DIY Fuel Tank in Rear Seat Well - Part 1

[009ray]

Huge effort and I applaud your ingenuity, but what was your main reason for DIY when the aftermarket version is cheaper (purchase price) and possibly better* in some ways ??

* no half full filling problems,
* No need for a momentary switch for the pump
* ADR approved


As I say, huge kudos for tackling it and doing a great job but unless I am missing something, it's just reinventing the wheel ?

X3

Fair enough ground clearance, but invisible installation.....99.99999% of the population would have know idea about what it was or if it is standard! Nor would they care.

On the other hand though nice work regardless of the cost!

[Soups]

The reason I went in the seat well was mainly so that I did not reduce rear ground clearance. All of the aftermarket tank kits go under the back and IMHO hang down too much. I also like the challenge of doing things a bit differently.

As for the Lada Niva - I reckon they were a ripper little beast in their day, especially the ones with Peter Brock's name on them. Having owned a Ural 650 motorbike and sidecar, I know how reliable Russian engineering can be, but still lots of fun.

[Goodsy]

Very good write up and install.

Very brave of you goodsy to admit to lada Niva ownership. Mine only caught fire twice

Mine never caught fire. But it burnt money!!!! Bought 5k. 7k repairs in 4 years. Sold for $500.

[Scouter1]

Lada Niva...

[Goodsy]

If they were made in japan I'd have one in a heart beat. Great toy.

[sharkcaver]

The reason I went in the seat well was mainly so that I did not reduce rear ground clearance.

I have one and I don't find too often rear clearance is affected. In fact, in sand I'd go so far to say is insurance from ripping your rear bar off.

My tow hitch usually bottoms before my tank. Rocky undulating terrain could be a risk though.

Also, why do you need to pump your tank in as little time as possible? Its not like you will use the fuel before transfer with the other type of transfer pump and there is no issues with running these dry for shorter durations. Just seems to me like a lot of effort has gone in to achieve little aim.

But in regards to the above, can I say that is an impressive job. Not the route I'd go myself, but impressive. You should be proud!

[wilyum]

G`day,
I have to agree with Sharkcaver.I have a Longranger tank and have never had an issue with ground clearance or the transfer pump and I can still use the third row seat or use all that extra storage space. To each his own.
Cheers,
Wilyum.

[wasarangie]

Excellent job. You should not suffer the cracked mount issues I have seen with the name brand tanks with that setup.

Got me thinking how I could fit a tank to the Challenger now.

[4wd26]

I love the job you have done, and in conjunction with drawers, you have utiliesd the space under the rear that is useless when touring due to accessability, having to remove everything to access.

[NFT5]

Fabulous! I've been scratching my head trying to work out some way to use this space.

Add one more item to my mods to come list.

[FarawayCampers]

Great inspiration

I pulled out the 3rd row seats on the weekend, which led me to your post. Was great reading and inspiration for what I will be doing in my NP. I especially liked the solution of the replacement filler you got made. Have you taken the tank with you on any long trips with extended corrugations yet? How would you go if there was a leak from the tank and would the excess fuel be able to drain out of that space?

[RUGGA]

I pulled out the 3rd row seats on the weekend, which led me to your post. Was great reading and inspiration for what I will be doing in my NP. I especially liked the solution of the replacement filler you got made. Have you taken the tank with you on any long trips with extended corrugations yet? How would you go if there was a leak from the tank and would the excess fuel be able to drain out of that space?

Soups has not been on here for over 2 years. He should get a message that you have posted a question but you could always try contact him directly and ask him to answer back here; instead of a PM or e-mail.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/member.php?u=24011

[Soups]

How is it 5 1/2 years later?

This thread has sparked up again this week. It's now 5 1/2 years since I fitted the tank and overall it has been a great success. However I have had to make one main change. I originally fitted an inline marine Bilge/Diesel transfer pump made by Rule. This worked well and transferred fuel quickly which was what I wanted. The problem was that after about a year I noticed fuel dripping from the drain bung under the rear seat well and when I pulled things apart I found the pump was leaking. Not wanting to have that problem again I did change to a Facet style solid state fuel pump. It's slow but I know they're reliable so I can put up with that. Also the rubber I had used to cushion the tank did not like leaking diesel fuel and basically turned to gooey black mush which was not much fun to remove. I made sure the rubber I replaced it with was fuel and chemical resistant. Since then it hasn't missed a beat, hasn't leaked and I'm very happy with it. I've found that if I want to fill both tanks it's best to fill the sub tank first so that it can vent freely into the main tank filler pipe as it fills. If I fill the main tank completely first, the pump keeps clicking off as I try to fill the sub tank because it has trouble venting. We've been on plenty of long trips with the tank but not really with any prolonged corrugations but I'm pretty sure there would be no problems as I designed it to be as robust as possible. The Paj has now got well over 400,000 km on it and I'm thinking I probably should change it over but it stills runs perfectly and I don't think I could be bothered doing all the mods to a new car.

[HeavyPizzaz]

Just on the whole speed-of-fuel transfer with the commercial ones, I have a Brown Davis aux tank (yes apparently it's going to fall off on extended corrugations) and spoke to Brown Davis recently about the type of pump in it because my wife bumped the button on and it was beeping at her (empty aux tank, dry pumping) and she drove with it beeping for half an hour coz she couldn't get in touch with me to ask what the beeping was. Anyway Brown Davis said they specifically chuck in a slow pump because it is much more forgiving if left on accidentally. So they could've put faster ones in supposedly but is more prone to accidental damage.

[FarawayCampers]

... Anyway Brown Davis said they specifically chuck in a slow pump because it is much more forgiving if left on accidentally. So they could've put faster ones in supposedly but is more prone to accidental damage.

Hey HeavyPizzaz, That sounds like making lemonade out of lemons if you ask me, but if it still all works fine that's great news!


Soups - looking at your filler neck, I was thinking of modifying an 80 series one to fit, but just wanted to check if you can remember the dia of the filler pipe to compare it to an 80 series?


Cheers!