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Broken fuel tank strap

6K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Rainbird 
#1 ·
One of the tank straps has broken on our 9000CS. I know that at one end is a hook to take the strap and the other end is bolted to the car. Is the bolt through the floor of the car or is it a stud welded in? I suspect that any thread on the bolt is a rusty mess and will be a s*d to remove the nut from. Does anybody have any experience of this?



cheers
Peter
 
#3 ·
I replaced one of the straps only two months ago on my 95cse. I used one I saved from my 94cs. You need a very deep 10 mm socket. Soak the long bolt and nut at least 24 hours before removing.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the advice. I've groped under the car in daylight now. Rather than a 10 mm, the nut needs a 13 mm deep socket, but it probbly doesn't matter there's that much corrosion on the thread.

I spoke to an ex-Saab man who suggested drilling out the old bolt from above (there are two access panels in the boot floor in front of the spare wheel well) and replacing with a new normal bolt. It's what they used to do in their workshop as it's often quicker and easier than trying to free a rusty old nut and also leaves you with a nice new tank mounting. I con't get to it before the week end, so I'll try spraying releasing oil daily to see if it will budge

thanks once again
Peter
 
#5 ·
I am almost sure the nuts on the strap bolt take a 10 mm deep socket. Maybe the UK 9k's use a beefier bolt. Replacing the bolt from the top is a good idea. I never thought about that.
 
#6 ·
You might be right. In true English fashion I was lying in a puddle in the rain under the car with a hand full of sockets trying to get one on. Perhaps I should tidy the garage up instead! On the plus side, I only got really wet from the knees down - the rest of me had a Saab shelter
 
#7 ·
I've looked at the tank strap which failed and noticed that it rusted from the inside out. On the front mounting, the loop is spot welded to the strap with 3 spots. What seems to have happened is that water got between the strap and the loop and started corroding. The side of the strap you could see looked OK but the middle of the strap (in the "sandwich") was pure iron oxide. The strap failed when coming off a kerb and the weight of the tank was too much for the wafer thin good metal of the strap.

That said, it has lasted 14 years, but I would suggest having a close look at yours when you're under the car. The replacements I've got (Im going to replace both as a precaution) are getting several coats of Hammerite before going on and also some frame sealer rubbed into the joints of the end loop as a precaution to keep the water out.
 
#8 ·
Got the job sorted - even with a window in the weather which meant I stayed dry!

The nuts came off easilly after a week with daily sprays of WD40. However, what I found is that, despite being told that the captive bolts are welded into the floor pan of the boot, they're not.

For the short strap, the captive bolt does have a little access panel and the plate which stops it rotating is not welded to the boot. Drill out the flat head and everything would come away. The only fastening to the vehicle is a pop-rivet to hold the bolt in place whilst you're underneath with strap and nut. I guess you could even either re-weld a new bolt onto the plate or replace the hold thing.

The longer strap uses the same principle except that the plate also has a bolt for a strut on the rear suspension. Again if required, you could drill out the original head and replace with another bolt and a tack of weld makes it captive again.

If the straps need replacing again, then the bolts will also need replacing. The threads were showing signs of wear and teat after 14 years but are sufficient for now. That's a job to add to the list, but at least removal should be relatively simple after replacing with new lock nuts this time

I'd like to thank everybody who gave helpful suggestions with this thread

Best regards
Peter
 
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