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Easy removal gas tank


MikeES

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I thought I would share something that I have been doing for years. I started working on a 3415H today, and one of the first things I do to all the 3300,3400,7000,7100 Simplicity and 700,900 ACs is to cut a piece out of the gas tank plate to make the gas tank easy to remove. The mounting plate is plenty heavy enough to allow a slot to be cut out for the gas line to be pulled out. Anyone who has worked on these tractors know how impossible it is to get the gas tank out.

This can be done with a standard hand held jig saw with a 2-1/2" blade or less. Make sure that the throttle, choke cable and any wires are out of the way. Make 2 cuts and file the rough edges.

Then it is easy to swing the gas tank out of the way to work on anything under the dash without disconnecting the gas lines.

I have done this to 9 tractors. And it sure is nice when you need to work on the electricals and battery.
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Mike, Sorry, I don't agree with you on your categorical "mod" philosophy on the tank/battery weldment. Doing this compromises the structural integrity of this component which helps support the whole top chassis area of the tractor. How often do we really need to remove the tank on a good day for maintenance? As our vintage "old iron" tractors grow with rarity, doing these kinds of hackery diminish their value. Just my 40 Lira opinion, Tom(PK)
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Mike, Great idea! I struggle several times a year to remove my tanks to clean out the rust promoting crud that accumulates behind it. I don’t want to be guilty of “neglect-ery”. Tom, Since I install shut off valves on my fuel lines (that can be easily disconnected), I may be able to just elongate the OEM hole enough to slide the tank forward, up, and out. Would you consider elongating the hole “hack-ery”?
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Quite frankly, the next time I have the tanks out of my tractors, I think I will modify them, seems as though I have them apart a couple of times a year. Don
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In Mike's case, I don't see how rust and crude could get inside a plastic tank. Herb, I'd think elongating the hole slightly wouldn't hurt a thing (structurally). If one uses clean gas via a good quality can which has a screen in the spout, I don't see where all these contaminant buildups could orignate. It's not too tough to pull the line at the carb and stick a 5/16" short bolt in the end of it, is it? On all of my equipment (chain saws, mowers, Gravelys, etc) I've never had to clean out the tanks, they stay clean. I wipe off the cap/filler tank areas first before refueling (especially important on chain saws). Case in point; my dad's 728 Broadmoor (with a steel tank) saw 30 years of service before it was sold. I recall having to remove the tank the first time(for some reason) 3 or 4 years ago. I checked it, cleaned it out. Not one spec of rust and maybe a couple short blades of grass in it; that's it. Maybe some of ya'all are getting gasoline premixed with a little Saudi "topsoil" built in (LOL). Tom(PK)
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quote:
Originally posted by dutch
Mike, Great idea! I struggle several times a year to remove my tanks to clean out the rust promoting crud that accumulates behind it. I don’t want to be guilty of “neglect-ery”. Tom, Since I install shut off valves on my fuel lines (that can be easily disconnected), I may be able to just elongate the OEM hole enough to slide the tank forward, up, and out. Would you consider elongating the hole “hack-ery”?
Tom, I think that Dutch has the right idea. By only cutting a longer hole in this plate will not effect the structrual integerty of the tractor. As far as the crud they are talking about the build up behind the tank! It does need to be cleaned out once in a while ask me I found out the hard way. My 912H when I bought it had a dash full of grass and dirt behind the tank and battery that was never cleaned by the original owner. This resulted in a bunch of rusted and green terminals and connectors in this area. That I still have problems with now and then.
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Tom, Neither Mike nor I suggested we have a problem with contaminants INSIDE our tanks. The tanks and batteries must be removed to clean out BEHIND them, to work on the instrument panel, or lubricate cables and controls. Perhaps you’re not familiar with these tractors. The tanks must be wrestled to remove them if there is ANY hose connected. Mike’s idea is GREAT because it is so obvious and simple. I doubt the slot Mike suggests would compromise the structural integrity at all. Some of us don’t care if the value of our “vintage iron” (which are not for sale anyway) is devalued in the eyes of others. Some of us only care about how these tractors perform for us.
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Mike, GREAT IDEA I wish I'd a thought of that the first time I pulled the tank out of my 718h. I knew there had to be a better way. I have my tank out right now and believe me it won't go back until I modify the cradle. Great timing and thanks. DarrellL
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Tom, I am a mechanical engineer by trade, and believe me cutting that slot by no way compromises the structural strength of the tractor or the cowling. As we all know these tractors are way OVER built. After cutting you still couldn't bend the cradle by jumping on it. This modification has nothing to do with the frame of the tractor, it is only a saddle (cradle) to hold and tie down the gas tank.
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The B-10, I've been working on has the same design/flaw. A small oval hole that the gas tank fitting barely squeezes through and just hates to be extricated from. Took me a good 10 minute fight to get it out, and then only by cutting the old fuel line off. Then another fight to get it back in, and lined up properly to get the new fuel line on. On the B-10 it doesn't appear that a jig saw would fit. The hole is more towards the back corner. But, a 1" metal hole cutting bit on a hand drill will probably help win the next fight. Curious, that they would have them set up like that, apparently through the product line. Seems they would have made them a little more, fix/clean friendly.
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Now that I think about it, after I acquired the 712H I had to remove the tank for cleaning behind it and recall rasslin that tank out. I couldn't help but think they could have designed it better. I'll modify it next time it's out. Great idea...
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On my 3410 I plan to simply file a slightly longer hole but not anywhere near as large of a slot as Mike has recommended as I feel that it is unecessary to alter it to such a great extent. A fuel line is easy enough to cut off or remove since they need replacement numerous times through the tractor's lifetime. The hardest part is to get that little spout on the tank out from the hole. All you need to do is file a small slot maybe an inch long by maybe an inch wide if not even smaller. This would allow easy removal of the tank with very minor modification to the tractor surely not compromising the structural integrity and yes those areas need cleaning and cables etc. need regular maintenance I cant describe how dirty 30 years left my 3410. -Chris
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For those proponent folks who like hacking attempting to save a few minutes later; here's another ingenious time saving mod sure to assist! I'll bet Kirk(thedaddycat) was so happy the previous owners/mechanics had such foresight and at no extra charge! This one will no doubt guarantee an increase in the tractor's value. Tom(PK)

