Gas tank fell off '02 KJ

[narntek]

Hi. I've been a viewer of this site and never have actually made an account until today. Yesterday, while driving to work from home, my gas tank fell off and tore open. Sparing all the details, this is what I know now.

Before this happened, there was a loud thud approximately 3 minutes before the tank fell off. I believe this to be one of the tank straps snapping. My steering locked up for a brief second, and the OIL light displayed. It then stalled out. I've never had it stall in the few years I've owned it, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm not sure that an oil light would deal with gas, and the steering kinda had me weirded out.

Since I've never had this happen, and can't seem to find anyone that this has also happened to, is this normal behavior for a gas tank falling off? (steering locking, oil light)? I know I have to get a new gas tank, it's at the dealership now, but as of today, they still haven't looked at it. I'm a bit mad about the whole situation, and if somebody could give me some insight as to if anything else needs to be fixed, that would be great. When I had it towed to the dealership, they said the stalling manner that I mentioned was not normal and that I should have their inspection be done on the vehicle to make sure that my car was in tip-top condition. Considering I'm the only owner after 15k miles and it's never given me any issues, I'd think this was all the same issue.

Any info would greatly be appreciated, if there would be a ball-park estimate as well as the possible parts that i would need to have replaced, that would be great. I'm missing my KJ every day, even though it's only been one full day. Thankfully no one was injured, and my ins is covering a rental (KIA Rio of all things). I keep thinking back and wondering if the outcome had not been different, that I could have been blown up, etc. I had a full tank of gas!
Hunter

 

[libertybob]

Tank fell off?

I would find out why the tank fell off. Since you are in Ohio, probably a rusted fuel tank strap under stress from a full fuel tank. 20 gallons of gas weighs a lot. I would also recommend getting a used gas tank and look for used rust free tank straps. Dealer prices for a new tank, fuel pump module, and tank straps will be very pricey. Get a quote before you let them start on your KJ. I would find an independent garage who is ok with installing a used tank. Your original fuel pump and sender module may be ok if the mileage on them is not really high. If you can't find used rust free tank and straps in Ohio, check salvage yards in Georgia, Alabama, or South Carolina on the internet as they will ship the tank to you. I was in a salvage yard yesterday with 18 KJ's 2002 to 2007.

 

[Jbergun]

Yea the dealer is going to pull out the cleaver and ask for one leg and one arm please. If thats the only choice you have. Due to the cost of a tow to a new shop then you have to bite the bullet. The parts alone from the little research i did will run around $500-$750 depending on what else they want to put new. The sending unit is $100 the tank i seen one for $350 plus anything else. On top of dealer prices i am seeing well into $1000. I could be wrong i am not a professional at this.

 

[M38 Bob]

Liberty Bob, FedEx, UPS, USPS, none of the big three will ship a used fuel tank.

narntek doesn't sound as though he has any hands on repair experience, probably best to use a dealership.

Without some detailed pictures of how much fell off and detailed pictures of underside of vehicle, no one here can be of much help.

Bob

 

[tommudd]

Never have I heard of one falling off before and I'm on several forums, been on them for over 10 years . So its not a common problem.
Anything mechanical can fail and does so while its a strange issue crap can happen.
As far as stalling was this before or after it fell off.
What part of Ohio and do you keep it washed out underneath every week in the winter? If not vehicles rust here and you should be

 

[John3seventeen]

In my opinion it would be normal to lose power steering and for the oil light to come on when there is no longer a fuel supply. It's the same as running out of gas.

 

[tommudd]

In my opinion it would be normal to lose power steering and for the oil light to come on when there is no longer a fuel supply. It's the same as running out of gas.

eggxactly:icon_lol:

 

[Dave]

Sounds like you have had your Jeep a long time with no issues. Welcome to the forum. Sorry this happened to you but glad you are ok.


Never heard of this happening before.


I would tend to agree with the others and let the dealer do the repairs in this case as they will use OEM parts if you are unable to do it yourself.


