User Panel
Posted: 3/3/2015 7:44:49 PM EDT
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The manufacturer intended the tank be dropped for this repair...i.e., they didnt engineer anything incorrectly. Is it a pain in the ass? Sometimes....but it beats a jerry rigged solution like that.
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I did.the same to my Jeep because I ain't droppin no full fuel tank on the side of a trail. But I made a small hatch with locking tab out of alluminum. I have changed a few in trucks that it is easier to pull bed and slide back on frame rails that it was to get tank out. Vehicles are meant for you to take to technician and get fixed correctly...the great circle
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Quoted:
The manufacturer intended the tank be dropped for this repair...i.e., they didnt engineer anything incorrectly. Is it a pain in the ass? Sometimes....but it beats a jerry rigged solution like that. View Quote Many manufacturers design in an access hole for the fuel pump. Not to do so is just cheapness and laziness on the part of the engineering department and the manufacturer. |
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Nothing ghetto about it, makes sense to have a access plate that allows for a faster and less costly repair. Oh wait that's why there is no access plate, so a pump replacement will costs $800.
Off topic, its like when my LG refrigerator stopped working a few years ago, reason blown fuse on the mother board. A new board is $250. Fuse was not replaceable, screw that. Pull mother board, get solder gun, fuse clips and a fuse. Cut off fuse from mother board, solder fuse clips to mother board and install new fuse. Re install mother board and power up frige Now have a replaceable fuse if it ever blows out again. My cost was about $3 vs $250. |
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Quoted: That is a GM pump but I can't tell you what year. Should be 1996 or newer. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: what make/model/year Good eye...99 Suburban. Had to change out their shitty designed plug too. |
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Quoted: Nothing ghetto about it, makes sense to have a access plate that allows for a faster and less costly repair. Oh wait that's why there is no access plate, so a pump replacement will costs $800. Off topic, its like when my LG refrigerator stopped working a few years ago, reason blown fuse on the mother board. A new board is $250. Fuse was not replaceable, screw that. Pull mother board, get solder gun, fuse clips and a fuse. Cut off fuse from mother board, solder fuse clips to mother board and install new fuse. Re install mother board and power up frige Now have a replaceable fuse if it ever blows out again. My cost was about $3 vs $250. View Quote No shit. Cost me less than $160! |
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I like it, but you can tell I'm older because I stick with the phrase, "form follows function".
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Seal that opening up good to keep carbon monoxide out of the cabin.
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In everyone's bitching about German vehicles, they have an access hole from factory.
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I recall our older RWD Mazda MPV van having an access plate under the carpet
It's by in large only lazy cheapskate domestic manufacturers that do shit like no access. Why make another part and pay somebody to design a panel when you can save $2.88 on every vehicle by not doing it. You better believe my suburban will get the same treatment instead of dropping a 40 gallon fuel tank |
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to replace a fuel pump...so I did. Fuck dropping a 44 gallon tank. Simple access hole done in no time, only cost of pump and sealant. https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10523773_1040671395962212_3108760761869435300_n.jpg?oh=7a35e1c0c3917a7473860560887b8023&oe=55824097https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10997298_1040671549295530_2889510760677137939_n.jpg?oh=5239e6afca9f80655fef570c4adea8a0&oe=557C8482 https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10362360_1040671569295528_7825649560587992676_n.jpg?oh=96200d1e28849f01b5295cdb93eff921&oe=558090B3 https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10891427_1041921742503844_2103830941459103547_n.jpg?oh=e72f93f50d24e8e45e9da3a698c203e0&oe=558A573D&__gda__=1435791286_c9c34164be4742a924f73bca274098be View Quote Facking GM truck pumps! I wish customers would let me get away with that approach. |
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A bigger question is why they put the pumps in the tank in the first place. Why not accessible from the engine compartment or undercarriage?
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You should have drilled fairly large diameter holes at each corner to reduce stress raisers. Other than that, making an access where one was omitted in the first place is an excellent solution.
