Fuel tank drain on 328?

I apologize for asking a question that I could look to check but I'm not where the car is located and I'm ordering parts/ planning for some work I'm going to do when I get there in few weeks.

Is there any sort of drain fitting for the fuel tank(s)? I want to overhaul the entire ac system, to include a new compressor and hoses and I will be needing to drop the fuel tank on that side. If there is not drain, is there an access that easily allows a hose to be inserted into the tank and the fuel either syphoned out or pumped out with an elec fuel pump?

In addition to that work I will be replacing the fuel injectors and the cambelts/tensioner bearings. The belts/bearings were last replaced in Aug 2008 for those keeping a spreadsheet of how often folks do that!

OH…forgot to ask: When replacing the AC hoses, can new hoses with fittings attached be routed into position or must the hoses be routed and then the fittings crimped on after the hoses are in position? I'm hoping to remove the old hoses and take them to a shop/have them duplicated.

 

I have always used a syphon after driving the car until the warning light comes on to drain the tank. Once you get all the fuel possible out of the tank by the siphon, I open the rubber connector at the crossover under the car slightly to the passenger side. If you are using an electric fuel pump, make sure it is one that can be used for flammable liquids. But you would know that already. When you open the connector, fuel will spill so have something to catch it in. And beware of troublelights when doing this.

With my car, an '87 328, I've never been able to get the tank out without removing the rear rotor. Others have done it but I've never been able to do it no matter how I turned the tank.

Never replaced the AC hoses on my car but I put a new seal in the old York compressor over a year ago and it is still working fine.

 

at the cross over pipe, there is a drain plug.

 

IIRC there are appproximately 4 gallons left in the tanks when the low level light is showing solid.

You can either undo the drain plug between the two tanks at the crossover pipe, as suggested or pull the hose from the fuel pump and put it in a gas can and run the pump until the tanks are empty.

Whatever you do, be careful and do it in a ventilated area away from flames (gas water heater, etc.).

 

Yes there is a drain plug on the cross over pipe but when I was replacing my rubber fuel lines, the plug would not budge at all so had to drain from the rubber hose connecting to fuel pump and tank.

 

If you are replacing the crossover hoses, you can cut a hole in one of the old ones.

Take the crossover pipe and clean it and free the drain plug for later use.

 

Same for me and the draining from the hose worked well. The crossover pipe didn't completely empty, so there will be some gas in it. I cut the rubber crossover hose with a knife and stuck in a hard tube. That allowed the remaining gas to drain.

As stated before, do this with LOTS of ventilation, no flames, sparks, etc..in the area because gas vapors will be everywhere.

 

Same here, I reached the limit of what I considered the aluminium pipe would take when trying to unscrew the plug so I gave up.

 

Yes you can thread the hoses through the tunnel with the fittings on. Run the one with the larger fittings first. I had a piece of twine on mine from when I removed the hoses that was then tied on to pull the new ones through. I encircled where the twine tied on to the hose with duct tape into a bit of a cone that kept the twine centered on the fitting, then coated the whole affair with liberal amounts of dishwasher soap.

Be ready with lots of patience and nobody around who would be offended by the resulting language.

 

Whenever I have emptied the tanks I use the fuel pump to pump most of it out.

Jack the right side of the car up, disconnect the return hose to the RHS tank from the solid line under the air filter & put a longer piece of rubber fuel pipe on there & feed it into a fuel can.

Then pull the plug on the fuel injector unit & switch the ignition on & the fuel pump will do the work for you. When you hear the pump begin to struggle then switch it off. You'll still get half a gallon plus out the crossover pipe when you do this.

 

Just curious if people here have gone to all these extravagant lengths to drain fuel when there is a drain plug on the crossover pipe. If so, for god sake why??? SMFH.

As for the gas gauge, it's primarily for decoration. I've never run out of gas in any other car except an Italian one. Once in my old Alfa Romeo and twice in the 328. The second time was last fall when I was deliberately running the fuel low to change the fuel hoses to the SRI hoses. I came around a banked corner to a standstill of traffic. All the fuel ran to the right tank and game over. Carry a gas can. I had even put a couple of gallons in it that morning just to be on the safe side.

 

Yup.

Never not had one just come out.

 

I imagine its fine if you own a lift.

Messing around trying to catch several gallons of gas with the car no more than about 18 inches off the floor is a slightly different proposition though.

Easier (IMO) to get as much out the tanks as you can first before heading for the drain plug, hence why I pump the stuff out straight into a can.

 

The accelerator pedal works wonders in this area.

I just drained my fuel tanks for the 3rd or 4th time with the car on jack stands and it wasnt an issue. A big enough oil drain pan and even a few gallons isn't a big deal.

 

I have a (common yellow small) funnel with a hose attached to it just to fit into the 328 filler tube (it has a flap) in case I need to use a gas can. It's also how I add SeaFoam. Gas cans may not fit the filler necks.

 

Well, I was in a canyon with about 5 feet of grass between the edge of the road and the canyon wall...around a blind corner. I was actually standing right on the edge of the lane pouring gas in the tank, in the dark, as cars came flying around the corner, with a female police officer shining her flashlight so I could see. I had to get a ride into town from a sheriff just to get to cell coverage so I could call my wife to bring gas. I was not in a good mood. Lesson learned...again. Italian gauges suck.

 

Its a better gauge than a lot of GM products. My Grand National would run out going down hill with 1/4 tank showing. I have had a number of Stuttgarts finest starve on cloverleaf onramps showing fuel in the tank. Fluid level gauges are for flat level ground if lucky.

 

Driving down the canyon through all those curves, the needle looks like a pendulum.

 

I have the opposite problem. No matter how low I let the gauge get it never takes more than fourteen or fifteen gallons.

 

When my 328's low fuel light illuminates - it only takes about 10 gal to fill the tank. So the low fuel light should be called a "not all that low" fuel light.

 

I don't really tend to worry about the gauge that much, I just start looking for fuel when I've done about 225 miles or so from the last fillup & I know that if I havn't found it by 290-300 I'm probably getting close to trouble!

 

Actually, I must say that on both my 328s the warning light of the gauge is in fact very accurate: when it begins to flicker, I know I have 15 liters left (more or less 4 1/2 US Gals, or 3 3/4 imperial gallons), or at most a 100 kms (60 miles) range before the engine dies.

The needle in itself is not very proportional in the way it is calibrated: when it says "half a tank left", there is in fact much more than that...about 45 litres I would say, of a total of 74.

Rgds