The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Leaking gas tank in 49 pickup

I have a 49 chevy pickup with the gas tank in the cab. The tube that comes out of the bottom for the fuel line is leaking ever so lightly at the base of the tank. Is there some way that I can pull this tank and seal it there. The tank looks in great shape otherwise.

If I have to replace it I want to replace it with a tank under the truck. Can some one tell me where I can purchase a tank for under the truck and where is the best place to locate it.
Thank you

49---I went thru what you are going thru. During the restoration on my 56, that was one of the first things that was done--get that tank OUT of the cab! I got my tank from YOGI's (the universal plastic type) and am real pleased with it. One thing, make sure you get the right OHM sending unit, when you get your tank, so that it will send the correct signal to your gas guage. Om my 56, I have a 0-30 OHM guage. Not sure what you have, but if stock guages, am sure either someone here, or Yogi's could tell you. To me, safety was a big issue on getting that tank moved--becoming a "crispy critter" in case of an accident would ruin my day for sure! My opinion, get your tank drained/removed/repaired ASAP--shame to lose a bolt to a fire!

49--And by the way, WELCOME to the Stovebolt Page!!

Looked at those plastic tanks from Yogi's this morning..seems fair at $215.00..I'm definitely getting my tank out of the cab

don't know what you guys got against the tanks in the cab - like Jim Carter points out in his tech articles, if your truck got hit hard enuff to burst the tank behind or under the seat inside a double wall cab, you'd be instant meat paste anyway, whereas gettin rear ended by some SUV would much more likely rupture that neat little amateur-installed plastic tank just 1 foot ahead of the back bumper, not to mention the greatly shortened life span of a tank exposed to the road spray and debris

my tanks stay where GM put'em, just gotta maintain things to prevent leaks and fumes - yes 49dream, you can easily pull the tank and fix the leak, or have a rad shop do it for ya, and it'll cost a fraction of installing a new tank in a new location

Bill

Yes red58, it's all what you prefer to do with your tank. I prefer NOT to smell stinkin' gasoline inside the cab all the time, hear the sloshing of 17 gallons of the stuff, or risk being cooked when the thing blows! That tank sitting behind the axle is up high, surrounded by the rails on each side and bumper behind. I would rather have a fire there, than in the cab where me and my loved ones are sitting. The tank I have is less likely to burst than a metal one, and gives me and my family an extra degree of safety as we see it. IMO, just because GM put it there originally, doesn't make it correct.

ahh, but Brian, if you smell gas in the cab alla time or hear it sloshin around, you need to fix something, not redesign it! if your under frame tank starts leakin, you're most likely to discover it after the fire!

I wish someone could come up w/ some stats to show how many in-cab fires there have been that were caused by, or even fueled by, the gas tank in GM trucks 37-72 - the gas tank explosions that made the news in the 70's and 80's were the tanks that they mounted behind the cab outside the frame rails - I'll agree there's lots of steel around your tank now, but it had that much protection and more inside the cab, and you should take a look at some of the wrecked trucks that were rear ended at speed - not pretty when a pu gets shortened from the rear by 3'

like ya say, to each his own, but I vote for protecting the tank from the weather and physical injury, and having never seen any factual report of fires caused by the in cab tank, or even of one being damaged in a serious accident ....

Bill

If the gas tank is in the cab, it's not a '49. '49 trucks had the tank under the frame behind the passenger side of the cab. I should know. I have one.

Uh, actually I think '49 was the year it moved inside. '47 -'48 had it under the bed on the passenger's side. My '49 3100 deluxe cab's is behind the seat, where it's always been. I've gotta agree with red58 on the whole tank placement thing. If you're smelling gas, fix the leak! At $2.00 (+) per gallon how much of it do you want to waste anyway!!!!!!

The tank is in the cab on the 49. As far as tanks under the rear frame are concerned remember the Pinto. Then again my Malibu tank is aft of the rear axle. Forget the Pinto!

Paul, do you have 2 trucks, you have a 48 in the gallery...