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Tom, I don't think that's a similar comparison, but I do see the humor. The slot under the tank is completely hidden and if the mod does knock a couple bucks off the resale in the future, I'll kick myself in the a&& then, but enjoy the ease of fuel tank removal till then...
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Mike, I thought that was such a good idea that you had that I made the same improvement on my Broadmoor 738 about four months ago. It just had a small rectangular hole large enough to get the elbow in the bottom of the tank through. Notice that I said elbow and not cutoff. You would have had to pull the hose at the inline fuel filter and drain the tank then disconnect the line from the tank to get it out, if it had not already been empty. After making my modification and changing the elbow to a cutoff I can now remove the tank and part of the fuel line without trying to get the clamp off the fuel line under the tank where I can't see. On this tractor you can't get your hand to the cutoff from the engine side and must remove the battery that sits behind the tank and go down from above then under the tank to the cutoff. Greg
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Has anyone done a similar mod to the older "B-series" or equivalents? In my experience it is a real pain in the #$$## to remove or install the gas tank and get the elbow through the small hole, since there is so little room between the dashboard and the bulkhead. On both my tractors, I've "ruined" a fresh paint job on the gas tanks just trying to reinstall them. There's probably nothing more frustrating than needing to touch up a fresh paint job because of assembly/fit problems....
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Kent, Gregg, others: With regards to making it easier to remove the fuel tank on the "Big Tens' family, my 2110 Landlord will get at STRAIGHT hose barb with screen and 6" below that get a Stens (or equivalent) right angle plastic shutoff valve. Since my tractor has the hydro lift option (shorty left side panel), this makes perfect logical sense and a straighter less obtrusive fuel line route. Not to mention, the valve will be very operator accessible. I'll post a picture when done. I'll consider this one an engineering improvement (those in-line plastic shutoff valves hadn't been invented yet in 1967), yet very reversable back to stock---NO HACKING!!! Tom(PK)
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Tom, I'd thought of using a straight fitting, but I was already having fuel-starvation problems with the gravity-feed system when climbing the bank behind my barn, so I was reluctant to lower the hose near where it exits the fuel tank... Now that I've put a later replacement engine in my Big Ten, with the longer intake and carb mounted lower, I might give that a try.... Kent
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Even hackery can be undone in most cases with the right tools and enough effort. Though I could have done a few more layers of weld and grind to get it perfect, I thought this was close enough when I painted it. I may still go back later and take all the imperfections out. Keeping the original shroud with the engne numbers stamped into it was important enough to fix it for a restoration, IMHO. BTW, those ridges that follow the original stamping are ground out of the weld build up where the shroud was cut.

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