Once upon a time I used to remove a fuel tank when changing timing belts. Not necessary so it's not done anymore. Drive the car until the fuel level is very low, then open the rubber section in the crossover pipe beneath the vehicle. Some fuel will exit so do not have a trouble light in the area, especially an incandescent one.
I'd rephrase that a little. Rapidly draining many gallons of (very thin easily vaporized) gasoline out of the drain plug is very risky/dangerous. Use the fuel pump to pump out as much of the gasoline as possible into a reasonable container in small batches -- helps to then put the gasoline into another car rather than storing it in a container. Then use the drain plug to remove just the final dregs of gasoline. JMO.
This is what I do. 1. Raise the car on the lift 2. Position a 5 Gal bucket 6 inches under the drain 3. Open the drain and let it drain into the bucket until it is almost full and re-install the plug. 4. Use another 5 gal bucket to continue draining. ... meanwhile, I transfer the fuel from the first bucket into another vehicle. I made a 5-gal transfer bucket by attaching a hose to the bottom of the bucket so that I can safely transfer the fuel without any pump. The last few gallons of gas is put into a proper 5 gal fuel container. I have done this many times without too much spillage and or hassle.
Caution and common sense is required but I use fuel drain plugs to drain Ferraris on a regular basis. Make sure you know how much it has and have the required capacity of containers ready. Doing it on the floor or jack stands would be a very bad idea. Doing it near a water heater would be a very bad idea. I could go on. Handling gasoline is always very dangerous.
I had one back in college on my 1970 P1800 Volvo. Only car I have ever had with one besides the 308 as far as I know. And I didn't know my 308 had one until I read this today.
When I drained mine to do the fuel hoses, I clamped the hose (fuel hose clamp from Harbor Freight) that goes to the fuel pump, then unhooked the hose clamp on the pump side of the hose, then put the hose in a fuel can, and unclamped the hose to drain. Easy.
I have removed hundreds. Never once a problem. Why would a piece of malleable aluminum crack? Reinstalling the plug will make a mess and you will be covered in gas. Bad idea. If the tank is full have 4 5 gallon gas cans in reach. When one is full put your finger over the hole and move the gas can out of the way and position another. while that one is filling cap off first and move it out of work area. Repeat as required. No mess, no gas on floor or on you. I have known too many people severely burned from gasoline and 2 homes burned down. . If you dont have a hoist or proper equipment leave it to those that do.
I really HATE to contradict Rifledriver but this is a real concern IME. I hit my drain plug with the impact gun and it cracked the cross pipe... My results might have been different using just a wrench, but my plug was really, really tight and using a wrench was flexing the cross pipe. I would personally do what pappy.72 described, disconnect the smaller hose from fuel pump inlet and use that hose as a drain. Maybe jack up the opposite side slightly so that the left hand tank is the low point. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Previous poor quality work was the cause. Not using a drain plug for its intended purpose. Better quit using your oil drain plug. The last guy might have stripped it.
Again, thanks everyone I once had a garage fire not directly to a car but to a portable heating appliance and due to my carelessness but fortunately without too much material and no physical damage,....... never again please ! The mental shock and no one around to help put out the fire at that moment was more than enough So I learnd my lesson and will be very careful and report back within a few weeks Only then will I have a service pit or elevator and a number of jerry cans available.
Service pits are a very dangerous place to drain a fuel system. People trapped and burning to death in them as well as a few other safety issues is why they are almost extinct.
When I did assorted work on the fuel system in my 328, I drove the car around over a few days and got the fuel level as low as I dared. Then with the car outdoors on Quickjacks in my driveway, I removed the plug on the crossover pipe and drained fuel into a jerry can (there was probably still a good 3-4 gallons in the tank despite me thinking I was about to run out). I also removed the soon to be replaced fuel pump, accumulator, and crossover pipe sleeves while outdoors and let the car air out for several hours until it was time to push it back in the garage that evening. Then I left the windows in my shop open and cracked the bottom of the garage door a couple inches. Took a couple days but eventually all fuel smell was gone. I've witnessed some dangerous scenarios with gas fumes on boats and you have to be super careful about ventilation and sparks. Watch out for electric motors, power tools, etc which can spark. Don't even turn on a fan unless you know it is ignition safe (which is only likely if it's made for boat/marine use). Gas fumes are heavier than air and will pool down at floor level without you realizing it. And for god's sake, if your shop/garage is attached to your house be even more careful.
I've drained the fuel via the drain plug several times with jackstands/laying under the car OUTSIDE (never in the garage) with no particular difficulty. Yeah, it would be much easier on a lift but I haven't had one of those available for some years now...
