fuel tanke safety

[fallout boy]

friennd bought a gas tank 2 years ago an put gas init. couple 100 gals i think. Has four inc filer cap iron pipe now cap is ruseted on tight! i told him to be carful when trying to get cap of. could he be hurt doin this?

[610Alpha]

Yes he could be hurt if he isn't careful. Can't use the normal tricks to get a rusted thread apart (i.e. heat). Best to get a pipe wrench or something along those lines and get a 4-6 foot of pipe that has an inside diameter larger than the handle of the wrench to use a breaker bar. The pipe will give him extra leverage against the rust. Always a good idea to use anti-seize paste on bolts or anything that is threaded.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Don't strike the wrench with a hammer or anything that will spark, use leverage as Elittle stated

[Gonzo]

Might try shootin some Liquid Wrench or Amsoil MP at the threads and let that soak in... then the breaker bar as suggested...

G

[miked2345]

Did he put a fuel preservative in the gas? It might not even be good anymore..

[1Admin]

Is the tank vented? Not sure if it would matter for taking the cap off or not?? Anyone know?

[Gonzo]

Good thinkin, 1Ad. Wouldn't hurt to try to equalize pressure if pos - esp if cap is sucked down on a seal...
[shrug]

G

[Klayton]

Just a note, if your not trying to save the fuel inside or rather there is no fuel inside just vapor, may want to run it under the hose while "breaking" it loose. We do this with the old fuel pumps that are "in-tank", we literally flood the gas tank with water before we bust it lose,,,, gas vapor can be a real .. well you get the picture, LOL...

[RobertJ]

Spray the threads with PB-Blaster every day for 4 or 5, days use a pipe or strap wrench with a length of pipe over the handle for leaverage. If... that IS... IF its still stuck use A BRASS hammer toTAP Around the circumference of the cap, Tap it DO NOT WACK IT (no obviouse jokes here please). This is what we do with the Liquid oxygen, high pressure oxygen we deliver and caps or fittings freeze up, rusted closed etc.

[RememberGoliad]

A couple of observations. First, if the thing is air-tight, there is no reason the gas won't be just fine to run in an older carbureted engine. I had a 91 Crown Vic that jumped time, and it sat for six years before I messed with it. It wouldn't start on its gas, but I drained it and put it in my '76 F100 and it ran just fine, and this was a half-full tank, sitting in a car (not completely sealed). Stunk a little bit, but ran just fine. No.... scratch that... it stunk a LOT... but it did run fine.

Next observation is that if the cap is rusted on the threads, there had to be some moisture in it when it was screwed on... something had to react with the metal to make the rust. Chances are it's just a light rust that is more like "Nature's Loctite" than actually RUSTED ON THERE. If you gotta whack it, put a 2x4 chunk in between your whacker and the whackee, and it'll definitely not spark.

And, no, I don't think that the pressure could be causing it to "suck down"... because the thread pitch is so fine on pipe thread, that you're not changing the volume of the container that much... it's more likely the "Nature's Loctite" and not vacuum that's causing the reluctance.