Fuel Tank Replacement - Any Issues?

[Skorcher]

I am looking at a 10 year old Parker and wondering if anyone here has had to get into replacing the fuel Tank on older parker boats.

I realize 10 years is NOT That old at all but it got me thinking about possible issues...

I had to help a buddy of mine replace one on his Mako but it was quite a bit older. It was extremely pitted and leaked fuel into bilge.

Any feed back appreciated....

 

[Megabyte]

My boat is a 1996 and the tanks (I have 3 of them) still look like new.

 

[gw204]

At 10 years old, I'de be very surprised if you had anything to worry about.

That being said, pull the inspection plates and see what you can see and smell what you can smell. That won't tell you the whole story, but it will give you an idea of what the future might hold. Keep in mind that 99% of the time tanks rot from the bottom or sides....places you can't see unless you pull the tank.

Some people frown upon removalble deck sections above fuel tanks like in my Grady. I actually like them because you don't have major surgery to replace or inspect a tank.

Some figures for comparison...

My '93 Grady is still on the original tanks.
My '85 Grady had the original tanks when I sold it 2 years ago...and it still has them.

 

[DaleH]

Here's what I do to keep condensation from building up in my bilge ... which makes for a LONG life of that aluminum fuel tank. When I leave the boat for the week ... I unscrew the flush deck plate and screw this one into it's place. It vents the bilge (plus it has a screen) and keeps it nice and dry! I used to do this on my old Pro-Line and that thinner (than Parker) aluminum fuel tank was perfectly fine when I sold it ... at the ripe ol' age of 25 years old!

Remember ... a dry bilge is a happy bilge!

See this link here for 'DIY how to' make one details.

 

[WhalinDave]

I posted here a while back about my fuel tank replacement nightmare when my Parker was only 8 years old. I don't know if you can do a search here or not but if you pm me, I can give you the particulars.

Edit: Here is a link to it
http://www.classicparker.com/phpBB2/vie ... =fuel+tank