Best / easiest way to empty gas tank? (1997 Series 80 Toyota Landcruiser) (2 Viewers)

[e9999]

Hi all. Would like to empty the gas tank on the 80 to get rid of old gas and need to prep for that and then won't have much time at all. So, could somebody point me in the right direction as far as the easiest way to do this? I vaguely remember something odd about the drain plug in previous posts, maybe hard to access under a skid plate? I think it was for the 80 but could be wrong. No luck with searching. And it's raining cats and dogs so not a good time to go look outside.
I'd rather avoid using the fuel pump if possible to avoid sending gunk around and plugging things up, but could in a pinch. If I do that is there a fuel hose ending some place readily accessible before the fuel filter? If not running the pump, could I remove hoses at the fuel pump maybe to access things there without opening everything up? I could try to siphon the gas out through the filler, of course, but I doubt I'd get all of it out that way.
Thoughts? TIA!


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Added later after 3 pages of comments:



WHAT I ENDED UP DOING:

I'm describing here what I ended up doing after a lot of useful feedback from Mudders (see below) - THANKS- so it may be easier to find in case somebody ever want to do this.

Basically, I think there are 3 main possible options: Use the drain plug from the start / Siphon from the tank access port / Use the fuel pump to do it. (I'm told trying to siphon through the normal filler tube is not likely to work.)

I wanted to avoid possible spillage / reduce fumes / not gunk up the system / be easy as in fast and not having to empty the cab and remove the seats to get to the tank access port.

I ended up deciding to use the fuel pump to drain (most of) the tank.

You can read in the following posts some back and forth and reasoning.

I think I came up with a good compromising solution. Now that I know how to do it, I'm confident I can empty the tank with very little effort, no fume, and no spillage. It would take me only 10 mins or so to get the flow started and then wait until the tank is empty (depends on how full), and 5 mins to button up. There are, however, a couple of drawbacks to this method, namely I had to run the fuel through both filters and the tank is not completely empty (yet).

Here is what I did:

I decided I wanted to disconnect the high pressure fuel line to the fuel rail so that I would not have the fuel go through the main filter (to keep it from getting dirtier). I failed to do this, specifically because I was unable to unscrew the connector. I reefed on it but nothing, it would not budge. Stymied. At that point I decided I'd rather not pull even harder as the nut was starting to deform. This is the line I'm talking about (in the back of the engine bay, on the LHS, near the corner, I'm circling the connector I tried to undo:

No go, then I disconnected the low pressure return line which is just a rubber hose, this one:

this worked fine, although I had to do some serious pulling and wiggling. Only a couple of drops came out. Note -if it matters- that I released the pressure in the fuel lines first, I ran the engine, disconnected the Fuel pump Relay connector, which eventually starved and killed the engine, presumably zeroing the pressure in the lines, and opened up the tank filler cap for good measure.

So then I put in a 1/4" ID drain hose on that outflow hose, with a 1/4" x 1/4" coupler, as in :

And the other end of that clear hose in a jerry can. That 1/4" coupler fit easily and did not leak at all on either side.

So, now to get the pump going. I wanted to control the pump directly. Since I did not want to get to the pump in the cab, there were 2 places to do it: with the resistor connector on the RHS of the engine bay or the Fuel pump Relay (FPR) connector on the LHS. I thought that both would work (I was wrong) and wanted to got through the resistor to get a lower flow rate (less chance of spillage) but concluded that the FPR was the better way to go as it allowed me to either go through the resistor or not. See the wiring diagram here:

OK, so now to run the pump. First I tried to run the pump on low speed (through the resistor) by inserting a conductor blade in the FPR connector here (the center slot, pin 2 in the diagram above):

well, it turned out I only got a tiny bit of flow and then it stopped. Don't know why, but that would not work.

Then I did it directly full 12V to the pump by using the Pin 3 slot where the wire is shown here (this is showing the female side of the connector to the FPR):

which worked fine. I took a 12 ga solid copper wire, flattened it to about 30 thous with a hammer and filed the sides to narrow the width to 0.1". Fits just fine. I just connected that wire to the battery through a long cable that had a disconnect in the middle and that I kept far away from the engine bay to avoid any spark near the fuel. That worked just fine. The fuel started to flow into the jerry can. Eventually I could see a lot of bubbles (see above) which suggested the level of gas had gone down to the pickup end level and I stopped so it would not overheat. At that point the tank was then emptied to the lowest level that can be pulled out by the pump. It took about 10 mins to draw about 6 gals out, but that was with a 30' or so small hose, and it should be faster with a shorter or bigger hose. Drawback: there is a little bit of fuel left in the tank. I could then either siphon it out through the access port (which would not make sense given my trying to avoid that as in the above) or just drain it through the plug which should be easy as there is probably very little left. Or just leave it.

