Gas Tank Replacement Specs SV1500CC

[sagegal]

Hello....I need to replace my gas tank as now I am running off a portable. I have not been able to find any specs other than having a 20 gal aluminum tank.  I was told by the new Sea Pro owners that none of the old Sea Pro info transferred during the sale (I find that absurd).  I will be removing my center console and am hoping that the area where the console is housed might be large enough to contain the tank so as not to need to cut more floor than necessary.  Does anyone have any information on replacing these tanks?  I have a 2004 SV1500CC powered by a 03 Yamaha 2 stroke 60hp.  At my local marine shop I was told there are service bulletins regarding corrosion of these gas tanks but of course the service techs won't say much more.  Regardless of what information I do or don't obtain the tank must be replaced, but any info I can obtain before I start would be nice. Thanks.

[freezerfiller]

The first thing is to locate the tank. Most often it is in the center of the boat port/starboard wise. The position of the fuel fill cap can give you a clue as to how far bow/stern. The front of my tank (different model than yours) is just behind the fuel fill. Look for an access hatch or something you can remove to get a better view. If you can find where the fuel sender is on the top of the tank, the manufacturer and model number should be on a stamped tag near there. Are you sure the tank is bad? Sometimes fuel fill hoses and sending unit gaskets start leaking and may just need tightening or replacing. There was a member on here that did a pretty good job showing how he replaced his on a 210cc. I think his name was Markmass.

[freezerfiller]

Heres the thread, unfortunately most of the pics are no longer showing up... seaproforum.proboards.com/thread/3265/removing-fuel-tank-on-210cc

[sagegal]

Hey thanks, that was helpful.  The fuel sender is under the center console.  I'll remove the hatch cover and try to see a manufacturers tag.  They didn't make it easy to crawl in there and look.  I'm small and I have no idea who these maintenance techs get into these tight spots.  Yes, I'm sure the tank is bad. Rust sludge came out and fouled the carbs. Tank has been drained. Ill take photos and update on the status as it happens.

[Juan]

Aug 12, 2021 11:03:32 GMT -6 freezerfiller said:

Are you sure the tank is bad?

I have to ask the same question. When you remove the access port hatch where you can see the tank, please let us know if it's a metal or a poly tank. I thought all the tanks in 04 and up center consoles were poly tanks so would think that an 04 1500 cc would also have the poly tank. Maybe the rust came from bad gas or somewhere else and if it turns out to be an aluminum tank, I'd do a pressure test to verify the tank is leaking before I started cutting up the deck to remove the tank.

[sagegal]

well that was easy and call me a liar...its a poly tank.  I could actually see the edge of the tank on two sides.  So how do i get this crud out?






 

[Juan]

Great! Had it been a metal tank, it would have been the first I've seen in an 04. How bad is it? Has the rust crud shown up more than once? Do you have a fuel water separator mounted somewhere and just aren't aware it's there? If so, it more than likely is the source of the crud and the filter needs to be replaced. If not, you need to install one asap. A fuel water separator will filter the fuel and keep any crud or water from reaching your engine. If you got the crud from bad fuel and you're sure it's in the tank, then you'll need to drain all the fuel you can using the fuel lines and then remove the 5 screws holding the fuel sending unit in place on top of the tank, then pull the sending unit out to get the remaining fuel out of the tank. You might also want to flush or replace the fuel lines and bulb too but unless they are dry rotted and brittle, I doubt they need replacing.

[sagegal]

Its bad.  I rebuilt the carbs completely in Feb, they had to be cleaned in May and now cleaned again in August in a commercial ultrasonic cleaner.  It was the fuel/water separator that alerted me to the seriousness of the problem as I always suspected something inside the tank.  When the separator was changed in May this red rust looking crud was completely filling the filter. (see photo). That rust color fuel is fresh - less than three weeks old. There is a new filter on now but as I stated I'm running from a portable.  All the fuel in the tank is drained.  I built a special pump dotted with three fuel filters  separated by fuel hose to siphon and circulate out the gas but I will now remove the fuel sender top and try to siphon out with my electric pump device anything that remains.  In 2016 the gas tank was professionally cleaned  with a solvent by marine mechanics and a new fuel sender until was installed.  For two years I had been using ethanol free gas exclusively, I stopped this year because rather than being a once a month boater I take the boat out weekly and ethanol free was a pain to obtain. The fuel lines and bulb were replaced in 2013 - they are fine including the liner.   

[sagegal]

I also cleaned and changed this filter in July. 

[Juan]

Wow! That's a lot of crud! How long had it been before the fuel/water separator filter was changed in May? Even if that crap is in the tank, there's no way it should be reaching the outboard filter if the fuel water separator filter is new and properly connected inline.