My internet was down and I was real happy to get all the responce on my first post. Thank all of you for your ideas. I removed the gas from the tank tonight and washed it out with water and soap. The pipe that is comming down out of the tank is made of copper and they soldered a turnoff onto that pipe. I can't get the tank out until I remove the turnoff with a torch. I will let the tank dry and run a air hose in the tank to get rid of the fumes before I try removing the turn off. Since the pipe is made of copper I am guessing that it's soldered into the tank ?
By the way I am going fix the tank and place it back into the cab and see how it works.

Thank u
Marcus
PS it is a 49 five window

Hey Marcus,

Originally there wasn't anything "soldered" onto the tank so, it sounds like you may be the victim of so PO's jury rigging......If it were me, I'd use a hacksaw & cut it off rather that put a torch down there! You can get new fittings at your local parts house to do it right once you reinstall the tank. Be carefull.

I'm getting too old for this. Can't even remember what year my own truck is........{{{mumble, mumble, mumble...}}}

I just replaced mine in my 54. Got one from Chevy duty with a new sending unit for $198.17 including shipping and Missouri tax. I don't smell a bit of gas nor am I afraid of blowing up. In fact with the radio playing and the sound of the 283 I don't hear any sloshing either. For another $5.00 I could have gotten a new piece of brake line and put it in. Maybe you just need a 24.95 sending unit and a piece of fuel line. That would be pretty cheap. Is the sending unit not coming from the top of the tank? I thought they were all the same 47-early 54 in the cab tank?

update on the leaking tank. I cleaned it out with water and soak as was just ready to torch it. I used a vise grip to hold the shutoff when I noticed the hole pipe turned??? It was not soldered. It's a threaded pipe. The leak was comming from the threads. The thread was screwed all the way into the tank where I could not see the threads. Anyway I spent alot of time cleaning the tank for nothing. I just need to replace the valve. Any suggestion how to make sure all the water is out of tank since I am not removing the tank. Is there a product that remove the water when I fill it up with gas. One other thing when I replace the threaded pipe what do I use on the threads to prevent it from leaking.

Marcus

Gasoline would probably eat teflon tape. I would put that old yellow pipe dope on the threads. Or there may be a thread compound just for gas application. This thread has got me thinkin, I put a tank out of a F**d T-bird in my 52, behind the axle. When I first did it, I thought it looked a little unsanitary. I may change it out, and put one back in cab.

49,
if the pipe was threaded all the way in, it means that either the male or female portion is worn. likely someone turned it in that far to try and stop the leak. Those threads are pipe threads, I think and they should tighten up after partial insertion. There are sealants that can be used on the threads and are good for gasoline.

Rector(sp?) seal is what we use at work to seal pipe threads on fuel and oil tanks.

I found out that it's not a pipe thread. Someone took a copper pipe and put at 7/16 20 thread on it and the only way that I can replace is to do the same thing. as of now I am going to put the old one back on. I went to Napa and they gave me some product that goes on threads and can be used with gas.

49,
that is an interesting setup. On my 51, there is a nipple that attaches to the tank and to a brass block on the bottom end. The brass fitting has a shutoff cock, just for the flex gas line and a drain plug on the bottom.

Bessie, later tanks had the sender and pick-up come out the top of the tank and down the side (a smart idea). Earlier AD's had the fuelline out the bottom so it could leak everywhere. Mine is doing that now. I didn't know I had a leak until recently, and lost a half-tank over the winter. I'm going to fix that leak right away!

I have often wondered about having a gas tank and an ashtray present in the cab. Surely these two items must have come together in the wrong way, over the years!

truckernix

Your setup is very simular to mine I have a shut off and drain but it has the threaded end. I just put 5 gallons of gas in it and will see if it stop the leak.

The main problem with fire in an inside tank was in a roll over accident.The gas cap would shear off and gas would run out right where all the sparks were being generated from the cab rubbing on the pavement. Fire would come right up through the broken window into the cab. A couple of kids were burned to death near here a few years ago. Their injuries were minor but they could'nt get out fast enough. That said, I still have one truck with the tank in the cab.

No leak on the gas tank. I got the old 49 running and took it for a drive down the road.
I put a re-built 350 sb and rewired the whole truck with a e-zwire kit.