Gas Tanks Fuel the Fire!

What is that poem by that boring English author that says something about “a rose by any other name is still a rose?” That’s what I think of when someone says gas tank because a gas tank by any other name (fuel tank?) is still a gas tank. Now I fully understand why they changed the name to fuel tank: some vehicles don’t run on gasoline! Duh! But to those of us who have been driving since the days of Ozzie and Harriet, a gas tank will always be a gas tank.

So what is it specifically? A gas tank stores fuel so your vehicle can operate. It must also be designed so that no leaks can occur and no sparks can happen. There must be a way of venting so that fuel vapors are dispersed, and there has to be a way to feed the fuel into the engine, otherwise known as the fuel pump. Finally, there must be a gauge in the gas tank that tells the operator how much fuel is remaining in the tank.

Replacement parts like a gas tank are not inexpensive; made of high-density polyethylene because of its low emissions and its ability to be molded into complex shapes, gas tanks do not come cheaply. Anytime you get the chance to pick up a gas tank or an electronic engine control module or any other replacement part for less than dealership cost you should do it.

So where is the gas tank located? Underneath your car as a matter of fact, usually placed directly over the rear axle, bolted to the frame, saving space and also located there to improve crash safety since that is out of the crumple zone for most accidents. Contrary to what people believe, by the way, gas tanks rarely explode in a car crash. Obviously they are flammable but the exciting explosions you see on tv and in movies simply don’t happen because of safety features and the chemical properties of gasoline.

How many gallons of fuel can you hold in an average gas tank? Well, first off, there is no such thing as an average gas tank. Small compact cars can have gas tanks as small as six or eight gallon capacity while some of the larger pickup trucks and SUVs can have a gas capacity of forty or fifty gallons, and that doesn’t take into account the reserve tank which can carry up to 15% of the storage capacity of the main gas tank.

In truth that’s about all we can write about the gas tank and remain interesting; if we write any more we’ll begin to sound like that boring English author and we certainly don’t want that to happen.  Come see us at our Savannah salvage yard for all of your used car parts.