JACmail From an Old Friend

So, I commence to googling and discover you're a motorcycle
expert farrier mechanic blogger. Well done.

Me, I'm a standard re-treaded programmer waiting for my
job to eventually end up in India, and living in the outer
suburbs, repleat with minivan.

But before I dribble any catch-up email, I've got a question
about how to avoid junking my 1989 Ford Ranger. Seems the
brake line has cracked behind the fuel tank. The shop here says
it's horribly difficult to remove the tank 'coz the bolts are all
corroded over with 18 years of rust, and the tank might break,
and this and that and it's not much in parts unless they destroy
the tank, and yada yada, don't I just want to junk the truck.

The answer is no, I want to keep the truck and not go broke.
Can't they just run a separate brake line from the master
cylinder all the way back to the rear proportioning valve, and
leave the gas tank alone?

They won't do it, so I'm going to coast it on home tomorrow
and replace the line myself (well, with some help of a real mechanic).

Waddya think? New truck isn't in the budget. This is just a toy
for occassional messy stuff.

Carl

How's it goin'!

A good old beater truck is worth a lot for its utility function as well as a backup transportation source. I have my doubts about the fuel tank falling apart. Those bolts will come out with some penetrating oil maybe. It's the hangers/straps you might rip apart. All of this is easily replaced/ fabricated by the son of a man who possessed every issue of Popular Mechanics from 1950 to date.

I would unhook the fuel lines and empty the tank. No smoking! Flush some H2O through it or maybe even leave a few gallons of water in it for safety's sake and commence to working on those fasteners. I know you have a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel. Male sure you have hosed off any fuel you spill from the driveway before gettin' nasty with heat and sparks. Worse comes to worse, there's a new fuel tank on ebay for $79.00. Get everything out of the way, fix the brakes properly (you don't want to deal with unforseen wear on a brake line routed to hell and gone) and then start worrying about how to put it back together. You might have to tear shit up to make the repair. Get over it.

Good to hear from you, old man!

JACIII