Be that as it may, adding even a gallon or so ow water will isolate the
area where you will be drilling from the fuel if you let it sit for a
few hours before drilling to let the water sink to the bottom of the tank.
Use a left hand drill bit so that the heat and vibration might help to
loosen the plug as you drill.
Good luck.
Peace,
Pat
Thusly spake Brad Kahler, On 6/3/2009 12:49 PM:
> Here's the situation. We recently bought a Bobcat 610 skid steer. We
> got it at a very good price because someone sabotaged it (not me!) by
> pouring dirt down into the fuel tank. Hence the entire fuel system
> was gummed up with mud when the owner tried starting it. The fuel
> tank is built into the left side of the frame and has a 1/8" pipe plug
> at the bottom for draining purposes. As expected from something this
> old the plug is frozen in place and all efforts to get it to unscrew
> have only resulted in the plug head to be pretty much non existent
> now.
>
> I realize I can syphon the old gas out but that will leave all of the
> mud and gunk in the bottom of the tank on the outside near one of the
> axles. What I'm thinking about doing is grinding the plug head flush
> with the frame and then drilling through it with a 1/8" bit. In order
> to keep sparks to a minimum or non existent I'm considering filling
> the tank with water prior to drilling the hole.
>
> Once the hole is drilled and the tank is empty I would proceed with
> enlarging the hole until the drain plug has been successfully removed.
> I could the proceed with a thorough flushing of the tank to get the
> mud and gunk out. I'm sure getting the gas/water mix to drain through
> the 1/8" hole won't be easy but I'm not sure what else to do.
>
> Does this sound like a workable solution?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brad
> _______________________________________________
> Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
>
> You are subscribed as pat@hornesystemstx.com
>
> Shop-talk mailing list
>
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shop-talk
>
> http://www.team.net/archive
>
>
>
--
Pat Horne, Owner, Horne Systems
(512) 797-7501 Voice 5026 FM 2001
Pat@HorneSystemsTx.com Lockhart, TX 78644-4443
www.hornesystemstx.com
-- We support Habitat for Humanity - a hand UP, not a hand OUT --
_______________________________________________
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html
Shop-talk mailing list
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shop-talk
http://www.team.net/archive
|