I should show where the FPR is located because they tried to hide it. It is here, in the LHS wheelwell, took me a while to find it:

So, in summary: now that I know what to do, I can get the gas flowing in 10 mins or so. Very easy, no need to get to the tank access port, no fumes, no spillage, very little tooling needed, very safe, very fast, no crawling under the truck. But, fuel goes through both filters (which may be good or bad depending on what you want to achieve and the situation) and there is a little left in the tank at the end of the process (but that can be dealt with easily enough). I'm particularly pleased that I can now easily get some gas out of the truck if I ever need some in an emergency, for my generator for example, with little fuss.

Hope that may help somebody...

 

[jfz80]

I prefer the drain plug with the access hole in skid perfectly aligned with it for this reason

Challenge may be finding the right receptacle to fit underneath it. STD 5 gal bucket may be too tall.

Second challenge is as it gets low the stream likes to jump onto the skid and start to track wherever cohesion desires.


You could remove the skid for cleaner drain

Or you could fold seats and access at fuel pump bracket through the floor access and remove mounting plate and siphon from there.

 

[Godwin]

I had to drain the tank last year. I tried siphoning but could not snake a hose into the tank. I ran the fuel level down by driving until the fuel light came on, not just flickering on and off but burning brightly. Had a 5 gallon bucket handy and pulled the drain plug and drained 4 gallons. I don't remember any access issues with the plug.

Just pull the drain plug and have plenty of buckets ready to catch the fuel.

 

[flintknapper]

Unless you 'jump' the fuel pump......you can't use it anyway to drain the tank. It only runs when cranking the engine (or engine is running).

Use the drain plug, that is what it is there for.

 

[Malleus]

If you use an inverted cone, one small enough to get into the skid plate hole and large enough to get your hand in, you can keep the fuel from splashing into the gap between the skid plate and the tank, and making a mess. I'd suggest a piece of thin, firm plastic sheet. It's also helpful to direct the coolant when you drain the radiator, but that's another story.

I wouldn't try removing that skid plate unless my life depended on it. I have a rust free 80 and the (nearly inaccessible) anchor bolts (not the pivots, on the frame side, which you can reach) were rusted solid (inside the guides, where you can't see it). I had to cut the straps to get them off. Fortunately, all the parts are still available, but it's a real PITA.

I'd rather replace the fuel filter than pull the skid plate.

 

[12bit]

i had to drain my tank recently and used the drain plug on the tank to drain into a large concrete mixing tub. from there i transferred the old gas into appropriate smaller containers.

 

[Rwhat]

Is there a drain plug washer?

 

[Godwin]

Is there a drain plug washer?

Yes

9043012245​

 

[JohnVee]

I ran the fuel level down by driving until the fuel light came on, not just flickering on and off but burning brightly. Had a 5 gallon bucket handy and pulled the drain plug and drained 4 gallons.

Using this to put in a reminder that there are still 5 gallons from the time the light stays lit. Use your MPG figures to estimate how far you want to go to get the most out of it that way.

@12bit Why do I never remember that I have a mixing tub whenever it's the perfect thing for the task??? Argh.

 

[e9999]

Good to know about the drain plug being straightforward, that will make things much easier. (Wonder what it is that I remember reading about that plug... Maybe somebody having trouble with the thread? Anyway.)

No way to just let the gas come out slowly with the plug still halfway in, eh? I know, I know. Been there for the engine oil explosive release..

Thanks for the warnings. Yup, one of those things where it's best not to have a major spill.

I may try to siphon out first, just to reduce the amount to deal with under the truck, although if our snakemaster couldn't do it that will be a long shot. But eh, easy to try, could get lucky.

I'm just wary of letting the engine run the tank dry, it may suck up some gunk up front.

 

[Godwin]

I tried to feed a super siphon hose down the fill tube and could not but a smaller diameter, more flexible hose may work.

 

[flintknapper]

Good to know about the drain plug being straightforward, that will make things much easier. (Wonder what it is that I remember reading about that plug... Maybe somebody having trouble with the thread? Anyway.)

No way to just let the gas come out slowly with the plug still halfway in, eh? I know, I know. Been there for the engine oil explosive release..

Thanks for the warnings. Yup, one of those things where it's best not to have a major spill.

