I will be converting a 2WD hatch to 4WD but will also be putting a lift on it at the same time. I know the 4WD and 2WD gas tanks are different... but will the 2WD tank still fit if the 3" lift is installed? Or will i still need to get a 4WD tank??

 

-Brian

its all going to depend on how far you drop the rear diff. drop the rear diff as much as needed to clear the tank, and mount the lift according to it, with cv angles in mind.

 

suppose tou lift 3 inches, but drop the diff 4 inches. i read that 4 inches will clear.

TrashWagon 5 had 6 inches once, and it had LOTS of room, enough for an auxilliary gas tank inder the seats

I was thinking of dropping the rear diff another inch to make for more travel in the rear end. I'll be working on modify'n the rear suspension to accept different shocks, or possibly some EA82 rear struts. Not sure yet, but if the diff is dropped an inch, it should give me alittle more travel in the rear end.

 

I know I can get a Hatch Driveline from the junkyard, but the only part i cannot get is a gas tank. I was thinking of using a fuel cell. But those can get spendy.

 

-Brian

yeah, I believe 4" is what it has to be.....

Im sure i can squeeze another inch for the diff. Should I move only the diff, drop it an inch from the diff hanger? Or should I try to get another inch of lift for the diff hanger??

 

-Brian

You know that any EA82 gas tank will work right? They are all of the 4WD type, and should fit fine. Turbone was using an EA82 tank in one of his EA81's believe.

 

GD

Well.. im not sure a 4WD Tank from a WAgon is the same as a 4WD tank on a hatch.

 

Are they?? If so, i could use the tank from my wagon cause that is getting parted out.

 

I cannot get a tank from the yard. They puncture all thier tanks to make sure there is no fuel left.

 

-Brian

The hatch and wagon tanks are the same as far as I know. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know there are only 2 EA81 tanks - 2WD, and 4WD. When they moved to the EA82, they dropped the 2WD tanks, and just used 4WD on all their vehicles.

 

BTW - changing the tank is easy - only takes about an hour. It's messy tho, since your dealing with gas, and usually lots of dirt up in there....

 

GD

Im not worried about the time it'll take to swap tanks. I can drain all the gas and save it to reuse it. Just didnt know if the wagon and hatch have the same tanks.

 

I think in my sales brochure for 1983 it lists a difference capacity for the wagon and hatch, and 2WD wagon and 2WD hatch. I will have to double check that when I get home from work.

 

-Brian

As far as tank types, there are 5 different types for EA81 cars. 2wd and 4WD for Brat's, wagons, sedans and 2wd coupes. The Turbo's had their own tank and the Hatch has it's own tank, either 2 or 4WD. For EA82 cars there is indeed only one tank. It has the dimple in the tank so that the diff will fit.

 

As far as fitting a 2wd tank into a 4WD EA81 car. It will require dropping the entire rear suspension to 4". Anything less will require massaging the tank if you will. A 2wd tank in the Hatch will give you about 1 1/2 more gallons of fuel. Not really that much considering the amount of work required.

 

Q

Fuel Capacity is not the goal. but its good to know the 2WD tank is different. if I went 4" in the rear, I would have to go 4" in the front. Not something im willing to do at this point.

 

If I were to massage the tank to fit a diff... is that dangerous? It will be difficult to find a 4WD tank that is not damaged.

 

Ken... do you know if the 4WD Wagon tank will fit under the Hatch? I guess i could find out when the parts are laying on the garage floor tho

 

-Brian

The Hatch tank is smaller than all the rest. I will not fit without modification as far as I know. You could set them side by side a verify what the differences are though.

 

K

YEah, i'll probably have to do that. Im getting the hatch sometime this week. I will have it on jackstands and stripped to the shell soon. I wanted to have it ready for the camping trip in Grants Pass at the end of September, but without a gas tank, the engine wont run for long

 

If I only need an extra inch of clearance above the diff... i might try to tweak the hatch tank to make it fit. Is it hard, or dangerous to bend the metal used in the tank?

 

-Brian

You know, patching a gas tank is not all that hard. They make epoxy that is for patchign gas tanks.

when i put a 4wd tank in the trashwagon, it was about 3 inches shorter (front to back) than the original, so i had to make a mount to tie it in to the wagon's bolt holes. and it came out of another wagon