mx5med

Wondering where the fuel pump is located on the tank? I know it is under the rear seat, but I'm wondering if it sits towards the front of the car and tank, or the rear of the tank? I did the dumbest thing ever today...jacked the rear of the car up to install a new muffler and instead of getting the rear cross member, I jacked up under the far rear of the fuel tank 😤 it was dark in the garage and I've jacked it up many times, but I just fucked up today by not paying close attention. I obviously let it down right away once I realized what I did.

I filled up and dont have any leaks thankfully. I did gouge up the undercoat spray a bit but I re-painted that so it doesn't rust. It's about a 5" circular dent now. Will it cause any harm to just leave it now? Or should I get a new tank?

mx5med

The red dots are where the tank makes its 90 degree bend upward so you have a reference.

NVturbo

you should stop "trying" to work on cars. Seriously....SMH

There will never be a need for you to even lift the car up so far up..., especially on the gas tank. Either lift it at the center tow hook or in front of the rear tires,

mx5med

I'm actually fairly experienced and just did my headgasket among others things while it was apart this fall, like I said, I made a dumbass mistake because I wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing. I didn't have any extra room in my garage and my passenger side was very close to a wall so I had to lift straight up.

If you have any actual advice to help out then I'm all ears, that's why we're all here on the forum.

JRCivic1

A replacement tank is a low cost item... I would suggest replacing it so you don't have problems in the future. It is good that it isn't leaking, but caving in the underside can cause problems with internal slosh and proper venting... so even though you said you can fill it up, you have to understand that the tanks capacity is far greater than what is advertised to allow for fluid and vapor volume changes.

Just be more careful where you place the jack in the future... I suspect you have learned a valuable "grown up" lesson.

mk378

You're denting that cross "frame" as well by jacking there. Unibody cars should only be lifted at their "hard points" where the metal is doubled up and designed to take the weight of the car.

mx5med

Sounds good, thanks. I'll probably wait for the weather to warm up here and will do the tank then.

Kevs02Accord

also, the fuel pump is located forward and up in the tank. I wondering if the dent has pushed up to it or not?

mx5med

Hasn't had any effect on the car yet. I've got 200 miles on and its reading 1/2 tank now which was normal for those miles. I'll run it to about 300 miles and see how the gauge reacts. So far so good though. The dent may look worse in the picture but is about 3" deep at the worst spot.

tony_2018

You should've known that the gas tank was not a good jack point.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

In 2004 I came over a ridge on a remote highway and had to straddle a large round boulder on the road. I hear a loud BANG as I failed to clear it. No damage to the running gear but the undercarriage took a hit - at the fuel tank. I drove it like that until 2012 without issue, save for the fuel level sender being incorrect since I decreased the capacity of the tank. You're probably fine.

mx5med

It really does seem okay so far, I've got about 280 miles on now and I'm reading about a 1/4 tank. I'll still run to about 300 or maybe a little more and see if the gauge keeps going down as it should. Hope it's all fine. I'm sure I can make do as long as I dont let the gauge not operating as it should bother me too much haha.