[sagegal]

Fuel water separator was changed in August 2019 but the boat was barely run in 2020 but still it was changed again in August 2020, then in July 2021.  

This is the device I made to circulate the fuel from the tank into gas cans.  None of that gas had crud as I use it in my tractor and its all clean and tractor works fine.  Not sure if you'll be able to zoom in or not.  Something is in the far corner of the tank out of reach of the fuel pick up.  Over 4th of July I was over weight capacity by like 70lbs all in the rear and thats when the clogging started and this is what the carb spewed out (see pic).  Thats when I took a deeper dive and cleaned everything again.  Haven't used the boat tank since.  This all has been a massive learning experience for me since I purchased the boat in 2013 I got tired of being taken advantage of at the boat repair places - so I went to school and learned how to work on 2 stroke engines, that helped tremendously, but this tank is a whole different issue.




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Attachments:

[freezerfiller]

I just don't see how rust can get in a poly fuel tank. Something weird is going on. Did you make anyone mad recently?

[Juan]

Aug 15, 2021 15:04:20 GMT -6 freezerfiller said:

I just don't see how rust can get in a poly fuel tank. Something weird is going on. Did you make anyone mad recently?

Exactly what I was thinking. The only metal I know of in the tank is the little on the sending unit.
Where do you get your gas? You aren't using metal 5 gallon cans to get your fuel are you?
You didn't get the boat in a divorce settlement did ya?

[freezerfiller]

You mentioned something rolling around in there, Maybe a previously rusted out sending unit?

[985crabs]

I've been reading through this and I would think the last thing anyone would want to do would be replace the fuel tank, especially if it's poly. Can't you pressure test a poly tank to make sure it isn't leaking?

The problem is crud, bad crud. Is this crud definitely rust? Where would rust come from in a poly tank other than the sender? Do things enveloped in gasoline rust? That would seem odd.

Sagegal where do you live? Have you cleaned your fuel hoses (in, out and vent)? Like Freezer was saying it looks like some foreign material has been introduced into your fuel system, either by some nefarious bastard or by a creature. Could your crud be mud dauber dirt?

I'd brush the lines with something similar to a dryer vent brush, rinse it all down with gas and then suck all of the crap out the tank through the sender hole. Then I'd inspect the tank 360 degrees with a snake camera and seal everything up again and see what happens.

Massive PITA, but probably less than cutting the deck and removing the console, etc. By the way, I admire your going to outboard school to learn how to work on your 2-stroke. Where does one do something like that?

[sagegal]

I am located in the mid-Atlantic, Eastern Shore.  The boat has only been in salt water.  The class I took was at the Annapolis school of Seamanship and the retired marine mechanic who taught the class who now reps the manufacturers said he has to beg them to allow him to offer the class because the manufacturers do not want recreational boaters to know how to work on the motors.  The class was only offered once after I took it and never again.

One of the photos I previously attached was of the carb and what spewed out of it when it was wet.  I have attached two photos of what came out of the one of the other carbs and what it looks like after it dried.  It has the look of grainy sand, but when I put a little between my fingers it disintegrates into a fine silky powder with the smell of gas. Almost as if you want instant gas, just add water.  

I will update as I work thru this process- the first step was to enlarge the whole with access to the sending unit.  Currently there is a 6" deck plate, I am enlarging that to accommodate a 10" deck plate.  Next, I'll use the electric pump device to remove anything remaining in the tank, then I'll scope it.  Hoses, vents will be checked cleaned or replaced. 

And finally, no I haven't angered anyone and if I had with out my knowledge there are plenty more things to destroy around my property than a 17 year old bay boat.  

Appreciate the advice.

[985crabs]

Rats, I wanted to take a class, but I can see why that would be discouraged.

I can't say for sure, but that crud doesn't look ferrous from the pictures. Maybe somebody can comment as to whether decomposing poly would create such a sediment. I wouldn't think so.

I'm back to bugs. After washing and drying the boat post-trip, I cover all orifices on the motor and hull with blue painters tape, especially the pee hole. You might have somebody building a nest in a vent hole or line. Kind of far-fetched, but I had wasps clog up my exhaust port inside the midsection. That wasn't pretty.

Good luck and please keep us posted. Anxious to see how this mystery gets solved.

[yankee]

Could that be some of that soft quartz sand that they have in Sarasota?

[gnrphil]

was this boat sat for a long time without use?, that stuff looks like the crap ethanol leaves behind. I could be way off base here though.
Maybe try running a 2 micron filter and see how that goes.

[freezerfiller]

Yeah, this is a mystery. The stuff that came out of the carbs. Was it in the fuel from the bowl, or the air side? I don't see how that gets past a fuel/water separator and a fuel filter.