Dave

 

[narntek]

Without any doubt it will be repaired at a dealership. I'm good with regular maintenance but this seems a bit over my head. I purchased it in 05 with 15k and it's at 161k right now. It's had a good life. I'm just wondering if at the moment it would be best to get another KJ, seems after this I'm not sure what to expect and I don't want to keep throwing money at it.

Sounds like you have had your Jeep a long time with no issues. Welcome to the forum. Sorry this happened to you but glad you are ok.


Never heard of this happening before.


I would tend to agree with the others and let the dealer do the repairs in this case as they will use OEM parts if you are unable to do it yourself.


Dave

 

[narntek]

As it was very early in the morning any of the pictures I got of it when the "wreck" happened aren't very detailed. I know it's got a gouge in the tank, and the dealer called me about 10 minutes ago and said it probably has around $1200 in damages.

Liberty Bob, FedEx, UPS, USPS, none of the big three will ship a used fuel tank.

narntek doesn't sound as though he has any hands on repair experience, probably best to use a dealership.

Without some detailed pictures of how much fell off and detailed pictures of underside of vehicle, no one here can be of much help.

Bob

 

[M38 Bob]

No real fixing true nawthern salt cancer victims. Tom says you can keep it washed, but from what I've seen over the years probably less than .5% of yall Yankees do. If I'd had to work on those rolling disasters I've see from up nawth I'd a got a different profession years ago.

Bob

 

[LibertyTC]

Sorry this happened to you. First one ever heard of as well.
Rear mud flaps can help, but without any doubt Salt can eat through stuff quick if not kept clean & protected by undercoating or paint etc.
I wonder if you can still order a gas tank skid plate and also have that installed. Reasonable protection offered by the skid, and surrounds the tank.
It won't fall off again then! :gr_grin:

 

[Jbergun]

My jeep was originally sold in washington state back in 2002 and somehow made it to chicago salt city. Last winter we got one snow storm and some cold weather the roads we covered everyday im salt. Like visible kick it up salt. Its rust free because of paint and regular cleaning. I dont doubt the bolts are going anywhere. When i do a lift it wont be easy but thats the only way to stop these things from getting eatin alive from the ground up.

 

[narntek]

Tom, I'm near Summit County. If anything I maintain the rig better than I should. It's always gotten oil changes every 3k, always got the middle gas (sometimes premium), been sprayed off and rustproofed every winter with hot water, and garaged all of it's life. It has a few rust spots (drivers door has a chunk missing at the bottom corner, and there is some bubbling around the hatch, but nothing else. It's a really clean example (IMO), so that's why I'm surprised that the tank straps snapped. They don't even look that rusted, but I guess looks can be deceiving. I had a nearly full tank of gas when it happened, so I can attest to the fact that it was well weighted down at the time. If any of you are familiar with Cuy Falls, I broke down at Bath Rd, which is one of the curviest and hilly in the area. I'm thankful I wasn't hit, this was 400A and there wasn't a lot of visibility.

Never have I heard of one falling off before and I'm on several forums, been on them for over 10 years . So its not a common problem.
Anything mechanical can fail and does so while its a strange issue crap can happen.
As far as stalling was this before or after it fell off.
What part of Ohio and do you keep it washed out underneath every week in the winter? If not vehicles rust here and you should be

 

[narntek]

:gr_grin: I hear ya with the salt around here, but I've been pretty proactive when it comes to washes and care. For being in OH it's entire life, it really doesn't look the part.

No real fixing true nawthern salt cancer victims. Tom says you can keep it washed, but from what I've seen over the years probably less than .5% of yall Yankees do. If I'd had to work on those rolling disasters I've see from up nawth I'd a got a different profession years ago.

Bob

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Tom, I'm near Summit County... If any of you are familiar with Cuy Falls, I broke down at Bath Rd, which is one of the curviest and hilly in the area. I'm thankful I wasn't hit, this was 400A and there wasn't a lot of visibility.

Real familiar with that area - I'm in Hartville, grew up on Stow. Were you west of State Road? Lots of deer around there too above the National Park.

Which dealer did you take it to?

Bob

 

[narntek]

Bob,

West of State, nearly to Yellow Creek, almost to the second connector of Yellow Creek (where it connects to Bath from the back end), you could say I was in the boonies. I purchased it from Clarke Megamall in 05, but since they're no longer in business, I took it to Fred Martin. Believe it or not, this is only the second time I've had "her" in for service, and really the first major thing that's happened. It's been the best car I've had, but I'm afraid that once you start throwing money at something it'll just end up costing you more.

Real familiar with that area - I'm in Hartville, grew up on Stow. Were you west of State Road? Lots of deer around there too above the National Park.

Which dealer did you take it to?

Bob

 

[CzarKJ]

I actually changed out my gas tank hangers since mine were very rusty to avoid this problem. Then I installed a gas tank skid.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Bob,

West of State, nearly to Yellow Creek, almost to the second connector of Yellow Creek (where it connects to Bath from the back end), you could say I was in the boonies. I purchased it from Clarke Megamall in 05, but since they're no longer in business, I took it to Fred Martin. Believe it or not, this is only the second time I've had "her" in for service, and really the first major thing that's happened. It's been the best car I've had, but I'm afraid that once you start throwing money at something it'll just end up costing you more.

Yep, that's the boonies for sure :icon_lol:

Fred Martin has a good service department - they've helped me on a couple of projects and no charge too. Their sales department, however...

As far as throwing money at it... I've always followed Dad's advice that the cheapest car is the one you currently own. My KJ is paid for, and a new vehicle that I'd want as replacement would be MINIMUM $300/month (and that's cheap.) That's $3600 a year plus higher insurance, etc. No way I spend that much on maintenance & upkeep.

Now's when to go over your KJ and do preventative stuff - fluids, belts, rust removal/painting, etc. Avoids the big ticket expenses. I've made up my mind that as long as I can keep the body intact I'm keeping my rolling brick for the long haul. Shoot, I've replaced the engine and both diffs, suspension has been upgraded, new leather seats. Not many big dollar items left that I haven't done already :happy175:

Besides, it's the most fun vehicle I've ever owned - and I've owned WAY too many arty52:

Bob

 

[narntek]

Bob, I know what you mean about keeping it as it's paid for. I paid around 15k in 05 and it seems anything comparable to what this Jeep is, is WAYY overpriced now. Ya gotta thank price changes for that :icon_lol:.

As far as high priced repairs, I've put in 2 ball joint and a few sets of tires, and 2 serpentine belts. Other than oil changes, it's not really had many problems, and this was the first time I was left stranded. However, that's not to say, once something big goes, the rest won't follow after. I had a 03 Neon for the winter beater (didn't own it that long) and the ****** went out coming back from a Browns game, replaced that, and the next week the engine went. I'm just afraid that this will lead to more potential problems later on. If I purchased something around this "vintage", I would be afraid of it's history. You never really know how hard a car has been beat on when you buy them, and I think I've been lucky thus far.

I've heard good things about Fred Martin, mostly my small maintenance items have been handled myself, the rest have either been Clarke, or NTB Tire. Nothing that has been needed has necessarily been a "dealer" repair, apart from a handful of recalls.

It has a new set of tires on it, the serpentine belt was done a few years back, other than that it's pretty much stock. It's been maintained well, so I'm not really concerned overall. The original battery was replaced in 2014!

Yep, that's the boonies for sure :icon_lol:

Fred Martin has a good service department - they've helped me on a couple of projects and no charge too. Their sales department, however...

As far as throwing money at it... I've always followed Dad's advice that the cheapest car is the one you currently own. My KJ is paid for, and a new vehicle that I'd want as replacement would be MINIMUM $300/month (and that's cheap.) That's $3600 a year plus higher insurance, etc. No way I spend that much on maintenance & upkeep.

Now's when to go over your KJ and do preventative stuff - fluids, belts, rust removal/painting, etc. Avoids the big ticket expenses. I've made up my mind that as long as I can keep the body intact I'm keeping my rolling brick for the long haul. Shoot, I've replaced the engine and both diffs, suspension has been upgraded, new leather seats. Not many big dollar items left that I haven't done already :happy175:

Besides, it's the most fun vehicle I've ever owned - and I've owned WAY too many arty52:

Bob