I have noticed considerable rust on my 2005 gas tank cover. I am worried the tank may drop from the vehicle. I use this car to pull a boat to a ramp at the cabin.

I have found a fuel tank cover on a car at a junk yard. What tools might I need to remove the old cover?

Is there another fix where I could use rope or wire to hold the tank in place for another year or so?

Could I hire a welder to secure the tank in place?

Is the rusted cover the only thing holding the tank in the car?

Thanks

 

By cover I assume you mean cradle. And yes, it really is a cradle as in the fuel tank rests on it. That is all that is holding it in place.

Its not hard at all to swap but you want AT LEAST another person with you. Your best bet is to get the junk yard one and see how it comes off. There are six bolts that hold it on. Two at the very front, very close together. These thread into hard metal. Then you have two outboard bolts, both or one threads into a u-clip nut. There is one inboard near the driveshaft that also threads into a u-clip nut. Last you have one at the tail end of the tank. The junk yard fuel tank itself SHOULD be empty of fuel, in which case its light you can easily drop it yourself.

The hard part will be with yours, run the fuel as low as you can get it. Then your best bet is to have two helpers hold the tank up while you swap the shields around. If done this way you will not have to mess with any wires, AVAP tubes, etc. The helpers just apply upward pressure. You can start, for example, the rear most bolt. Just a few threads to hold it. Then put another bolt up front. Do not tighten any until they are all started.

I HIGHLY recommend new mounting hardware. Both the bolts/washers and the j-clip nuts. Not expensive. I bought all mine from Amazon. I also coated them all in anti-seize before inserting. So really its not a hard job to do at all, pre-spray with penetrating spray for a couple days or more. It will help. The only thing that makes this hard to do is fuel in the tank, so again get it down low and things will be easy. I had a quarter tank of fuel and it was NOT fun on my own (did a fuel pump swap).

Bolts:

Washers: (for some reason the rear most or front most bolts get two washers)

U-Nuts: