. How do I remove the 30 gallon diesel fuel tank without removing the engine? It's leaking and I want to replace it.
Fuel tank removal
- Thread starter norml15
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I made a small cut in the starboard lazarette, the cut doesn't look pretty, but has been repaired by replacing the material and covering the cut with a piece of trim.
Here's link to some pics: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/odayowners/photos/albums/1430815320
You may need to be a member of this odayowners group prior to viewing.
Here's link to some pics: http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/odayowners/photos/albums/1430815320
You may need to be a member of this odayowners group prior to viewing.
I followed SailingCal's advice and cut a small section out of the material in the quarterberth to provide the room needed to remove it. I used a Rockwell vibrating tool and it made a very nice clean cut. You can put the piece back with a backing board and some trim strips to cover the cut, isolate the engine compartment and still be able to remove it later on. I consider it an improvement to the boat. I have a thread with some fuel tank replacement photos you can look at for some ideas. I used a 23 gallon plastic tank for replacement and built a new cradle to hold it securely. So far I'm very pleased, the new tank was inexpensive, has a built in clean out port, and a built in sender unit. The angled fill and vent molded ports align perfectly with how the hoses run in the 35/34 O'Day. As DaveM and I both found the screws for the bracket holding the fuel pump were long enough to touch the tank and caused corrosion resulting in a pin hole leak about 6 inches or so up from the bottom on the front of the tank. I also replaced all my fuel hoses as those were old and starting to crack and leak, subsequent research I saw recommendations to replace fuel hoses at least every ten years.
The thread is on page 6 of this forum and called Fuel Tank Update. Several pictures to see the installation and tank I bought. Also there is a partial shot of the cut out in the quarterberth that SailingCal recommended. To pull out the old tank I had to remove a pulley from the steering system to lift it enough to clear the battery tray.
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