| 2000 Chevrolet S10 Fuel Cell fuel Spill
Infamous for its flaws, the Chevy S-10 has a gas tank that sits lower than the framerails. This means that the first point of contact with any driveway or speed bump is the tank-not a good combo when you drive a lowered or 'bagged truck. Any puncture can spill fuel, and since it's flammable, you could burn down your entire truck.
Years back, we 'bagged this S-10 and knew of the problem once the truck sat on the ground. Since we knew the hazards of breaking a tank, we never dragged the truck anywhere. Of course, it was driven low and laid out every time we parked it. After a few years of laying the truck on the plastic gas tank, a section of the tank became so thin that a simple bump made a hairline crack and out came our fuel.
Immediately, we called up the folks at Devious Customs because we knew they had the solution to our problem. These guys are the innovators behind a shortened aluminum gas tank that bolts right onto your mini-truck. It was designed around the stock placement of the tank and works with the S-10 fuel sender/pump assembly, and filler neck. The tanks are made to order from cut and bent aluminum stock that is then TIG-welded together. Since these are handmade, Devious does have the capability to make custom shapes and sizes to fit your needs.
You can perform this installation in just half a day. That is certainly better than waiting for a replacement tank to be shipped after your tank has already broken. In our case, the tank busted and we had to buy some time until our appointment for the installation. We used a patch kit from Napa Auto Parts to temporarily fix the stock tank until we could get the truck to the shop. Once we got working on it, we hit a little bit of a snag with our KP Components rear suspension. The fix was to fabricate a new mount for the upper link bars. It took us just an hour longer than expected, due to a minor hold-up. In the end, everything was wrapped up in a timely manner, and we were dragging frame on our way home before we knew it.
| 2000 Chevrolet S10 Fuel Cell uel Tank Repairing Kit
The Final WordWhen the truck was laid out on the ground, it sat lower than it had ever gone before. Thanks to Devious Customs' install, the frame is completely on the ground and the fuel tank is tucked nicely inside. There was that issue of working with our KP Components link kit, but we figured out the way to work both on the truck. After a day's worth of work, we were mobile again and fully able to drag down the street.
SPORT TRUCK TECH TIPTHE QUICK FIX This truck was our sole means of transportation, and we knew our supervisor would be furious to hear that we could not make it in to work due to our problems that came from the modifications done to it. We needed a way to drive the truck and not worry about all the gas leaking out and leaving us stranded. Plus, we were not too excited about driving around with a flammable substance dripping from our ride.
We made a few calls to see what to do for a temporary fix. We heard a trick of using a bar of soap to plug the hole. The problem with the soap trick is that it works just long enough for you to drive to a shop quickly before the soap is eroded away by the gasoline. Then, we discovered that Napa Auto Parts carried a kit that could permanently repair the tank. We caught a ride to Napa and purchased the $14 kit. We popped open the box to find a small piece of soap, sand paper, small brush, package of epoxy, and a strip of fiberglass. This quick fix worked for a few days before the gasoline ate through the hardened epoxy. The kit may have been a temporary fix, but it was long enough to get us by till our appointment for the new tank install.