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Quoted: A bigger question is why they put the pumps in the tank in the first place. Why not accessible from the engine compartment or undercarriage? View Quote |
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OP I am digging your solution. I'd almost think about adding some "channeled" weatherstrip in there as well.
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Quoted: You should have drilled fairly large diameter holes at each corner to reduce stress raisers. Other than that, making an access where one was omitted in the first place is an excellent solution. View Quote I get what your saying, but chevy didn't scrimp on the floor, that is two layers of some thick steel. |
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Quoted: OP I am digging your solution. I'd almost think about adding some "channeled" weatherstrip in there as well. View Quote I'll revisit it when it's not snowing, freezing rain or 20* or lower outside. Been trying to get this done for a while, but every weekend it;s been something, then finally Saturday was in the high 30s. But, go on... |
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Quoted: Maybe not try to use .035 wire next time. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yeah, thats not ghetto at all. Nope. Maybe not try to use .035 wire next time. Eh, I just dropped it off at a job I cover...used what they had, didn't have the proper filler rod for TIG, but it works, nobody can see it, strong enough, so no care. |
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I dont have a huge issue with the access hole...but the way it was done is terrible. I understand form follows function, blah blah....but I prefer my vehicles not appear to have had a meth addict work on them.
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I would care...I drive old junk, and always have...but I still prefer to make repairs and modifications the right way.
For a cheap, less ghetto solution, a piece of salvage yard floorpan slightly larger than the access hole would have been an much more elegant solution. |
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I would care...I drive old junk, and always have...but I still prefer to make repairs and modifications the right way. For a cheap, less ghetto solution, a piece of salvage yard floorpan slightly larger than the access hole would have been an much more elegant solution. View Quote You care what an acess panel looks like that's hidden under 3/4 of an inch of old moldy carpet and sound insulation in the cargo area of a suburban? I call bullshit on your driving old stuff And or working on it yourself |
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This is much like my recent surburban shenanigans with a rear main seal leak mis diagnosed
Two changes were made in the process of this repair. FIRST I left the stupid dust shield off from below the torque converter. WHY? Because without it you can remove the trans without dropping the exhaust first SECOND the real leak was the cheesy and utterly superfluous oil cooler adapter (factory) which was also removed and shit canned for a standard filter on block arrangement. |
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Quoted: The manufacturer intended the tank be dropped for this repair...i.e., they didnt engineer anything incorrectly. Is it a pain in the ass? Sometimes....but it beats a jerry rigged solution like that. View Quote You mean, a fully functional solution that takes nothing away from the rigidity of the structure? Somehow... I think this is appropriate. |
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First cop that sees that is gonna get a big grin before he calls for the tow and subsequent dismantling of your vehicle to find ALL of the hidden spaces and drug residue.
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Quoted:
You care what an acess panel looks like that's hidden under 3/4 of an inch of old moldy carpet and sound insulation in the cargo area of a suburban? I call bullshit on your driving old stuff And or working on it yourself View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I would care...I drive old junk, and always have...but I still prefer to make repairs and modifications the right way. For a cheap, less ghetto solution, a piece of salvage yard floorpan slightly larger than the access hole would have been an much more elegant solution. You care what an acess panel looks like that's hidden under 3/4 of an inch of old moldy carpet and sound insulation in the cargo area of a suburban? I call bullshit on your driving old stuff And or working on it yourself This is how I would havef done it. If you are going to do something, do it correctly the first time so you dont have to do it again...but to each thier own. If the OP is happy so am I. |
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Yes, i would care...because I would know it was there, and it would bother me.
Call Bullshit all you want...an 02 is the newest truck I have ever owned, and I damn sure aint paying someone to work on it. I believe in fixing stuff the right way, the first time...and that damn sure aint it. You can tell a lot about a man in his attention to detail... |
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Well done OP. Fuck the haters. Most of arfcom drives a prius anyway and has the dealer fiddle fuck with their batteries while the obgyn does their pap smear.
