Use In Tank Fuel Pump to drain Tank - Good or Bad idea

Then just tow it, with anything else available any vehicle will pull that at low speed.

A squirt of lighter gas (from a can - not lighter) into the throttle body will get it fired up and it run on stale gasoline from that point on. Starter fluid would too but the lighter gas will be less harsh.

RichLo said:

If its just a yard vehicle dont worry about it, those will last at least 3-5 years as agricultural use. BUT if its going to be on the street, you need to get that up to your shop and fix it right.

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It's a yard truck for now, when I get around to re-build I'll do the tank right.

GoToGuy said:

Then just tow it, with anything else available any vehicle will pull that at low speed.

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HA - I towed it off the street with my miata. The problem isn't the tow vehicle, it's the operator pool I have to choose from. The wife just doesn't get the physics behind "slowly drive forward until there is tension on the line". And my favorite "Don't mash on the truck brakes, it will rip the miata in half"

BuiltToWork said:

HA - I towed it off the street with my miata. The problem isn't the tow vehicle, it's the operator pool I have to choose from. The wife just doesn't get the physics behind "slowly drive forward until there is tension on the line". And my favorite "Don't mash on the truck brakes, it will rip the miata in half"

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2,000lbs vs 10,000lbs @ 2.5 mph = some amount of force that I am not smart enough to calculate, but wise enough to know it ends badly!

Best bet would be to drop the tank see how bad it is clean it out and change out the pump strainer

Nad_Yvalhosert said:

I'm with @RichLo. Dilute the old gas with an additive, like Star-tron, to stabilize any water, and fill up the rest of the tank with some fresh 87.
I'd be hesitant to just let the pump empty the tank. The pump uses return fuel as a coolant. No return fuel, pump runs hot, and I have no idea how old your pump is...

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I'd get a sample from the tank and check how the gas smells. If it's off at all, pump the tank down and add some Stabil and some fresh gas. A year old won't be the best gas, but it shouldn't be gummy.

How does the fuel pump use return fuel as coolant? The gas in the tank is going to be cooler than the fuel that just got pumped under pressure.

Erik the Awful said:

How does the fuel pump use return fuel as coolant? The gas in the tank is going to be cooler than the fuel that just got pumped under pressure.

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Think about where the return line is in relation to the pump. It's pretty much directly overhead. As the return fuel travels back to the tank, the metal lines act as a natural heat sync, then its dumped directly over the pump, like its taking a shower after a hard days work.

Breakout force - the amount of force necessary to go from zero movement to start moving. Continuing force- the amount of force required for continuous movement, less than Breakout force.
Hmmm. Not sure about that small. I might try as it's low speed, short travel. But I can't choose for you.
Make your best, safest choice. You don't want to be " oh that guy"
Good luck.

RichLo said:

Also, thats not in the right tank location for that truck. Thats a suburban tank mounded on a dually where the spare tire normally sits. The dually tank should be mounted inside the frame on the driver side under the bed.

EDIT: I see you still have a normal tank sitting in front of the axle. WTF? If that setup is done correctly, you have like 75 gallons capacity.

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Most likely a factory aux tank. Some of the chassis cabs have a single tank in that rear location. There's a number of combinations. My '94 3500HD 6.5td just had the large single rear tank. Very much the factory setup on that truck, down to the straps, plastic cover, etc.





I removed it because it was in the way of the wrecker unit install. I had to install a skinny tank swiped from a '92 3500 chassis cab (somewhere around 20 gallons) and tweak the straps a little bit to make up for frame differences between the 3500 and the 3500HD.

Chassis cabs are real tight on clearance between the frame rails for stuff like gas tanks. A regular GMT400 pickup truck tank can't fit at all. Side by side longbed truck tank and chassis cab tank..


Richard