Vacuum tank
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I know I have seen someone on this list who rebuilds vacuum tanks. I need a tank rebuilt. Mine has a leak so won't pull fuel and causes my oil-vac oil pump to lose prime and oil pressure to the engine.
Harry
Harry
0
Comments
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http://www.classiccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3561
Does your vacuum tank work like most others ? You mention your oil pump and not sure why ? I run one on my 29 Hudson that works very well. Here is a thread that you and others posted on. Ron0 -
Ron, I don't know if mine works like others. I mentioned my oil pump because it was a design feature of my vehicle. It's called a Oil-Vac pump. The oil pump pulls the vacuum for the tank. The idea being if you lost oil pressure the vacuum quits and so no fuel to the tank. With any luck everything shuts down before you burn up your engine. Since it is part of the oil pump and not manifold pressure a long hill doesn't rob the vacuum and your engine keeps running. Thanks for the reminder, I knew I had participated in a conversation about vacuum tanks somewhere.
Harry0 -
Thanks to Ron for leading back to the thread where this was discussed. I see from Geoff's post he is our resident technical advisor regarding these vacuum tanks and he posted an article in the WTN, Geoff if you see this which issue was that? I am going to pull the tank apart and see if I have any obvious problems to deal with. I noticed today when I was filliing the tank that air was bleeding out past a couple of screws in the lid. That makes me think I have a bad gasket in there. What else should I look for. I will put a vacuum to the tank and see if it pulls fuel from an auxillary source before I pull it apart.
Harry0 -
The inner tank is the one doing all the vacuum work and the outer tank holds the fuel when carb needs it. The inner tank is the one that needs the seal for vacuum starting from the flapper valve at the bottom to the gasket at the top between the top that screws down and the gasket between top and inner tank. The outer tank needs to vent so it will flow to the carb. I use a rubberized cork gasket on the top. Ron0
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Ron, I'll understand it better when I take it apart. Right now it isn't making sense other than I know everything needs to be tight so as not to leak. I replaced the gaskets on the top a few years back but I didn't get into the inside. For the life of me I don't remember an inner and outer tank. I wonder if my tank isn't complete. Oh well, my memory isn't so hot anymore so when I open it up there may be an inner tank I don't remember right now.
Harry0 -
Here are inner workings and tank and the outer tank before Geoff worked on it. I had another on the car that I broke the top of thats made from pot metal.0
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Interesting, my tank is a Stewart but different than yours, might be a later model. For one thing mine doesn't have the glass bowl on the bottom. Thanks for posting the pictures. I never did test mine when I put it on and that could have been the cause of my problems way back then.
Harry
Harry0 -
This one was on the car when I first got it 20 some years ago. I learned how it worked little by little and got it working for a long time till I broke the pot metal top. Thats when I parked it the corner of the garage for another 10 years.0
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Harry, you need to fix that vacuum leak first. The tanks were all Stewart, but there were several models. Up to 1927 they had die-cast tops and mechanical toggle and spring lever internally, and in 1928 they went to a pressed steel top, with only four screws, and leverless valves. I don;t understand how your oil pump could be linked to the vacuum tank. What model car do you have it on?
Geoff.0 -
Geoff, I knew someone would ask that. It's a 1929 Dodge Bros pick up. I know, not Hudson but the questions on the vacuum tank can help everyone who has one. My vacuum tank has six screws around the top. I'll pull it apart and see if there is anything obvious.
Harry0 -
Okay, it's the lever-action valve type then. Things to watch out for - that the valve seat has not popped out of the casting, and that the needle goes down through the centre hole, otherwise the toggle lever won't work.
Good luck
Geoff.0 -
Geoff, your help is greatly appreciated. I didn't get a chance tonight to take the tank apart but I will try tomorrow night so I can tell you what I have inside and so hopefully you can instruct me on how to make the beast work.
