PSA: Replace your fuel tank straps

[5mall5nail5]

Yeah scary stuff. my tank was literally hanging. Lucky for me the ends had enough tension to hold the tank till I could stop.

If I didn't hear the straps scraping the ground... I'd hate to think what the outcome would have been. (raging fireball comes to mind)

So after that adventure I just made some heavy duty straps from some items at home depot. Didn't even bother to put the plastic pieces back on. Considering they hold moisture the likelyhood of it reoccuring was too high for me. I just undercoated the crap out of them and the tank. Once dry threw the new straps on. Not a problem since.

The reason for the rubber/plastic is so that the tank doesn't wear. Watch yours man - the tank wiggles a bit on the straps - the metal on metal rubs the finish off on both pieces. You may end up with a rusted fuel tank vs rusted fuel tank straps.

[T444E]

So you can do it on Jackstands? I was told you need a lift. One of mine snapped and I kept driving it. I have 2 news ones just really lazy and didn't wanna pay someone to them.

[5mall5nail5]

So you can do it on Jackstands? I was told you need a lift. One of mine snapped and I kept driving it. I have 2 news ones just really lazy and didn't wanna pay someone to them.

Lift? I used a single jack stand and a floor jack! Seriously took like 30 mins. Jack car up, remove rear bumper, remove rear wheel, jack floor jack up to fuel tank w/ piece of wood to distribute load. Remove two 10mm nuts on each side of fuel tank heatshield jobby (near the diff) to get to the hanger clip, remove strap. It's seriously cake. Just keep that tank jacked up while you do it.

[T444E]

Lovely. I shall do it soon then, thanks. Straps are cheap too, like 9$ each.

[5mall5nail5]

Lovely. I shall do it soon then, thanks. Straps are cheap too, like 9$ each.

Yeah they're not bad - they dont' come with the rubber though, or the little rub-resistant plastic bits. Search realoem for all that crap.

[GIANUCCI E30]

The reason for the rubber/plastic is so that the tank doesn't wear. Watch yours man - the tank wiggles a bit on the straps - the metal on metal rubs the finish off on both pieces. You may end up with a rusted fuel tank vs rusted fuel tank straps.

I though of that before hand. The key is to make 100 % sure that all the plastic shims on the tank are securely in place and the new straps are securely installed over the OEM locations.

I cut the hooks off the failed straps and bolted them to the new metal straps. So they go in like oem but physically hold the tank more securely, stronger, treated, and rubberized (the undercoating).

If I didn't take these steps you're statement would be acturate. I'll take pictures if necessary to explain. So the only way they're moving is if it gets wacked from the rear extremely hard. (knocking on my oak desk)

[GnarMachine]

Anyone have the part number for the strap + rubber? Can't seem to find them on ECS.

EDIT:

Here is what I found on RealOEM:

No.	Description	Supplement	Qty	 Up To 	Part Number	Price	

10	TENSION STRAP RIGHT		1			16111179159	$21.02		
10	TENSION STRAP LEFT	        	1			16111179160	$21.02		
11	Base	660MM	                        2			16111178667	$7.52		
11	Base	590MM	                        2			16111178775	$7.52		
12	Base	460MM	                        2		        16111178743	$3.23

Pretty sure the parts labeled base are the rubber pads. Should I replace those or just grab the metal straps and reuse the pads that are on there now?

[desertpir8]

Holy smokes.. glad you caught that before you lost the tank going down the road.

I'll have to go look at mine to check them, but its so incredibly dry here that I'm pretty sure mine are OK.

[5mall5nail5]

Holy smokes.. glad you caught that before you lost the tank going down the road.

I'll have to go look at mine to check them, but its so incredibly dry here that I'm pretty sure mine are OK.

Again, you'd be surprised. I've seen a few west coast cars have rust in all of the usual spots.

[desertpir8]

Again, you'd be surprised. I've seen a few west coast cars have rust in all of the usual spots.

I'll check, but I haven't seen any rust anywhere on mine yet. The extremely dry climate here tends to prevent it.

[attack eagle]

yeah, mine were fine also.

when it is so dry the dew point is -14 degrees in the winter, you tend to not have rust issues.

side note, you also dont get ice or dew on the windows.

