p.hase

I bought a 97 SC400 which was standing in the rain obviously without tank gas cap for a while.

When I removed the car from the old home and drove the car to my new location I found out that the spare wheel area of the trunk WAS FULL OF GASOLINE. What a shock. The gas drained somehow into the trunk from the back under the middle of the tank.

I must remove the complete tank to check or replace by another tank. I dont think it will be enough to take a look through the fuel pump hole.

Whats the complete procedure please to remove the fuel tank? Yes I saw the 4 bolts and...? Thanks for your help!

good2go

iTrader: (6)

Are you sure it's not a leak in the filler tube running to the tank or a pressure line or something? I would think it would be simpler and cheaper to repair/replace than the whole tank.

sc4doubleO

You must disconnect the 3 fuel lines from the bottom. You need a 17mm socket there is a copper gasket in between each so don't forget to put them back it will not leak but you will loose fuel pressure. After that you can just unplug the wire harness and remove the 4 bolts and work it out of the trunk.

Teal Sc400

Will this do?

p.hase

thank you so far. the hint with the 3 fuel lines is new to me. great. i had this drawing. i should have a picture from the bottom of an un-installed tank. all pictures you see on the net are from above which show top of fuel pump.

i probably didnt make it clear - the tank is empty. zero, nada, nothing, nichts, leer, empty. no gazoline left. the gasoline was leaking into the middle of the spare wheel area. see my picture. at the end i soaked all the gazoline off and drained through rubber plug.

is it possible that there are some flexible rubber lines Part.No. 77261F with clamps coming from tank to the metall fuel lines??? I just dont get it or is the tank attached to the fuel lines just through copper washers as you said? http://www.*******.com/parts/p_U_199...KA_7701.5.html (insert t o y o d i y )

also another question: i heared the fuel pump running dry - how long/often can i try to crank the engine without gasoline (there is nothing left) until fuel pump is damaged? i think there must be some vintage gasoline left in the fuel lines to start the car? or would you better fix the tank first and then fill up and start?

third question: can I jack up the SC400 at the differential in the middle?

DoomLight

iTrader: (3)

jack it up of course in the rear

1. 17mm socket will undo the banjo bolt for the fuel lines.
2. dont lose the grommits that go around those.
3. remove the spare tire covers and trunk carpet
4. remove rear carpet tank cover, just pull it off carefully
5. remove four 14mm bolts on corners of the gas tank.
6. optional remove the bolts around the filler neck under the gas lid
7. pop up rear speaker sub woofer cover in the center
8. locate and undo the four 10mm screws that hold that speaker down
9. back to trunk, pull gas tank out.

good2go

iTrader: (6)

Yes, I believe there are flex lines (77255F and 77261F are not actual part numbers, more just identifiers for the parts in the pic) as shown in the link given below.

xxxxDIY is a good source (they give full part numbers), but they don't give pics. For full detail, I add that (same) part info to this site which gives pics, but not complete part numbers: ( http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/Page_Pr...igPicture=True )

IDK about your fuel pump, I guess it depends how much abuse it took.

If you're really concerned about the old gas, you could just add a fresh gallon to the tank (after leak is found/fixed) to purge it out by opening a feed line up at the fuel rail and bleeding it off from there.

Yes, it's ok to lift by the diff.

p.hase

UPDATE: disconnected fuel pump and the engine cranks wonderfull and strong. of course it doesnt start at all without gas. unfortunately the alternator is fix. i lost some rubber on the drive belt. i smashed a hammer to the alternator while cranking - no success. any idea?

now to the tank - if you see it in person the picture of that section makes sense: the tank has two big screws at the bottom with 2 short pieces of metal fuel lines attached. followed by two short pieces of (4 inch) rubber hoses which are attached with clamps to the cars fuel lines. really cheap made. one hose has NO CLAMP AT ALL. i am wondering if this was forgotten ex factory. the other one has a clamp.

this means that i can remove the woofer, dissassemble the 4 large bolts that hold the tank and filler neck and can bend the hoses and turn the tank towards the trunk to check why its leaking.

i cranked up the car by the differential, have the wheels free 0,5 inches and stabilzed it with a hand fork lift as kind of insurance.

good2go

iTrader: (6)

I don't understand this part


Also, I doubt the factory "forgot" a fuel line hose clamp. More likely than not, it may have been removed/broken/lost sometime after it was built.

p.hase

sorry i meant "the alternator is locked". how can i loosen it? with a big plastic hammer or pipe wrench?

DoomLight

iTrader: (3)

the altenator is locked? if its seized... u need to remove the serpentine belt and take the altenator off and replace it. the bearings are no good in it. if you have an altenator/starter repair shop where you live. they can replace the bearings for about 45 bux.

or you will just have to get an entire altenator.

peelsSC300

iTrader: (1)

Maybe I'm blind, but, I can not seem to find the three fuel lines that I need to disconnect from under the tank. Does anyone have a picture?

peelsSC300

iTrader: (1)

Nevermind, I find it, just had to open my eyes.

CertifiedK

I'm going to have to drop my fuel tank soon because the fuel gauge does not register, its stuck on empty but the low fuel light comes on. I was told the float may be stuck. Another member told me in the "introduce yourself" thread that filling it all the way up may get it to working again but it didn't.

My question is while going through this whole process, when disconnecting the 3 lines from under the car, will the fuel drain out or will it remain in the tank? I ask this because I don't see it in any of these steps above but I saw a video on youtube where the guy was showing how to remove the fuel tank and he drains the fuel after disconnecting the 3 lines.

Thanks in advance to whoever can answer this.

Cleet

iTrader: (5)

You don't have to mess with any of that just to access the sender. That is at the back of the tank easily accessed by removing the middle trim piece in your trunk.