Scrambler Aerotank (first impression review)

Hi all,

I've been having problems with my Mopar fuel injection setup,
converted to a single supply line with the pressure regulator near the
fuel tank. Specifically, in hot weather (West Texas hot), the engine
would die after driving several hours. I'd wait for the Jeep to cool
down a bit or I'd bleed the air out of the fuel line, it'd run for a
while, then it'd die again. At night it was fine, likewise in cooler
weather. After many-a-troubleshooting attempts with help from Benny
at Hesco, it seems to be narrowed down to one of two things:
overheating fuel pump or foaming gas (or a combination of both). The
first could be caused by the external pump used by Mopar kit, as it's
very close to the exhaust. The second could be caused by the return
line spraying (versus dribbling with mechanical fuel pump) from the
top of the tank into the fuel, causing the fuel to foam in the heat.
This second is especially possible with all the new fuel additives our
glorious masters decided we need in our fuel (the problem has gotten
worse in the past year).

The solution to both of the above problems was either serious
modification of a factory tank or an after market fuel tank. Not
having the time (or the necessary skills) to modify a factory tank, I
went with a replacement tank for my Scrambler from Aerotanks at
http://www.aerotanks.com/

This 33 usable gallon (from their web site, it holds about 37 gallons)
tank fits in the space the factory metal tank uses, plus the area
behind the factory tank rear support. In the front, it attaches where
the factory tank attaches. In the rear, it attaches to the cross
member that the bumper attaches to. It is heavy - the UPS declared
weight was 100 lbs, and I have no reason to doubt it.

The fuel tank came set up for fuel injection, which costs extra. The
fuel injection setup provides a mount for an electric fuel pump, which
doubles as a return line that goes to the bottom of the tank. I ended
up using a fuel pump used in GM six cylinder engines, as a Jeep fuel
pump needed extra pieces to attach the fuel sock to the pump.

The sending unit is compatible with the Jeep's sending unit. The
output fuel line is 3/8", and the return line is 5/16". The carbon
cannister connects directly to the tank's rollover valve.

The good
---------------
- It is solid. I'd bet good money that the Jeep could be lifted by
this gas tank (although I won't try).
- The fit was good. The only "customizing" I had to do was to bend
back a piece of metal that had long ago been bent, i.e. not a problem
the tank itself. A transmission jack makes things go much easier.
- Easy to run lines and wires. A bit easier than the factory tank.
- Built-in rollover valve. Pitch that pile of junk in the rear
driver's quarter panel.
- Decent pre- and post-sale support (though not perfect - see
"annoying" below).
- Huge tank. My gauge still hasn't moved .
- Much quieter fuel pump, especially when surrounded by 30+ gallons of
fuel .

The bad
------------
- The coating on the tank is crap. The tape they used to cover
various connectors peels the coating off, and Goof-Off will strip the
coating as you try to remove the tape residue. I cleaned up the
loosest stuff and gave it a coating of rubberized undercoating.
- Seems to have been damaged slightly during packing. About 1/8"
dimple on an edge. I don't think it was UPS, as paint was rubbed off,
yet there was no corresponding damage or paint on the shipping box.
Not worth the effort and time to return it though - it's hardly
noticeable.

The annoying
-------------------
- No pre-drilled holes. I can somewhat understand this, as I imagine
AMC was probably not too exact in hole placement. I only ended up
drilling three new holes in my Scrambler.
- Bit of a pain to center, mostly because of a lack of bolt holes or
any other references on the tank.
- No hardened carriage bolts included. I still have to order those on-
line. The install sheet says to drill new holes in the rear, but it's
not feasible - you can't reach to hold the bolt head on the rear once
the tank is in place. You need carriage bolts.
- I originally was told that the return line did not go to the bottom
of the tank, and was expecting to have to extend it myself. This is
not a criticism of their design, which I much prefer, but of the pre-
sales support.
- The fill neck line is 1 1/4" rather than 1" (their web site claims
compatible with factory). Jacob @ Aerotank said the factory fill line
can be stretched, but I've long ago replaced my fill line with some
very sturdy 1" line. I made an adapter by overlapping 1 1/4" line on
top of my 1" line and supporting it with a 1" metal line, and
Aerotanks is sending me a proper adapter.
- It'll likely interfere with your existing tailpipe. You'll have to
cut it off and get another made.
- Non-standard parts. If Aerotanks ever goes under and I'm in need of
a part, it could be problematic.

Overall, a good product for Jeeps, especially for those looking to
solve fuel injection issues or who want extended range. Expect to
take a hit in mileage, as a full tank of gas approaches 400 lbs. And
if your springs are 25 years old (like mine), expect a bit of sag
(next project, I guess - any recommendations?).

