I am about to install the correct fuel tanks on my 49EL. I seem to remember there is a tool to align the fuel shut off rod in the fuel valve.
My question is:
IS this tool really needed ?
Are there tricks to doing this with or without the alignment tool ?
Thanks,
Tracy
1949 Gas tank fuel shut off install question
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thsmith
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Cotten
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Tracy!
The OEM tool doesn't work very well.
To straighten metal, it has to be bent past 'true' so that it will spring back to 'true'. The over-engineered compound straightener is rare for a reason.
My method is optical; take a shut-off seat and thread it into the hole, and the sight through it at the top hole. You would be surprised at how obvious misalignments appear!
Although I use an over-length custom-machined tap with a 1/4" hole bored through it, so that I can put a 'cheater' on it to tweak things in line, anyone with patience can find the 'sweet spot' with a little trial and error, and maybe a wooden mallet.
Sometimes the paint doesn't even crack!
...Cotten
PS! Instead of the brass seals on the 'banjo' joints, use the copper crushwashers from the bottom of a Linkert. Used ones work fine, and MUCH better than the damned brass!
The OEM tool doesn't work very well.
To straighten metal, it has to be bent past 'true' so that it will spring back to 'true'. The over-engineered compound straightener is rare for a reason.
My method is optical; take a shut-off seat and thread it into the hole, and the sight through it at the top hole. You would be surprised at how obvious misalignments appear!
Although I use an over-length custom-machined tap with a 1/4" hole bored through it, so that I can put a 'cheater' on it to tweak things in line, anyone with patience can find the 'sweet spot' with a little trial and error, and maybe a wooden mallet.
Sometimes the paint doesn't even crack!
...Cotten
PS! Instead of the brass seals on the 'banjo' joints, use the copper crushwashers from the bottom of a Linkert. Used ones work fine, and MUCH better than the damned brass!
-
thsmith
- Member
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2004 6:31 am
- Location: Plano, TX
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VT
Don't remove any material from the banjo surfaces, even if the plating on them (some are chrome) isn't perfect. The washers or Linkert washers for sure, will seal everything. I like Seal-All ® coating each of the (eight) contact surfaces (albiet I've heard that the "new" gas disloves Seal-All), but Linkert bowl washers should do the job. Good save.
The thickness is exacting on the banjo, and removing any material will affect the turning action of the shut-off knob, once the 1-1/16" seat nut is tightened (backing up the seat with a 1" open-end on the banjo flats); luring a person to think that the tank's shut-off rod outlets are mis-aligned, when instead, it's the un-even surfaces of the banjo that will cock the alignment and cause the shut-off knob to bind on it's way down to the "off" position.
The thickness is exacting on the banjo, and removing any material will affect the turning action of the shut-off knob, once the 1-1/16" seat nut is tightened (backing up the seat with a 1" open-end on the banjo flats); luring a person to think that the tank's shut-off rod outlets are mis-aligned, when instead, it's the un-even surfaces of the banjo that will cock the alignment and cause the shut-off knob to bind on it's way down to the "off" position.