Silicone sealer or drip check/body seam adhesive will seal that air tight with no worries. It isn't a vintage Ferrari or Porshe. |
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Quoted: This is how I would havef done it. If you are going to do something, do it correctly the first time so you dont have to do it again...but to each thier own. If the OP is happy so am I. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I would care...I drive old junk, and always have...but I still prefer to make repairs and modifications the right way. For a cheap, less ghetto solution, a piece of salvage yard floorpan slightly larger than the access hole would have been an much more elegant solution. You care what an acess panel looks like that's hidden under 3/4 of an inch of old moldy carpet and sound insulation in the cargo area of a suburban? I call bullshit on your driving old stuff And or working on it yourself This is how I would havef done it. If you are going to do something, do it correctly the first time so you dont have to do it again...but to each thier own. If the OP is happy so am I. |
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Quoted: Well done OP. Fuck the haters. Most of arfcom drives a prius anyway and has the dealer fiddle fuck with their batteries while the obgyn does their pap smear. Silicone sealer or drip check/body seam adhesive will seal that air tight with no worries. It isn't a vintage Ferrari or Porshe. View Quote |
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Quoted:No shit. Done once and done correctly. Not going to waste my time with the aesthetics of something that can't be seen. View Quote I would have to disagree with correctly, but its your ride. Personally, I still dont understand the mentality that quality work only matters when others can see it, but whatever.... |
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Quoted: I would have to disagree with correctly, but its your ride. Personally, I still dont understand the mentality that quality work only matters when others can see it, but whatever.... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted:No shit. Done once and done correctly. Not going to waste my time with the aesthetics of something that can't be seen. I would have to disagree with correctly, but its your ride. Personally, I still dont understand the mentality that quality work only matters when others can see it, but whatever.... Because you are confused with aesthetics, which is why you used "ghetto". Are the welds pretty? Nope. Are they strong enough for the application? Yep. Is the repair going to move or let CO in? Nope, the epoxy sealant/adhesive is plenty strong. |
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OP, how did you cut the hole? I ask because I am concerned about the proximity of the top of the tank to the bottom of the floor pan.
Zebra312, how would you have designed it, aesthetically speaking, if you were going to do it? I was told the following. It is a true story, despite some of the details being hazy now. One airplane manufacturer left out an access panel for maintenance and repair to the APU on a series of fighter jets. When the APU required service (they always do), the first thing you had to do was cut a new access panel into the fuselage (?) to get access. I'm sure they had a perfectly rational explanation for why it was not done initially. This is the reality of engineered solutions. A fuel pump does not usually need to be repaired and certainly not within the warranty period. Why spend time and money building in the feature? I think the OP was rational doing what he did. Zebra312 does not like the look of the modification, so I ask this. How could it be done? How should it be done? |
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Did you look at the pictures? An angle grinder with a cut off wheel. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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OP, how did you cut the hole? I ask because I am concerned about the proximity of the top of the tank to the bottom of the floor pan. Did you look at the pictures? An angle grinder with a cut off wheel. I did but simply did not "see" that one in the montage, even though it was there. If my pump goes bad, I will almost certainly be using this approach to gain access.. |
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Quoted: Me too might be soon that I want on a 98 Tahoe View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: If my pump goes bad, I will almost certainly be using this approach to gain access.. Me too might be soon that I want on a 98 Tahoe Won't work on a Tahoe as the tank is in a different location. |
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Zebra312, how would you have designed it, aesthetically speaking, if you were going to do it? I think the OP was rational doing what he did. Zebra312 does not like the look of the modification, so I ask this. How could it be done? How should it be done? View Quote What would I have done? Dropped the tank. That being said, if I decided I absolutely had to have an access hole, I would have cut one, and them went to the salvage yard and cut a slightly larger piece from a like vehicle, using it as the cover for that port. |
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