20gal fuel tank ideas.........

I am trying to put a 20 gal plastic fuel tank in the CJ8 frame. Problem is it hangs down like an anchor. At least an additional 5 inches below the stock 15 gallon. Any suggestions?

 

is this a factory Jeep tank ?
the 15 gal is actually a 20 gal tank
modifying the fuel filler lets the 15 hold 20.
I seem to recall we found this out accidently
vent location ?
that being said, you're tank is prolly not factory, as the dimensions between the two were the same; you couldn't tell from outside appearance, other than reading the tag on the tank.

 

No, it's not factory. It's a plastic tank. It is taller than a regular tank and comes with the little thin spacers to space the skid plate lower. It does fit real nice and from the top, looking down, it looks just perfect and fits like factory between the two frame rails.

It just hangs down what seems to be a lot.

Best thing I have come up with is to weld up a new skidplate with sides, making a kinda fuel cell looking thing and just let it hang. Or go back to a stock tank.

 

I know a lot of folks do not like body lifts, but one benefit is allowing the tank to be mounted higher in the frame. If you are going to build the skid anyway, might be a way to shave at least an inch or two.

 

The loss in ground clearance under the skid plate is only as large as the spacers.

I agree with Duffer that adding a body lift would be the simplest way to move the tank up.

Note that the stock tank may seem like a tail-dragger, but the rear breakover angle is not affected much. The tank is close to the axle, so hanging down is not much of a problem as long as it's not any lower than the pumpkin.

I've dragged the stock plate over rocks many times, left obvious big dents, but it seems to do its job fine.

 

do you have the factory 20 gal tank from 82-86 cj7's? i just put one in my 80 cj5 and it works great. the 20 gal tank is plastic and has a fully enclosed skid. mine does not hang any lower than the orig 15 gal

 

I've heard of this on later Wranglers, but never on a CJ tank.

 

I could be wrong
you could be right
with me, it's a memory thing nowadays
is it not the same tank, CJ vs Wrangler ?

 

No, the advent of fuel injection brought different tanks. The fill locations are also in different places, CJ's were on the right and YJ and TJ's are on the left.