Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I seem to be getting quite a lot of rust in the fuel pump filter so I'm considering taking out the tank and giving it the Frost POR15 type treatment. Don't have easy access to my workshop manual at the moment so how much work is involved in getting the tank out? 73 model +2S130/5. Anyone any experience of putting in alloy or stainless tanks as a substitute. Thanks

Hi!
Removing the tank is not difficult:
- From under the car (LH) remove rubber grommet to expose fuel drain plug; drain tank.
- Disconnect banjo bolt on fuel supply line from underside of tank .
- From inside the boot remove boot floor and backboards.
- Disconnect fuel sender wires and release rubber fuel filler elbow from tank (sometimes a big of a pain).
- Undo nuts from ends of tank restraining straps, reomove breather pipe tubes and pull tank out from it's location.

Haven't personally used the POR15 tank treatment although my son has used it in a bike tank with good results. I have replaced the fuel tanks in both my S130 and Sprint with alloy tanks made by Andy Wilshire. (Really good quality items and Andy is a nice bloke to deal with). Problem solved.

Whilst the tank is out, maybe a good time to inslect/replace upper diff mounts.

Hope this is of some help,

Martin B

Excellent advice Martin, thanks for your help. I'll give it a go at the weekend hopefully. I normally run the cars on the Shell premium petrol as it is said to have no Ethanol so perhaps an alloy tank would be a good option if the steel one is too far gone.

Ill second the Andy W tanks. Really good quality item and service.

Also agree Andy is a fantastic bloke.

I am also impressed with the quality of work done on my tank from Andy.

Richard Hawkins

I agree with the steps Martin said but would add when I did it was quiet tricky getting it in & out via the boot. It's a pretty tight fit there, especially with parcel shelf and seats in place, it can be done but requires some careful maneuvering and nudging to get it in place.

Fortunately I have the parcel shelf and rear screen out and the boot lid off - so this seems an ideal opportunity to take a look at the tank and re-plumb the tank ventilation system to the Ken Ind design in the hope of reducing the ever present slight petrol smell from one end of the car.at least.

Thanks for all the inputs.

I?ve just fitted an alloy tank from Kelvedon motors and it fits just fine. Initially I was concerned that it didn?t have two ?dimples? in the bottom of the tank supposedly to clear the diff mounting bolts, but they are not necessary as the bottom of the tank is angled and it?s well clear of the diff mounting bolts. The fuel filler pipe goes hard with age and you may want to replace it at the same time, similarly the two breather pipe go hard but you don?t want to be replacing them unnecessarily as it?s removing the headlining for that. If you go for an alloy tank I recommend sliding a length of heat shrink over the securing straps, simple to do and protects the alloy. I have my old steel tank if interested, looks good on the outside with no rust, but has been stored empty in my garage for about 15 years.

I used POR 15 in my tank and it seems very effective. Once coated I don't think it will matter what type of fuel you use the stuff seems bomb proof, just don't get any on your hands. I did and it took about 10 days until my hands were clean. If you do use it make sure you block all orifices very effectively, I just used tape and that wasn't good enough hence the coated hands when rotating the tank to coat all the internal surfaces.

One owner I chatted to had fitted a motorcycle filter to the banjo bolt. This is a sintered metal type rough filter that was attached vertically to the bolt. The idea being that any sediment wouldn't get past. vigorous driving would clear and collection of sediment from the filter. I'm not sure how much you will still get after treating the tank.

A neat idea putting a filter just inside the tank. Many years ago when silicone rubber was new I used it to seal the sender unit onto the tank (S3 elan). One day coming back from Silverstone and in the process of overtaking a bus on a single carriageway road the engine died. No petrol. A blob of silicone rubber pushed out from one of the mounting screw holes had fallen into the tank, swollen up and and point of maximum need had blocked the tank outlet. Blowing back down the pipe from the carb dislodged it and we carried on a little more slowly and being wary of any overtaking!