Harry0 -
Geoff, one thing is I can't count. My tank top has 8 screws. I took the top off today. Someone had painted the inside of the tank or poured some kind of sealer into it that didn't stick. I pulled it out in one giant sheet. The flapper assembly was off the bottom of the inner tank, that probably affects it's ability to work right. The float assembly is on a brass needle. I don't know if I can take the inner tank apart, it doesn't appear so and all the vacuum switching seems to be in there. How can I test if the vacuum is working correctly?
Harry0 -
Harry Hill wrote:Geoff, one thing is I can't count. My tank top has 8 screws. I took the top off today. Someone had painted the inside of the tank or poured some kind of sealer into it that didn't stick. I pulled it out in one giant sheet. The flapper assembly was off the bottom of the inner tank, that probably affects it's ability to work right. The float assembly is on a brass needle. I don't know if I can take the inner tank apart, it doesn't appear so and all the vacuum switching seems to be in there. How can I test if the vacuum is working correctly?
Harry
The tank in this manual is like the one you have and most old cars with vacuum tanks do (8 screws). Yours most likely does not have the part that enters the car that was used to prime the tank (i think). Read thru the manual and it may make more sence on how it works. Ron
http://hudsonsuper6.tripod.com/stewart.pdf0 -
Thank You Ron,
Harry0 -
Ron, that helped a whole bunch. I took the inner tank apart and found the valves inside sticking in the open position. Nothing is moving freely. The inside tank is pretty dirty, the outside tank is dirty and rusty under the coating. I need to find one of those dash mounted vacuum pumps. I need to sandblast the whole works then I need to coat the outer tank with something impervious to gas to protect it. Not sure what I can do to the inner tank to protect it. Do any of our experts have any suggestions on how to get everything cleaned up and protected?
Harry0 -
I would not coat the inside with anything just clean it real good with maybe carb cleaner or a good solvent to unstick the parts. The outside is just painted black. Get working first so you know what you have and it works with no cracks or pin holes etc. I just got one on Ebay (for spare parts) like mine with the glass bowl on the bottom and steel top with the 4 screws. It was used on the 29 Hudsons and Essex I think. There are several on Ebay like yours (8 screw top) right now. Good luck, Ron
PS..I do not think you need the pump. I do not have one and it works great. I have run out of gas a couple times and it gets the gas from the gas tank to the carb with little trouble.0 -
Ron, did I say the bottom flapper valve was off the inner tank. That can't have helped things either, the vacuum can't work if the inner valve isn't closed so completely off is a real problem. I think I will put a drain valve on the bottom of the tank. I'm not sure carb cleaner will take care of the rust problems but it may clean up the valves so they move freely. The valve marked A in the manual, the suction valve, is sticking in both directions. I need to get it moving freely first. That manual really is a life saver.
Harry0 -
Harry Hill wrote:Ron, did I say the bottom flapper valve was off the inner tank. That can't have helped things either, the vacuum can't work if the inner valve isn't closed so completely off is a real problem. I think I will put a drain valve on the bottom of the tank. I'm not sure carb cleaner will take care of the rust problems but it may clean up the valves so they move freely. The valve marked A in the manual, the suction valve, is sticking in both directions. I need to get it moving freely first. That manual really is a life saver.
Harry
Do you have the flapper valve ? There was someone on here that found a crack in the flapper valve metal body that was causing him problems. If you have a vacuum leak between the inner tank and the fuel tank all you will suck is air.0 -
Ron, sucking air would suck, and I think that was the problem. I do have the flapper, it was in the bottom of the outer tank. I bought this tank from a guy in the Dodge Brothers club a few years ago and never took it apart. I took him at his word that he had checked the tank and it worked. It never did for me as it caused me to lose oil pressure when I put it on the truck. I just never put two and two together to come up with the vacuum tank was the problem. Dumb on my part. When I'm done working on this though I wll be a little smarter and hopefully have a working vacuum canister. Thanks for your help on this, I would have to lost without it.
Harry0
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