4207 Fuel Tank Replacement

[Lee_B]

Fast forward 9 months and I am now knee deep in the process of replacing the first tank. I am using a gantry crane to do the heavy lifting and stowing the port engine in the salon directly over the starboard engine. I have put extra stands under the hull to carry the added load. I stripped down the salon and stowed the sofa forward in the galley area. Floor jacks were installed to transfer the load down to the stringers and all fuel was transferred over to the starboard tank. Opened up the soft patches in the flooring and pulled the center support strut. Pulled off the starter, turbo, air box along with assorted cooling lines and salt water pump. Slid the shaft back about 12 inches, then broke the transmission free from the engine and slid it back enough to clear the gears. The engine picked cleanly and just cleared the mounts for the support strut. Slid the engine to starboard and set it down on 6x6 timbers that were supported under the salon deck with more floor jacks. Picked the transmission out and sent it off to be gone over, along with the turbocharger and all the coolers. Spent today cleaning the bilge areas and inspecting the tank area to figure out a removal process. Clearances look to be very tight - it may require cutting the tank down to get it out and having a slightly shorter tank fabricated as a replacement.... Should have those answers in the next couple of weeks. Below are some pictures of the process to date.

[RGrew176]

That's definitely a major project. Hope all continues to go well.

[Viper]

Excellent
Now's a good time to assess and replace anything on the engine or around it that would otherwise be difficult to access with the engine in place. It's also a good time to consider installing dripless shaft logs if she doesn't already have them.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

[km1125]

Wow. That is cool as *****. THANK YOU for providing the pics!!!

Looks like the crane had just the right footing to straddle the opening, or did you have to customize it to make that fit??

Awesome opportunity to clean out the bilge. I'd be tempted to pull the stbd engine after that project was done just to get that side cleaned up too!

[Lee_B]

I'm working on the bilges as we speak. Transmission went out for service on Friday - new seals and a general check-up. Turbocharger will go out next week for a check-up. All the coolers will go out for an ultrasonic cleaning and all hoses will be replaced. I plan on going over the engine and replacing any suspect gaskets. Will clean up and paint everything before reassembly. The crane is a Spanco 1 ton adjustable aluminum rig. It was the only thing I could find that I could manhandle into place and that would handle the load. I got lucky with the fit, thought for sure I would have to do some modifications but it dropped right in place with inches to spare. Hopefully I will get the tank out this week and get the fabrication of a new one underway. I'm still not sure if it is going to come out in one piece, height clearance looks to be very close. I won't know until I get the last of the hoses off and get it jacked up. Worst case scenario I will have to cut it out and have the new tank built a few inches shorter. Below is a couple pics of the ramp I built to get the transmission out. We boomed a crane in over the aft deck and dropped the cable down into the salon. The transmission slid right up the ramp and out the door- sure beat manhandling it out of there. Although the starboard tank is not leaking I plan on repeating the entire process including replacing the tank.... Same age tank that has been in the same environment for the last 30 years, no reason to believe it is in much better shape than its port side sister.

[Viper]

Good call on replacing the other tank too Lee.

[km1125]

Even if it lasted a few more years, getting that other tank out and replaced on YOUR schedule is worth all the efforts and the comfort of knowing that it's already done when you're planning future uses of the vessel!

[Lee_B]

Tank is now out. Had to cut it up because it was too tall to get out over the stringer. If I wasn't already planning on replacing the other tank, then one look at the bottom of this tank would have convinced me. The entire one side of the tank was severely corroded and peppered with holes - with one large enough to stick my finger in. It amazes me that it was barely weeping fuel. Below are a few pics of the tank.

[Viper]

Wow, that's gotta be the worst I've ever seen. You'll want to look at the option of getting the outside of the new tank coated to help prevent corrosion, some places will offer this. Also consider installing the tanks in such a way so that air can pass under them. Laying on top of a few narrow strips of King Starboard for example would keep them off the floor, allow air to pass through to dry out any moisture, and the Starboard won't rot. Some guys use thick rubber instead.

Great pics

[km1125]

Curious what you used to cut the tank up? Glad it was a diesel tank, can't imagine taking a saw to a gas tank, no matter how many times you've rinsed it!!