I may try to siphon out first, just to reduce the amount to deal with under the truck, although if our snakemaster couldn't do it that will be a long shot. But eh, easy to try, could get lucky.

I'm just wary of letting the engine run the tank dry, it may suck up some gunk up front.

IF you can determine the thread size and pitch of the plug (maybe someone already knows) then you could find a petcock to fit the tank. Remove the plug and quickly thread the petcock in. You'll spill some fuel but not a lot ....then you could shut if off while changing containers. As long as you have no sources of ignition around (open flames, sparks) you should be fine. Its fuel VAPOR that is the prime concern.

IF you siphon first...you'll need a very small diameter hose/tube to go down the filler neck (no more than about 1/2" O.D. That would be the safest way to do it of course.

And remember if any of this goes all sideways: STOP, DROP and ROLL.

 

[e9999]

Yup, worth thinking about possible trouble, this is the sort of thing that can go quickly wrong without enough foresight...

I have a siphon with a one way rubber bulb and very small tubing. Will try that. Not too much risk to muck up the fuel gauge float, I imagine if I'm going easy?

Maybe I should disconnect the battery first too before draining, never know what's live in there.

 

[george_tlc]

If you are really scared, then just pop the 2nd row out, move the carpet, undo a few bits and get the fuel pump out. Plenty of room to put some tubing in and siphon the fuel at your convenience into a bunch of cans. Then you can drain the last little bit with the bung.

Of course the obvious question is: how old is the fuel and why are you scared to run it through the engine. This is US fuel right? Not 3rd world country from a 44 gallon drum that is partially full of water/rust/etc?

cheers,
george.

 

[e9999]

US gas but old enough (well over a year) that I'm concerned about varnish etc, plugging things up, even though the engine is running fine now. So I'm thinking that as a preventive measure I should get rid of it rather than sucking it up in the engine, and especially so since I will need to deal with a smog test shortly and I'd rather not have to deal with more cr@p on that front...

Probably will empty it, fill with a bit of fresh gas, add plenty of Techron or Seafoam and see what goes.

 

[george_tlc]

Whatever gets through the filter isn't going to be an issue for the engine. A year old fuel - just run it. It's an 80, it'll just burn the fuel happily.

But, if you have nothing better to waste your time on, then have at it.

cheers,
george.

 

[flintknapper]

Year old gas (Ethanol 10%) has probably phase separated....BUT if there isn't a lot of it in there...you can add some SeaFoam and fresh gas on top of it and run it if you don't want to mess with draining it. It should burn fine.

 

[e9999]

The engine ran 3 or 4 months ago, but you don't think there may be varnish and what not ending up clogging up the filter or mucking up the injectors etc?

 

[Malleus]

i had to drain my tank recently and used the drain plug on the tank to drain into a large concrete mixing tub. from there i transferred the old gas into appropriate smaller containers.

I have several mortar tubs; they are the best!

 

[Malleus]

Yup, worth thinking about possible trouble, this is the sort of thing that can go quickly wrong without enough foresight...

I have a siphon with a one way rubber bulb and very small tubing. Will try that. Not too much risk to muck up the fuel gauge float, I imagine if I'm going easy?

Maybe I should disconnect the battery first too before draining, never know what's live in there.

Based on the bends in the filler tubing and the baffle in the tank, I seriously doubt you could get the fuel out of the tank, even near the level of the pickup, which is above the sump bottom. Additionally, you run the risk if damaging the pickup, the filter or the sending unit, which you can't see.

If you're worried about fumes, you probably shouldn't be trying to drain the tank at all (I had a box fan running next to the tank the entire time I had it open, and the garage door was open). There is no way to remove the fuel without some vapors escaping. If you are determined to siphon the fuel, do what @george_tlc recommends and remove the 2nd row seats, pull back the carpet and after you clean off the access panel, drain the tank from above. IIRC though, you still won't be able to get all the fuel out without removing the drain plug, but you will get all but the last gallon.

If you are concerned about residue in the tank, you'll need to remove both the access panel, and the fuel pickup unit, and the drain plug, so that you can cycle cleaning fluid through the tank. Without removing the tank, you'll need several gallons, though. I tried all this when I removed my tank, after getting one of the LSBPV bracket mounting bolts lost between the tank and the skid plate. Even with the tank out of the truck and in your hands, flushing it is difficult, due to the baffle and drain orientation, without a lot of fluid.

If you're going to all this trouble, you should get a new filter. You'll have the pickup out anyway, and that's the only way to access the filter.