Inspecting fuel tanks

[bsavoie]

Hey folks,

We pulled our new (to us this year) 1987 24 Offshore for some maintenance. The boat had sat for two years with fuel in the tanks. On recommendation of our mechanic, we topped the tanks off, added fuel treatment and injector cleaner, replaced the Racor filter and have been running the boat (2003 Suzuki 225 EFI outboard on Garady bracket). We've gone through two tanks of fuel and changed the Racor again. We've been experiencing some fuel issues (engine missing & occasional loss of power). We had cleaned the filter on the engine, this time we will replace the on-engine filter. We also found a small gas leak on the engine and will be replacing the fuel lines from the Racor through the engine. We pulled up the deck plates (one siliconed in and easy to get up, the other looks like they used 5200 or some other adhesive and came up very hard) to get a look at the tanks and fuel lines. The fill lines look as if they have been replaced. No smell of gas in the bilge at all. Looking at the installation of the tanks, I can't believe these came from the factory this way, but wondering if anyone can offer an opinion. I plan to scope the tanks tomorrow night, our hope would be to have the boat back in the water by the weekend.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[rcgtsport]

I also bought 24 offshore 1984 this year. The fuel tanks was leaking so past owner suck fuel out of them. Just got my tanks out and preasure washed today. Rear tank was holding 15 gallons of fuel but when washed blew hole thought where rubber staps sat on bottom and was pitted. fuel fill line was deterated when grabbed it,it crumbled. Front tank is pitted in same spots looks like have to replace both. Your tanks look to be in there the same not sure what the green is. I have pic on camera I post them soon as I put them on computer. good luck.

 

[gw204]

The boards laying across the top of the tank look factory to me. But the green on the tanks is not. My guess is that is zinc chromate primer that someone sprayed on them to try and stop corrosion. There are some other things that don't look factory to me as well...mainly what appear to be straps holding down the tanks so they may be replacement tanks.

Do yourself a favor and pull those tanks out, take the outsides down to bare aluminum, etch them and then coat them with some kind of epoxy paint. Some people use coal tar epoxy, some use Interprotect (the stuff you put on the boat bottom to prevent blisters). Reinstall them with all new lines...fill, vent and supply. Replace the fuel filter/water separator. You may have to send the engine injectors out for cleaning as well.

 

[no problem]

I would strongly question the integrity and judgment of anyone that advised you to top off 2 year old fuel and run it through your fuel injected engine. Wow! If that worked I suppose there would be no ethanol problems. Was this person a professional? Looks like you need to figure out if those tanks are original or not. Maybe try an inspection mirror and a flashlight to see if the green coating is applied evenly on the bottom or someone painted the top of the old tanks, good luck with it!

 

[jk]

I replaced the main tank on my '88 Offshore this past Spring. The installation was exactly as shown in your picture. The weak point is what is under the wood, and below the tank. Grady used thin strips of neoprene between the wood and tank on the top, and neoprene between the tank and bilge below. The problem is that they did not adhere the neoprene to the tank, so when saltwater gets between the two, corrosion occurs. That is where I had the hole. The rest of the tank looked decent, until I pulled it and removed the strips. You may not have a leak yet, but I would bet you may have some corrosion occuring there for a tank of your age. PM me if you want any other info about replacing. Good luck.