Petrol tank mounting plate
Anybody priced the 280ge petrol tank protection plate to replace the original crumbling one?
Should I stick with Merc part or fabricate?
Does anybody make a stronger version?
:?: :?:
regards Andy
Orc/Dutch do pretty aluminium ones but you need to buy special straps too so that it is going to be £2-300 at least. See "OIL" under cars for sale for example.
http://www.orc.de//inhalt.php?bereich=Zubeh%F6r&subnav=13&sprache=2&Orc_...
= 275+85 Euro + VAT? + P&P
MB was about £65 I think ... but you will need straps too no doubt .. and then you will find tank top is not too heathy so it will need a paint or braze and paint... and you might as well paint/rust treat the new plate too.. The straps themselves were stupid money .. about £20 each when you can just replace the middle and replace the ends in 20 minutes work if you had the steel strip ... it cost me about £110-150 all in including some brazing, new exhaust insulation, rubber strips etc.
Some folk got some alluminum checker plate bent up but then you have issues of bimetallic corrosion and the strap may need to be lengthed. I could not see how you could get anything other than a square edged dent trap myself.. MB's round edged original works as well if less bling.
Ensure car is pretty empty of fuel and you can do it with a long floor board plank and a trolley jack by yourself. Need to get into connections through floor in boot area under carpet.
Possibly not the same part...... I just replaced the tank guard on my 463. The guard itself was £175ish +vat. The straps were a few pounds for the smaller two and £12ish for the larger two. Quite an expensive replacement but one cannot fabricate something similar very easily.
Kind Regards
Peter
The problem with the straps is removal , loads of WD40 and stop the strap turning and it will be fine .
Twodogs
Looking for some more hints on removal of the tank, if the 463 and 460 mountings are the same...how on earth do you get into that space to get to the nut that holds the strap in place, and any idea what size it is!?
I struggled to get to the one that holds the protective plate, with a ratchet wrench, and this one is even further in, nicely coated with rust and the sizes I have (13, 16, 17mm) will not fit.
-edit- latest advice received, cut them off and get a new set...
Well 460 were originally 13mm nylon nuts... but mine had corroded to at least 12 mm hex .. so drove a 6 point 3/8" deep socket over it if possible.. or at 12mm you may as well go for mole grips for all it is worth .. either way it was not coming off so I cut them off with hack saw thinking I could always MIG weld in a new stud and I had nuts.. thread on stud was already dead. One strap was already broken, so cutting that was painless!
They are expensive for what you get .. I would have recycled the ends had I known the price.. the middle thin bit is just thin strip steel.
I replaced the whole thing. Note that there is the tank protector and a small additional plate that bolts on the front covering the fuel pump. Also, the new straps are longer to accomodate a rubber strip, like the ones which sit on the top, between the straps and the tank.
It is a real pain of a job as the new straps are very difficult to get on.
I fitted my tank with one set of straps and the tank guard with another, just to be sure.
The protection plate on a 463 is mounted to the straps via an intermediate bracket (X2), this is no longer available. Had two made specially!
Covered the whole lot with an extra coating of waxoyl!!
Regards
Peter
Thanks guys for all the info and tips...I'll look up the parts on the EPC and give the dealer a call to see what might be cheap and cheerful to replace, and what is best to leave intact (the straps themselves don't seem too bad for wear or rust, as the car hasn't been offroaded it seems).
The tank looks like new, still has the date stamps on, looks v.good for a 16yr old, I'm really glad it came with the plastic one!
If anyone has managed to remove the bit that (I assume) screws into the tank, where the fuel pump sucks out from (looks aluminium), is it a simple screwed-on attachment, or a bit more complex? I think removing it will help with the clean-out, but I'm hesitant to remove it if it won't go back in!
Hi just a note of caution when re installing the plastic tank ...ensure that the recess for the exhaust tailpipe is aligned to give equal airspace on either side of the pipe... 280e exhausts are a larger bore than the 230 and diesel... it is advisable to wrap the pipe in a blanket of loft insulation if you are not using the MB heat deflector shield....the plastic melts very easily resulting in a 20 ltr reduction in fuel capacity and a possible fire hazard
Thanks for advice guys.
Spent bank holiday replacing tank guard with good second hand one. No major problems - supported tank with axle stands at either side (under lip of tank). Undid straps, dropped old plate (which really was shot - pulled the old fuel pump cover off easily by hand!). Inserted new plate with some rubber spacers between tank and guard and then bolted all back together.
Took opportunity to give straps a coat of paint and everything a damn good coating of waxoyl - very messy but very satisfying.
Finally, surprised at how bad tank guard was and how relatively unscathed was bottom of tank (just a little surface rust).
Hi mate so where did you end off getting tank gaurd from,and do you no how much a new one was,mine is shot and the straps are shot any ideas where to source these,whilst am here the rear door on my 280ge lwb are badly corroded do you no if i can buy door skins thanks
it'd be helpful if you fill in your vehicle and location details, so if someone is nearby they might be able to help.
ebay have the straps:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tankfangband-Mercedes-G-Modell_W0QQitemZ1701463247...
and you can translate at: www.google.com/translate
Hi finnigan5823,
bought the plate second hand from a chap near Avon. It needed a little work (trimmed about 20mm off left edge) but other than that a good wirebrush/paint/waxoyle should be good for 10 years or more. Straps were originals (same preservation process applied). MB quotes about #180 for new tank plate!!
Rear door - I only ha a couple of small areas of corrosion so I let in small metal repairs which I bonded on (sycaflex).
Andy
Thanks for the replies gwoa members,will be updating my details asap,a think some users may have getting confused as to what i am after,i need a new petrol tank guard and fixing straps,and my rear passenger doors are knackered,on my lwb,not my boot door thanks please reply
oops sorry that clarifies things! nice cars too :)
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Thanks Guys.
I have a receipt with vehicle for petrol tank refurb about 5 years ago so hoping tank is fine......why the mounting plate wasn't sorted at same time is anyone's guess (the tank plate itself is crumbling to pieces round edges, so don't belief it would have deteriorated this much in 5 years???)
Tank straps look ok - where do they fail?
Andy