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1984 GL wagon fuel line inside the gas tank is clogged


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Hello good people,

 

Got a clogged flue line in my 84 GL wagon. If anyone has ever taken the fuel sending unit off the tank and looked in to see the fuel line you know its has like 5 or 6 bends and U-turns before it finally ends at the bottom of the tank. My issue is that somehow the fuel line got clogged with something (old gas, rust, ??) and i can't get it unclogged.  I have tried to hook up an air compressor to the line and it wouldn't get it. I have tried o run braided cable hooked into a drill and drill it out but i can't get it past all the bends and uturns to actually dig at the clogged spot.  I started to take off the tank but the bolts started busting off. Does anyone know of a way i can unclogg this without dropping the tank or replacing the tank?  Thank. i need to know something fast because my 2001 Outback LL beam just blew a head gasket at 220K miles and i need a back up car for like two weeks.

 

Thanks

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I just did this with a 82 Brat. Cleaned the tank with oxalic acid and water. Took all the gunk from setting in a field 15 years but not the clogged fuel line. For that I cut a 10x10 hole in the top and reached in there and gently bent the fuel tube up far enough to get the screen off. It was caked on the outside but half full of some tar like gunk on the INSIDE. I sprayed it over and over with carb cleaner and soaked it with WD40 and gently scraped it with a pick. All the gunk clogging the fuel line was inside the tube where the intake screen is. From the outside I could only get a coat hangar and 8 inches before it hit a wall. But from my newly cut access hole I could shove a hangar in there where the clip was. Filled the tube with carb cleaner and soaked it overnight a couple of times and finally blew it out with 150 psi air. It was like a real thick tar. Can't figure out why it was all inside the screen? Welding the tank back was tricky. Set the wire welder as low as it would go and made hundreds of tiny welds, finally got it though. Not good news for you. You may take it to a radiator shop and get it boiled.

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OK, this sucks. what are the chances of finding a salvaged tank that has a clear fuel line?  I have screwed with this line for hours and hours. I like the idea of cutting a hole in the tank, but i have never welded before. Guess I'll try the radiator shop. What is screwy is i was just driving this thing like a couple of month before it went to hell. Even thought about just making a fuel tank out of a 5 gallon bucket and seat belting it in the passenger seat, just to get back on the road.

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 ...I like the idea of cutting a hole in the tank, but i have never welded before. ....

Just for safety's sake, I am going to say if you don't know anything about welding don't start learning on a fuel tank. Leave it to the pro's.

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update: I removed my fuel tank and took it to a radiator repair shop. the radiator dude poured some acid in the fuel line and let it soke for like 4 days. He is able to get a wire all the way to the mesh sock deal and get a little air to blow through but it's not good enough. Now he says he is going to put a gallon of acid in the tank and melt off the fuel mesh sock deal that's at the pick up locaiton. I am going to start looking for a new tank. Does anyone know if you can still get new tanks for a 1984 GL? Online link?

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I doubt very, very, very, highly that anyone still supplies GL tanks from the 80s. Your best bet is either:

 

1) probably to find a pick-an-pull yard somewhere and pull one off a soob there. 

2) or see if you can find a USMB member near you who is willing to part with an extra tank.

3) find some way to mod a different tank to adapt to the bottom of your car. I really am not an authority on fabrication so im not sure that is even possible but I'm guessing there is some way to do something like that.

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No sir, no new sending unit. However, it had sit at the bottom of the old tank for so long it had rotted a hole straight through the old tank. I removed the tank/sender & cleaned the sender best I could. Re-installed it and while it isn't 100% accurate, the low fuel light still works & I'm satisfied with that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

welp i got my tank fixed!!! Took it to a radiator repair shop and the radiator dude poured acid in the line and also had to put acid in the tank to melt off the metal mesh filter sock.  $75. now time to get it all back together and on the road again.

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Welp, got this bad boy back on the road. Had to charge the batter, replace one tire, new headlight, windsheild wipers blads. gotta do the front brake pads next. changed the oil and gonna flush the coolant. Did a car wash and it's running good now. don't know how many times i wanted to give up on this thing. Glad i didn't though.

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