1977 E31 Cruiser Tank Diesel tank removal ( Not Independence)

[Bill Tanner]

I am looking to purchase a 1977 E31 Cruiser it appears that there is a rather serious issue with the fuel and or tank as the broker has suggested using a one gallon container of "clean" fuel for the sea trial piped in from another line, Their senior mechanic says that they can just remove the old fuel and replace with new but my research tells me otherwise, that when the new fuel goes in and gets sloshed around it will just become contaminated. He also tells me that they cannot remove the old tank because its too difficult. My surveyor is not at all happy with this arrangement. My feeling is that a new tank needs to be installed I really hope that someone out there can give me some advise on this matter. Thanks Bill

 

[Glyn Judson]

Tank removal in your early E31.

Bill, That's a 20 gallon tank located in the port lazarette, correct? It may be the case that it is too big to remove through the hatch and if so, the only other way I can imagine is by removing the engine temporarily in order to get it out, into the cabin and removed from the boat. Berry Sheet Metal were the OEM shop for all of Ericson's tanks during that era and they're still in business. It might be worth a try to call them for the measurements and for a quote on a new tank. Call them at 949.548.3613. Please keep us all up to date if the sale to you happens. Can you tell me what the hull number of this boat is? I'd really appreciate it and if you buy her, I'd love to change her ownership data in my spreadsheet of all of the 31's laid up. Cheers, Glyn Hudson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA

 

[Emerald]

I'm gonna crawl out on a limb here a bit. What's wrong with the tank? A bunch of dark tar like stuff coating it? If so, that's what my tank is like. I labored on this quite awhile and consulted with some folks who really have a lot of experience with this stuff, and the feedback was leave it alone, and you will be fine. That was 2004/2005. I've never had a problem. Their feedback was if you start trying to remove it, you will cause problems. If it's really solid, forget about it. It will stay where it is. 10 years later, they seem to have been correct. Now, I would think that you want to get any old fuel out and make sure you don't have sediment that is loose. There are tank cleaning services around. I've never used one, so I can't give any direct feedback. Does the tank have an inspection port? It's easy enough to add one, and it might be a first step. I wouldn't walk over this, but use it to negotiate the price down. If it really has to be replaced, you might be able to cut a hole in the top off the tank and put a bladder in it. And some of this gets down to how handy you are and if you like projects. To some degree, any old boat is going to need something. Day sailing/weekend cruising on the Chesapeake, which is where you will be based on our prior correspondence, is a bit different than looking to hop in and make an ocean passage. Not saying you don't have serious things to consider, but you can probably work with this. Just my $.02, and worth what you paid for it

 

[Ccaptain]

Diesel Tank Removal

I was faced with three year old fuel in a E 34. There are fuel/tank scrubber companies out there that do this job very well...but it is expensive. My cost was coming in at $800.00 which included the tank removal and reinstallation. The 27.8 gallon tank (made by Custom Marine) is in the aft berth. I removed it after draining the fuel, then cut two inspection holes in the tank to allow access to reach the entire inside surfaces and began cleaning with lacquer fluid. All the black residue eventually came out along with a fair amount of sediment. All in all not a bad job.

Ccaptain