No Excuse

[OrangeQuest]

When the nipple broke I may have said something very profane and the struggle since has not curbed my language. I know some very nasty things in Tunisian Arabic that help me during such times.

But I keep hearing "Ain't nothing but a thang."

Hmm? Seems something in those fittings is not made of the same metals as the rest. Galvanic corrosion has welded the fittings together? Can you drill out the fitting going down into the tank and replace the fitting then? Is the tank made of stainless? I see stainless screws holding the sending unit down.
The ground attachment point also looks to be made of a different metal.

[cape man]

I think it's all aluminum. This is the part that's "stuck". https://www.moellermarine.com/moeller-m ... 635021-10/

After 12 years you don't have to have two different kinds of metal to make things hard to move!!!

Found the right socket to put on an impact drill and will give it a shot later today.

[Fuzz]

If you are going to do anything that has a chance of producing a spark then bite the bullet and fill the tank with water first.

[fallguy1000]

Isn't there a nut on the other side?

I would think access is via the sender, but I'm guessing.

[TomW1]

cape man you are correct the tank is aluminum, and he used the proper fittings and properly grounded it, what I do not remember is where he got it from. Tom

[cape man]

The tank is plastic, the fuel take up connections are aluminum. Moeller does sell replacements but as I said I have to get the old one out. Apparently there is a "jam fitting" that goes through the top, and a threaded sleeve that recieves the jam nut on the outside and the connector "T" on the inside. Some of the fuel pick up assemblies have a threaded connection, and others are a pop-in. Both have support documents on how to remove or repair them, which at least is helping me vision what I'm dealing with. https://www.moellermarine.com/customer- ... r-support/


Actually impressed with their website and customer support documents, but not so much with them answering the phone or replying to an email...

Have been trying to unscrew the fitting, so today I'm going to try and pull it out. Don't know if it will work as I can't wrap my head around it not turning in the jam fitting if its just a pop in...

I know you all are waiting for sanding, fairing, and painting posts, but the fuel issue has to be addressed before she goes out...

[cape man]

Tried an impact wrench and the entire fitting spun. Tried a puller and was only able to grunt. Emailed a pic and discription of my problem to the tech support at Moeller and they pretty much said I need a new tank since the fitting spun, and that based on the pic it is a threaded fitting... No retrofit available from them, and I can appreciate that given the liability for a gas tank in a boat. However... cutting the deck and removing the tank is NOT an option, and certainly not my preferred.

Did some digging and talked to some friends that have a lot of experience in boats and fuel tanks. On my Moeller tank, the fuel sending unit is immediately adjacent to the fuel pickup fitting and is a circular plate screwed into the tank top with 5 screws. You can take that off and replace it if needed. So why not do the same with the fuel pickup?

Step 1, and the BIG step was to get the courage to break out a 1 3/4" hole saw and cut out the whole fitting around the nut. Was waiting for an internet service guy yesterday afternoon so decided it was time to bite the bullet, pull the trigger, stop being a sissy, and get on it! It actually went a lot easier than I expected!

Now I can see inside and there's very little fuel, but it is a dark yellow brown. I'm bringing home some airline tubing (like you get for an aquarium) and a glass pipette that fits it to slowly siphon out the fuel from the lowest corner of the tank. The solution afterwards is to use something like this to replace the pickup.

I sent an email to them to get the dimensions of the plate and the length of the pickup tube. If their off-the-shelf part doesn't work my welder buddy says he'll make me one out of stainless.

The internet service guy was running late so I decided to remove the numbers and registration decals from the bow using Goof Off and alcohol
Seemed appropriate as by now I'm just goofing off and having a beer.

15 minutes befor the deadline for the service appointment (1 - 5pm), the guy calls to say he was on his way but got pulled off of our problem to service a FEMA job?!!! By now I'm really pissed as the problem has been a week in the process! But I know what calms the soul of this old fart... Break out the Sander!

Got the port side gunwale and foredeck sanded! If nothing else it will show the guys where to stop and it allowed me to go to that Zen place that only the sound of a random orbital sander provides...

Have a fun surprise for this issue...

[Fuzz]

Last picture WTF

[Jeff]

Good start Cape Man!!! Jeff

[cape man]

Tom thinks it was a delivery van...