Upgraded Fuel Tank

[carguy87]

Are there any tanks for the AMC Eagle's with baffles in them? Or any tank we can slightly modify that has baffles?  I am tired of not being able to use that full last 4 gallons in my tank, plus I want to be able to modify a sending unit with an in tank fuel pump to quiet down the ride a little bit and keep that sucker cool.

[doc65]

late 80's early 90's Jeep Cherokee XJ should be a good donor, but you WILL need to relocate the filler.

[carnuck]

You could also mod the XJ tank with the filler from your old Eagle tank grafted onto it. (one from an '84 to '86 without fuel injection works if you don't want to do EFI) I almost did that to mine. I saved the piece of the Spirit's original tank. Brand new Eagle tanks are still available. The inability of the use of the bottom 4 gals is likely a bent sending unit.

[shaggimo]

Is this an sx/4 or kammback? Unless it is, I'm not sure that an xj tank would work in a wagon or sedan.

[doc65]

Should still work, but it'll limit capacity to 20 gal

[carnuck]

I have a '93 ZJ tank to test fit as well.

[eaglefreek]

Do you have an electric fuel pump no
w? I've gambled and driven my carbed Eagle past E and it took almost 21 gallons at the pump and I had no issues of running out of fue,l even on corners. My EFI Eagle has issues at 1/4 tank when I take turns. I plan on dropping the tank and checking out the pickup someday. Unrelated, but I had a similar issue with my Festiva and when I pulled the pump out of the tank, it had a damaged fuel sock. I replaced it and could now iseost of the fuel without issues.

[carguy87]

Sorry, this is the wagon I did the EFI conversion on.  Was able to use the whole tank pre-EFI, but went down to 1/4 afterwards.  Currently using an inline fuel pump.  I already dropped the tank, removed the sock, and bent the pick-up down as far as I dared w/o it sucking on the bottom.  I want something with the baffles and would like to be able to put an in-tank fuel pump in it.  Will the XJ tank fit the Eagles?

[standup650]

I did a fuel pump in the wifes nissan spec v. and thought how that tank might fit. looks like the perfect size and i think it would work for my efi swap.

[captspillane]

Yes, an XJ tank is exactly the same size as an SX4 tank. The filler is on the side, however. My plan is to install the filler hole and grommet from a rusted out Eagle tank on to the back of the XJ tank.

Running out of gas with an inline fuel pump is a nightmare. When my father ran my Scrambler out of gas, which has a Hesco MPI kit installed with a typical inline fuel pump, I literally had the fuel tank topped off full and it still refused to start. It is very easy to vapor lock those inline fuel pumps and very hard to dispel the air. The in tank XJ fuel pumps are much more reliable and effective.

Another great solution is to use the positive displacement, low pressure fuel pump on the side of the 258 to draw the fuel forward into a small resevoir with an XJ in tank fuel pump adapted to the top of it. That accomplishes the same reliability and avoids all the inline fuel pump issues. That's my plan B.

[carguy87]

Yeah, if only the Nissan had that dip in the top of the tank for the spare tire, have you tried the fit?  And once again if you didn't notice, it's a wagon we are dealing with, though I badly wish it were an SX/4.  But then again, if it were an SX/4, it would be a fuel injected 401 running off of a fuel cell.  Nonetheless, it is what it is.  And fortunately, the in-line pump I got is great, and when starved or ran dry, has a valve that closes to draw in the fuell, pretty nifty, but cost me like $130.  Keeps up the 90GPH I need to feed this fat baby though.

[captspillane]

The dip for the spare tire is located forward of where the XJ tank would end. The station wagon tank is slimmer and much longer. The XJ tank would definately fit, but the hangars would be in the wrong spot and you'd have to get creative in securing it. The XJ tank happens to have nearly the exact same capacity as an Eagle station wagon tank because it would also stick down slightly lower below the car. In my station wagon that will sit a few inches higher than stock with 235 tires, I'm not too worried about it. I'm also thinking about eliminating the hump with a plate across it that can be removed to service the fuel pump without dropping the tank in the future.

I was thinking of a narrow fuel cell for my 401 5 speed, multi-port fuel injected SX4. My concern is fuel capacity, not racing regulations however. I plan on hard piping the fuel cell into the XJ tank below it using the side fill pipes that used to be the XJ fill location.

[standup650]

Yeah, if only the Nissan had that dip in the top of the tank for the spare tire, have you tried the fit?  And once again if you didn't notice, it's a wagon we are dealing with, though I badly wish it were an SX/4.  But then again, if it were an SX/4, it would be a fuel injected 401 running off of a fuel cell.  Nonetheless, it is what it is.  And fortunately, the in-line pump I got is great, and when starved or ran dry, has a valve that closes to draw in the fuell, pretty nifty, but cost me like $130.  Keeps up the 90GPH I need to feed this fat baby though.

I havent test fit yet. But on wensday her new motor for the spev v will be in and while i have it up in the air i was going to check the tank out better and make note of its size. I'm thinking about it for my 86 wagon.

[carguy87]

I wouldn't mind it sitting a little lower, mine is lifted with 237/75's.  How hard is it to change the position of the filler neck? I've never had to deal with anything like welding on gas tanks.  And is there a position to mount a bracket to hang the strap bolts from without interfering much with that dip?  I need this transition to be as seamless as possible as this car is my daily driver, I want to be able to drop one and have the other up and running in a few hours.  Prep time of the XJ tank can be done before hand.