Gasngo

Well I forgot what its like to work on a dirty old rusty fuel system! Im bleeding in 3 different places. Pump is off including pressure outlet hose. Feed hose from tank soft and I can see some debris in the hose to pump including inlet of pump. So new strainer, pump, hoses and filter. The fuse has current when I crank it so at least something working there. My eye site is not like it used to be with bifocals under the dash more fun than anyone can stand. Im sure the injectors need to be removed and sent out. If I can get the system online and run some fuel out the test fitting before fire up maybe I can get the motor running to test for other issue and cut down on shipping cost. Might go ahead and get a fuel sender. Im open to suggestions on anything else.

Gasngo

Ok strainer out. Anybody care to comment on how much debris at the bottom of the tank I can get away with. I have not pulled the sender Ill assume be able to see some internal surfaces in the tank. I can reach a finger inside the bottom and pick up a some bits of stuff but nothing nasty or black tar crud. Im sure Im not the only one said thats what strainer screen is for.

Zirconocene

I don't have any experience with what you're doing, but I'm about to, so I'm interested to hear what feedback you get.

That said, once you get it running, these things drive so, so good. You won't regret the work you're putting in now.

Cheers

Gasngo

Well I have worked on cars for a living in the past. Its not foreign territory but its been a while going this deep into one. The old fuel smell is worst part. Adding to my post I got the sender out and the tank has a fair amount rusty gunk inside. If I was in the field and needed to get home it would be multiple strainers and away we go. In this case the tank really needs to come out and be cleaned and sealed I suppose. Not what I wanted to do but it needs it. I had the car backed up into the shop on a slope and managed to get things apart but now I need to get the 68 Mustang off the lift and get the 44 on it. Im not about to struggle with that on the floor of the shop.
So far
Things needed Pump,sender,hoses at tank, filter and remove tank for cleaning. Ill eventually find this out but I assume there a baffle in the tank to keep fuel around the strainer while driving? Metal or plastic. I know MB did some plastic stuff in the past and having tanks cleaned sometimes ruined that and made the tank useless. Any input welcome. Man I smell old gas AAARRRGGG

Gage

You're not deep yet, but about to be. The fuel tank only comes out after removing the transaxle and crossmember.
While removing the tank to flush and seal is absolutely the best thing to do, there is a lot that can be accomplished with the tank in the car.
This route may be particularly beneficial given the car is a new to you, unknown and non running puzzle at the moment. I'd say leave the "tank out" project for sometime down the road...
like when you find out the clutch center has disintegrated and to change it the transaxle has to come out anyway.

Millermatic

Not to be a total ***... but I’m glad late model 944s have plastic tanks.

If it makes you feel any better... changing the oil pan gasket on a turbo really stinks. (To be clear... lots of other things on a turbo are worse... you’d just think something like an oil pan gasket wouldn’t be bad. You’d think that... and you’d be wrong.)

orig944

Because at the time it seemed like an inexpensive way to get a nice car.

Gasngo

Im with ya on the plastic stuff. I can imagine the turbo oil pan. I have driven and worked on turbos 44 but most of the time it was traditional service. Take a dash out of a 107 chassis MB even more in depth throw in a A/C evaporator maybe a all the vacuum pods. Hell just a e valve on one of those is a brutal back bending contorse for 2 hours or more. I have not really investigated the tank issue in regards to ripping the rear end out of it but if you say so then I believe it. I did speak with papasmurf by phone who commented on the pre purchase thread and he mentioned it was a pain in the *** and he did it more than once to get it right. Whats in there could possibly stick and stay for a while with a new screen. I suppose I could get it back on the trailer and put cleaner in and drive around. Im pretty savvy I could seal it up for sure. Fill it with purple degreaser/ Use Por 15 Acetone ? Anything that would etch the surface would invite future rust but just getting the bulk of the crap off the inner surface would possibly suffice. Those strainers are a pretty fine mesh. Im open to ideas.

pfarah7

Gasngo,

I've removed a couple of these early tanks; lots-o-work but not impossible. You can probably get away with flushing the tank out in place, then replace the screen and fuel filter. Removing the sender will allow you to see what's accumulated on the bottom. Note: I wouldn't recommend using a lighter to check what's inside...