Beware that it is quite a bit more expensive than a factory tank
setup, but in line with other good quality after-market tanks. You
get what you pay for.

I'll post another review after I'm able to thoroughly test during my
next trip out west to see if this really fixes the problem.

Michael.

P.S. I hope this makes it through the news group noise and various
reader filters.

Good post, thanks. I see these folks have a 28 gallon aluminized steel tank
for YJ Wrangler...

Cheers,

Earle

> wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> I've been having problems with my Mopar fuel injection setup,
> converted to a single supply line with the pressure regulator near the
> fuel tank. Specifically, in hot weather (West Texas hot), the engine
> would die after driving several hours. I'd wait for the Jeep to cool
> down a bit or I'd bleed the air out of the fuel line, it'd run for a
> while, then it'd die again. At night it was fine, likewise in cooler
> weather. After many-a-troubleshooting attempts with help from Benny
> at Hesco, it seems to be narrowed down to one of two things:
> overheating fuel pump or foaming gas (or a combination of both). The
> first could be caused by the external pump used by Mopar kit, as it's
> very close to the exhaust. The second could be caused by the return
> line spraying (versus dribbling with mechanical fuel pump) from the
> top of the tank into the fuel, causing the fuel to foam in the heat.
> This second is especially possible with all the new fuel additives our
> glorious masters decided we need in our fuel (the problem has gotten
> worse in the past year).
>
> The solution to both of the above problems was either serious
> modification of a factory tank or an after market fuel tank. Not
> having the time (or the necessary skills) to modify a factory tank, I
> went with a replacement tank for my Scrambler from Aerotanks at
> http://www.aerotanks.com/
>
> This 33 usable gallon (from their web site, it holds about 37 gallons)
> tank fits in the space the factory metal tank uses, plus the area
> behind the factory tank rear support. In the front, it attaches where
> the factory tank attaches. In the rear, it attaches to the cross
> member that the bumper attaches to. It is heavy - the UPS declared
> weight was 100 lbs, and I have no reason to doubt it.
>
> The fuel tank came set up for fuel injection, which costs extra. The
> fuel injection setup provides a mount for an electric fuel pump, which
> doubles as a return line that goes to the bottom of the tank. I ended
> up using a fuel pump used in GM six cylinder engines, as a Jeep fuel
> pump needed extra pieces to attach the fuel sock to the pump.
>
> The sending unit is compatible with the Jeep's sending unit. The
> output fuel line is 3/8", and the return line is 5/16". The carbon
> cannister connects directly to the tank's rollover valve.
>
> The good
> ---------------
> - It is solid. I'd bet good money that the Jeep could be lifted by
> this gas tank (although I won't try).
> - The fit was good. The only "customizing" I had to do was to bend
> back a piece of metal that had long ago been bent, i.e. not a problem
> the tank itself. A transmission jack makes things go much easier.
> - Easy to run lines and wires. A bit easier than the factory tank.
> - Built-in rollover valve. Pitch that pile of junk in the rear
> driver's quarter panel.
> - Decent pre- and post-sale support (though not perfect - see
> "annoying" below).
> - Huge tank. My gauge still hasn't moved .
> - Much quieter fuel pump, especially when surrounded by 30+ gallons of
> fuel .
>
> The bad
> ------------
> - The coating on the tank is crap. The tape they used to cover
> various connectors peels the coating off, and Goof-Off will strip the
> coating as you try to remove the tape residue. I cleaned up the
> loosest stuff and gave it a coating of rubberized undercoating.
> - Seems to have been damaged slightly during packing. About 1/8"
> dimple on an edge. I don't think it was UPS, as paint was rubbed off,
> yet there was no corresponding damage or paint on the shipping box.
> Not worth the effort and time to return it though - it's hardly
> noticeable.
>
> The annoying
> -------------------
> - No pre-drilled holes. I can somewhat understand this, as I imagine
> AMC was probably not too exact in hole placement. I only ended up
> drilling three new holes in my Scrambler.
> - Bit of a pain to center, mostly because of a lack of bolt holes or
> any other references on the tank.
> - No hardened carriage bolts included. I still have to order those on-
> line. The install sheet says to drill new holes in the rear, but it's
> not feasible - you can't reach to hold the bolt head on the rear once
> the tank is in place. You need carriage bolts.
> - I originally was told that the return line did not go to the bottom
> of the tank, and was expecting to have to extend it myself. This is
> not a criticism of their design, which I much prefer, but of the pre-
> sales support.
> - The fill neck line is 1 1/4" rather than 1" (their web site claims
> compatible with factory). Jacob @ Aerotank said the factory fill line
> can be stretched, but I've long ago replaced my fill line with some
> very sturdy 1" line. I made an adapter by overlapping 1 1/4" line on
> top of my 1" line and supporting it with a 1" metal line, and
> Aerotanks is sending me a proper adapter.
> - It'll likely interfere with your existing tailpipe. You'll have to
> cut it off and get another made.
> - Non-standard parts. If Aerotanks ever goes under and I'm in need of
> a part, it could be problematic.
>
> Overall, a good product for Jeeps, especially for those looking to
> solve fuel injection issues or who want extended range. Expect to
> take a hit in mileage, as a full tank of gas approaches 400 lbs. And
> if your springs are 25 years old (like mine), expect a bit of sag
> (next project, I guess - any recommendations?).
>
> Beware that it is quite a bit more expensive than a factory tank
> setup, but in line with other good quality after-market tanks. You
> get what you pay for.
>
> I'll post another review after I'm able to thoroughly test during my
> next trip out west to see if this really fixes the problem.
>
> Michael.
>
> P.S. I hope this makes it through the news group noise and various
> reader filters.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Don't know what gas weights, but I find it hard to believe it is 40% less
then water??

