Gas tank question

My 74 CJ5 gas tank finally rusted through. The pad between the skid plate and tank must have kept moisture in it (even though my jeep stays in the desert) and got to it. Anywho, I was wondering if you guys had luck with the plastic replacement tanks?
:?

 

i just bought one. so lets hope the responses are positive!

my thought was that all of the new vehicles have plastic tanks, so how bad could they be

 

No rust....

 

When I got my 1963 Cj5. It had a lot of pine needles, and what not all around the gas tank. After cleaning it out. Fortunately I found no real damage, but the desert is very hard on plastic. Personally I would stick with the metal gas tanks. I was in Willys works When a customer came in to buy. I believe it was a radiator overflow. Not only did he buy one, but he bought two extra, because according to him they just don't last and the dealer wants a lot more money than Willys works did. So, he was stocking up on a plastic tanks, this was a newer model jeep. the desert I would go with mental in Florida I would go with plastic. My two cents
Doug/Tucson

 

I had the exact same issue with my 75 i purchased last august; the pad between the tank and guard had collected and held moisture long enough for it to rust through. after getting many opinions and i mean many, i bought my metal replacement from willys works here in tucson and installed it myself without a whole lot of issues. the desert is really harsh on plastic and rust is not really an issue. i talked to quite a few guys that had major leaks because of expansion/contraction with the poly tanks. good luck!

 

the gas tank in my 1963 still hasn't been secured properly im trying to decide if I should use spacers between the gas tank and the tub. So when it does rain, the water will drain or if it is just best to leave it Just sitting on the tub
I cannot remember if it is designed to drain properly when it is just sitting on the tub. I am still looking for replacements seats, still haven't got any good leads on my high back seats for the early CJ fives. My original post did not produce any successful leads.
Doug/Tucson

 

Thanks for all the input. I have decided to go with metal since the desert is harsh on plastics. After all, it was 30 years old, and I think another 30 will do just fine....
Happy Trails!

 

Doug,
One of the things I do with my under seat tanks is take some rubber stripping and run it under the tank so there is a little space between the tub and tank. This allows air circulation and more chance that water and debris can be blown out. Here in the Pacific Northwest rust on the bottom of the under seat tanks is a real issue and this has helped mine tremendously. I purchase cheap rubber flat style bungee cords and cut the ends off. Make great spacers and much better than metal on metal contact. Haven't had any deterioration issues either. Nickmil

 

That is an awsome idea. Thanks for the info, Nick.

 

Where are u in wash iam in marysville west side??????

 

I love my MTS tank. I have no problems with contraction/expansion, and I will never have a rust problem again.

 

Wait...
There's supposed to be a pad between the fuel tank and the skid plate?:?
I don't have that on my 74. There about a 3/4" space between the tank and skid plate and there's nothing there but air. It seems right to me, doesn't make sense for anything to be in between there or am I missing something?

 

from the factory there was a pad or insulation between the tank and the skid.
and over time, it caused the tank to rust from the outside in.
dirt, leaves, moisture and the pad did many a tank in.

 

I guess I've been lucky, both the tank and the skid plate appear to be in excellent condition.... maybe they were replaced at one time, I can tell that the tank has been out of the Jeep before.

 

I used a piece of serpentine belt on my '62 P/U. Just my $.02 worth.

 

I chose a plastic (MTS I think) when I did my engine swap. The benefits I considered were no rust outside, and more important,,,no rust inside to mess with my fuel injection pump or injectors.