neck, the theory being that, when filling, the syphon will prime before the fuel starts to flow through the filler. It might work, but if not I can always put a pump in line. There are also a couple of 1/2" vent pipes at the top to help it fill.

All that's left to do is connect it to the middle tank. Which is the scary bit, because it'll involve cutting holes in a perfectly good tank. I might see if I can buy a spare tank first.

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Full size and more pictures here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/49xcEwtqeJGgGYwL9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/t9QPYBVrrkTC76GW8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZBJvU2B7QNFM9Cy76

Lapprentis · Post by **Lapprentis** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:21 pm

I wish you would be Canadian, and living not far from my town

Do you really get only 400Km out of 75L, in town I guess ?
Keep in touch about expect range-fuel quantity with your setup.
Much Thanks for your contribution on this Furum.
Lapprentis

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:38 pm

4WD Automatics have only a 55 litre tank (technically it's 75 litres, but only 55 of that is usable), so 400km isn't all that terrible. Well, not as terrible as getting 400km from a manual's 75 litre tank would be!

Once the setup is working you can guarantee I'll be gleefully posting pictures of my odometer when filling up! (or pictures of all my diesel leaking onto the ground- either outcome is likely.)

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:59 pm

Today I picked up a spare rear (now middle, I guess) tank and set about adding the extra fill, syphon, and vent ports.

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But first I cleaned off 20 years of thick oily mud, which revealed an unpleasant surprise:

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Looks like something very exciting happened to the driveshaft at some stage. The repair is hideous. Out with the angle grinder.

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While it was open I added the syphon line, and made up a new patch to close it up:

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I would have finished the job today, but I'm out of argon for the welder. That's tomorrow's task.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 9:36 pm

Finishing and fitting the fuel tank was a messy nightmare- too messy to take photos. The workshop reeks of diesel now.

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...but today I filled all the new tanks with diesel. 120 litres. Awesome. I should have about 1000km range- or 650km when towing. Now we leave it overnight and see if it leaks.

Update: It doesn't leak! Though by typing that I've probably jinxed it. I had to revise the fill vent setup- the last tank in the chain needs to be the one that vents to the port on the filler neck, otherwise it's super slow to fill.

lrp374 · Post by **lrp374** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:15 pm

Is the epoxy paint you refer to a spray can or do you have a special sprayer for it. It looks like a nice finish that may last a while. The rust paint we need to use looks nice until you make your first trip down a gravel road.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 1:49 am

I use a 2-pack epoxy primer, which I apply with a regular auto paint spray gun. I use a local product, but it's very similar to SPI's Epoxy primer (http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/). 2-pack Epoxy adheres to bare steel like mad and cures to an inert, impervious, and flexible finish. I use it as a base coat for pretty much everything now- from fuel tanks to top quality restorations. It's almost impossible to remove, so should last a long time even with rocks hitting it.

lrp374 · Post by **lrp374** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 9:59 am

Here comes @ least 1 more dumb question! The tanks you are painting are pretty small paint jobs. If you are mixing the epoxy do you just buy small cans or do you mix small batches as needed for each job. I used a produce called Monstaliner on a winch frame I made as it was supposed to be resistant to everything. It has worked out not bad but from the time you open the can to mix it you have a maximum of 6 to 8 hours to apply to 2 coats and whatever is left, if any, is just wasted. The link you provided seems quite expensive for small jobs if you can't store whats left.

Larry

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:34 pm

I just mix up as much as I need for each job- paint supply stores sell disposable mixing cups (about $0.20 each) with graduations on the side which makes it easy to mix up just a little at a time. I usually buy 4 litre cans of paint, and a matching 500ml can of catalyst.

One important point is that inhaling 2-pack paint spray can cause an allergic reaction, even in people with no history of allergies. The risk increases the more frequently you're exposed, but it's a lottery. It's very important to wear a respirator that filters organic vapours. I use a 3M 6200 mask with 6051 filters.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:42 pm

First fill of the new tank. 693km (350 of them towing) to empty, and 110 litres to fill. Woohoo!

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In defence of my outrageous fuel consumption- Big tyres, lots of boost, heavy foot, towing a caravan.

*UPDATE*: turns out the tank breathers didn't flow well enough. I've since fixed that, and can shove 130l into the tanks from Empty (Needle-pointing-at-E empty, not low-fuel-light empty)

Lapprentis · Post by **Lapprentis** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 2:21 pm

Growler Bearn, since you know the L300 Fuel Tanks more than most of us, I would like to know what would be the best way to introduce an "inert" odject into the Fuel tanks so that it stays there without interfering with normal operation of the fuel delivery ? Is there a cap at the top of these tanks ? Or the filling tube would be easyer to introduce it ? What would be the maximum size alloud to be putted in so that for sure it can made it to the bottom of the tank: the destination to be reach ?

PS" Will keep the communty later about my project :)

Lapprentis

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 5:09 pm

Both tanks have a large cover on the top which holds the fuel pickups in place. If you remove the top cover you have plenty of room to install anything. The last two pictures in this thread : http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=17225 show the top covers- triangular on the front tank, and round on the rear.

I'm curious about what you want to put in the tanks, and why.

Lapprentis · Post by **Lapprentis** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 8:12 pm

I'm curious about what you want to put in the tanks, and why.[/quote]

Related to Fuel economy but want to try before telling more about it

Will share for free to everyone if it works

Lapprentis

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 10:18 pm

...and we will never hear about it if it goes horribly wrong, eh?

Lapprentis · Post by **Lapprentis** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:09 am

As I said is is inert but will take caution and let it soak into masson jar filled with diesel for a fey weeks just to ckeck if it does not peeled off. Beside that the worst that can happend is that nothing happened..let wait...So is that cap at the top accessible without removing the tank ?
Lapprentis

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