57 Ranchero gas tank

Hivolt5.0

Hivolt5.0

Senior Member
I'm having some fuel delivery problems with my '57 Ranchero. I knew there was some rust/dirt in the tank because I could see remnants of it in my fuel filter (installed before the fuel pump). I assumed the tanks was probably really rusty/nasty inside so I dropped the tank this weekend. While draining it, once the fuel level dropped, the fuel stream coming out of the tank pickup just stopped but there was still a good 4 gallons of gas in the tank. (I know this because I dropped the tank only to realize it wasn't empty and I poured the remaing fuel into my gas can.) What surprised me when I looked inside the tank was actually how clean it was in there. Very little rust but there is definitely dirt in it. I'm assuming the pickup sock is clogged but how do I clean it??? The holes in the tank where the filler neck and the sending unit go are too small to reach my hand into the tank.

thanks in advance for the advice,
David
 
Had a problem with my '51 Vicky like that. Turned out the fuel line from the flexible on the tank to the flexible on the pump had severe rust on the inside. It was bad enough to impede the fuel flow and kept puttong trash in the filter. Couldn't tell from looking at form the ends of it but the rust was up into the tubing a ways.

Good luck.

VR, Motorhead
 
Get a really long pair of curved needle nosed plyers to reach thru the sending unit hole and remove the sock.

Worked for me-till I replaced the tank.

Plyers can be had at our favorite junk store-Horrible Freight.

Oldmics
 
Had a delivery problem on my 56 Fairlane and like Motorhead6 I found the fuel line between the tank and the fuel pump plugged. Using a fuel bulb from an outboard I forced SeaFoam through the line at the fuel pump end and let it set for about 30 minutes. Good fuel flow now!
 
I put laquer thinner in the line with a little funnel on the fuel pump end of the line, kept adding as the level went down, when it started dripping out of the tank end I put several burst of air on it. You would not believe the wad of black ick that came out the tank end. Capped the line at the end and repeated the process twice more...clean line, no problems now.
 
Thanks for all of your replies guys. I really appreciate the information. I'm gonna try to get that sock off and either clean the existing fuel line or perhaps just run some new line.
 
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is a sock on the end of the intake tube in the gas tank. It is a 5/16 inch tube perforated with several holes and runs along the bottom of the tank. Seems like sediment would need to be pretty deep if you couldn't suck gas thru one of those holes in that tube. ???
 
Hi Dave. I got that tank from the old station wagon but I don't remember what I did about cleaning it before I installed it. I agree with the suggestions of a solvent in the pick up tube and then a blast of air. If there is clogged sock on the pick-up tube it will blow off and your inline filter will take up it's job.
 
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