[93FIM5]

I'll check, but I haven't seen any rust anywhere on mine yet. The extremely dry climate here tends to prevent it.

Yea I dont see much rust forming where you are at, Im from a pretty dry area but just looking out the window in AZ made me thirsty. Nice PSA.

[AndrewH]

Mine were fine after I replaced the tank for the 47th time.

[bblazen]

I have one new one and the other is uhh MIA...

[SteveMD]

Not able to make a good 'strap-on' joke so will just thank OP for posting. Will check mine soon, do not want to drive a potential chariot of fire.

[mistanate]

Was about to post a thread with this exact title- and was happy to see Jon did previously. Here is one of the straps that I replaced:



It was actually bending width-wise in the middle due to how weak it was...


Just about severed in half




I ended up breaking it just by bending it where the rust spot was...

[SinisterMoose]

Thanks for reminding me with the Holy Thread Resurrection.
My black car is in storage, and both of my straps have busted. I seem to remember a temporary fix using a couple of coat hangers. I have new ones sitting here waiting for the weather to improve. The car is otherwise rust free, those straps must have been manufactured by another company.

[bubba966]

I don't recall mine looking bad at all when I've been under there. Still probably a good idea to get some and replace them.

What to do to make them last forever? Powder coat them? Spray them with Rhino Lining? PC & Rhino Lining?

[cochise325]

Those straps are holding up about 160 pounds of weight, between the fuel and the weight of the tank. So if one breaks and you have very much fuel in your tank, it could be bad.

Mine were replaced in time, did them just like Jon mentioned at the top of the thread. Really something everybody should make the time to do.

I had a strap like this break in my Saab 9000. Luckily it happened in my driveway, and I noticed it in the morning before I drove it. In that car, the tank comes down enough to rest on the emergency brake cable.

btw.....Jon you are MUCH faster than me doing the repairs......took be a bit longer than 30 minutes.........but still worth doing to avoid the mishap of a falling tank and flaming E34.

[south42]

I did mine, but did not have to remove the rear bumper. I did use 2 tie downs so I do not have to use a jack under the tank. The biggest problem was getting the strap off on the drivers side. You have to remove a few screws that hold the sheet metal in place, other wise you do not have enough room to get the strap off, it will just hang down stuck to the front of the gas tank. It took me 45 minutes to figure out how to get the damn strap off.


Andy

[staystackin]

It's so easy if you remove the bumper, first time I didn't, second time (replacing the tank) I did and it went sooo much smoother/easier.

[Kyler Relyk]

She ain't in SoCal any longer :P The Utah winters will eat her like they've eaten mine.

Correction, MY car now

[eddycooper]

After seeing this thread and since I live in a place that gets road salt, I figured I should replace these straps. To my surprise, my straps were perfectly fine. However, I do have a plastic fuel tank so maybe that makes the straps less susceptible to corrosion. I already had the new straps so they're getting installed anyway.

The plastic tank also doesn't have nearly as much protective things on the straps. One 660 mm length of the clear sticker stuff (16111178667) was enough to cover the areas that rub on the tank. Also, for anyone else with a plastic tank, parts 16111177873 and 16111177876 do not seem to be required. They are big rectangular pieces of foam and I have no idea where they go.

[70383roadrunner]

Anyone have the part number for the strap + rubber? Can't seem to find them on ECS.

EDIT:

Here is what I found on RealOEM:

No.    Description    Supplement    Qty     Up To     Part Number    Price    

10    TENSION STRAP RIGHT        1            16111179159    $21.02        
10    TENSION STRAP LEFT                1            16111179160    $21.02        
11    Base    660MM                            2            16111178667    $7.52        
11    Base    590MM                            2            16111178775    $7.52        
12    Base    460MM                            2                16111178743    $3.23

Pretty sure the parts labeled base are the rubber pads. Should I replace those or just grab the metal straps and reuse the pads that are on there now?

Ya. I would like to know what base part number to get for a metal tank. My straps just went today and I have to order them tomorrow

[Binjammin]

The foam pieces go on top of the tank. The straps have rubber on them to keep the metal of the strap from gradually sawing through the tank, the rubber pads go between the top of the tank and the body to basically do the same thing.