"T. Greening" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> a part, it could be problematic.
>>
>> Overall, a good product for Jeeps, especially for those looking to
>> solve fuel injection issues or who want extended range. Expect to
>> take a hit in mileage, as a full tank of gas approaches 400 lbs. And
>> if your springs are 25 years old (like mine), expect a bit of sag
>> (next project, I guess - any recommendations?).
>>
>
>
>
> 37 gallons of gas shouidn't come anywhere near 400 lbs as a gallon should
> weigh somewhere around 6-6.5 lbs temperature dependant. Call it a max of
> 240 lbs. Unless you are including the weight of the tank?
>
>
>
>
>>
>> P.S. I hope this makes it through the news group noise and various
>> reader filters.
>
>
> It made through my reader and is a welcome break from all the bill related
> bs. A useful honest to god jeep related post. Imagine that.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/sp...ids-d_336.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_d...of_water_weigh

Specific gravity of vehicle gasoline is 0.739. A US gallon of water weighs
8.34 lb. That equals 6.16 lb. for a gallon of gasoline, temperature
dependent of course.

Cheers,

Earle

"Greg" > wrote in message
news:ZQpYj.280933$pM4.167255@pd7urf1no...
> Don't know what gas weights, but I find it hard to believe it is 40% less
> then water??
>
> "T. Greening" > wrote in message
> ...
>> wrote:
>>> a part, it could be problematic.
>>>
>>> Overall, a good product for Jeeps, especially for those looking to
>>> solve fuel injection issues or who want extended range. Expect to
>>> take a hit in mileage, as a full tank of gas approaches 400 lbs. And
>>> if your springs are 25 years old (like mine), expect a bit of sag
>>> (next project, I guess - any recommendations?).
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 37 gallons of gas shouidn't come anywhere near 400 lbs as a gallon should
>> weigh somewhere around 6-6.5 lbs temperature dependant. Call it a max of
>> 240 lbs. Unless you are including the weight of the tank?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>> P.S. I hope this makes it through the news group noise and various
>>> reader filters.
>>
>>
>> It made through my reader and is a welcome break from all the bill
>> related bs. A useful honest to god jeep related post. Imagine that.
>
>


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On May 19, 5:28 pm, "T. Greening" > wrote:
> wrote:
> > a part, it could be problematic.
>
> > Overall, a good product for Jeeps, especially for those looking to
> > solve fuel injection issues or who want extended range. Expect to
> > take a hit in mileage, as a full tank of gas approaches 400 lbs. And
> > if your springs are 25 years old (like mine), expect a bit of sag
> > (next project, I guess - any recommendations?).
>
> 37 gallons of gas shouidn't come anywhere near 400 lbs as a gallon
> should weigh somewhere around 6-6.5 lbs temperature dependant. Call it
> a max of 240 lbs. Unless you are including the weight of the tank?

I was using a rough 8 lbs/gallon - I hadn't realized gasoline was that
much lighter than water. Thanks for the correction. And I was
including the tank weight of about 100 lbs. So maybe about 340 lbs
total. The factory tank and skid plate combo weighs about 15 lbs or
so empty, I'd guess. So about 110 lbs when full. That extra couple
hundred lbs on the rear of the vehicle makes a difference on a
Scrambler with old springs .

Michael