Tiger03447

Dear Gasngo: I pulled my tankout, but I only had to pull the transaxle. I don't think that you have to pull the rear suspension, just yet. Pressure or vacuum test the tank with a variety of bathtub stoppers and corks...I used a mightyvac hand pump after I had made some repairs and it held vacuum very well. While the tank was out, I washed it out several times with water. If you leave it in the car, a large shop vac may be your friend here. There are a couple of baffles in the tank....all of the fluids go to the protruding area under the tank for obvious reasons. After you take it out, be sure to mark the positions of all the rubber pads on the tank. You may also have to replace all/some of the straps as well. The tank is a soldered unit, so don't try to weld on it . I had to repair some areas on mine, so I used acid core solder and a heat gun (1200 degrees)..The solder will flow nicely on clean surfaces. Rhino lining bedcoat spray will do nicely before the re-install..Good luck..You also might want to put a bunch of fuel tank sloshing compound inside the tank as an extra barrier to rust.

Gasngo

All of this is good info. Let me get from Pnt A to Pnt B. Smurf said he dumped washers a nuts type stuff in the tank and shook the crap out of it. More than once and a seal failure. So getting right the first time is important. My observation based on the color line of the fuel sender the car sat with a 1/4 or less fuel for a while. That means growth of crap all over the interior. Ill just have to see what it looks like tomorrow morning and is it rust dust or gum. Is there a answer in place or removed. Dogs chasing cats got to go! Got to love a 4 animal Fam.

papasmurf

I was going to text you yesterday to see how it was going as I was about to pull a tank out of another car to keep as a back up. After battling months of cleaning the tank, resealing, having the sealer fail, and various starting problems related to all this, I would drop the tank and take it to a radiator place and have them clean it out. I think they were going to charge me $100 to clean the tank and maybe a bit more to reseal. Resealing with red-kote was simple and about 30 dollars for the quart can of it. My first run with por-15 tank sealer was a total disaster when it lifted off the tank walls after about a week of curing in the garage and was basically a thin balloon inside my fuel tank. The radiator shop said they had no way of removing the por-15 so I had to split the tank and remove it with a wire brush and about an hours labor. Dropping the tank is removing the axles, muffler, heatshield, and transmission. The first time it took about 45 minutes of wiggling the tank to get it out as it is very tightly fitted to the chassis. I removed it once more to replace a vent hose on top and it was alot easier to remove the tank from the chassis. 944foottothefloor blog has a good writeup on removing the transmission and tank I think. Like I said, I would get the tank out and get it right or you will just be chasing problems potentially later, as my rusting tank killed a fuel pump, fuel filter, and clogged the injectors which were all previously cleaned/fixed by the previous owner apart from fixing the tank issue.

Gasngo

Ya my big concern would be all new parts and everything takes a crap just to spend the money over again. I just spoke with a outfit in San Antonio that I did business with when I ran the import shop and the gal on the phone said price is 175$ and they seal it with Red-kote I dont know anything about Red-kote sound like you used it. I have read a few shops use a product called Renu. Anyways it will be a pain but the most logical move considering the big picture. I could spend that money once again on all new parts. Will keep you updated.

Gasngo

Well took some time to locate parts and Ill have a tuff time getting my mind around the fuel sender prices even the strainer makes my squeamish. But overall pump, filter, strainer hose tanks to pump not really a deal breaker but that sender. Yikes.

papasmurf

There is likely a sender (unknown condition) still in the car I looked at this weekend...was going to pull it as a spare but forgot to. I paid about $50 for one off of ebay as my original fell apart when I removed it from the tank...might be worth checking out if you are not wanting to purchase new.