ok i’m back and i have taken the back seat out to see if i can get to the fuel pump instead i found and pulled out the fuel gauge sending unit. It was all rusty and i could see the bottom of the tank and it has an rusty color to it as well. it looks like i have to drop the tank to get to the pump. based on what the sending unit looked like I am gonna have to replace the pump. bigger question is should i replace the tank as well? seems like a rusty tank will damage a new fuel pump.
If the gas tank has to be dropped in order to replace the fuel pump, I wouldn’t mess with the rusty gas tank. The rust will damage the new fuel pump if it doesn’t plug up the filter sock on the fuel pump assembly first. Call local auto recyclers to see if anyone has a rust-free replacement gas tank.
Now you have to ask youself, if the gas tank is that rusty, how much rust is there inside the fuel lines?
Tester
Wait…you were supposed to just drain the tank…refill and see what you got… Does the pump still work? I think you are jumping the gun…see what works first would be the way I would go… Did the metal tank have a drain bolt? Did you check? If it is metal there is a 50-50 shot that it will have a drain…my prelude had one…it was an 89’
Like I said…I’d see what works before looking at stuff, deciding you don’t like the way it looks and replacing things…but do what you want I guess… In the marine world that would get you Broke in a hurry…bec stuff in a salty marine environ looks nasty eventho it may be brand new…but it works… Take it from here…this theory you have adopted is heading twd bankruptcy…and right quick… Please see what works first…
You can’t get to the fuel pump in the 4th gen Civics without dropping the tank unless you do what a friend of mine did and cut a hole in the floor under the back seat. Don’t do what my friend did 
The drain bolt for the fuel tank is kind of hard to see. It’s on the corner formed by the bottom of the tank and the vertical tank wall that’s closest to the front of the car. Drain the fuel and see what it looks like. It wouldn’t surprise me if your pump rusted, dropped a bunch of rust into the gas at the bottom of the tank, which is now orangey-brown and is making it look like the tank itself is rusted.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the rust is just superficial and nothing to worry about…it may look great when drained… and it wont rust further if fuel…and not water laden fuel is in it…
Well if the sending unit is any indication of what the fuel pump looks like, i think i have to get a new fuel pump. cause there is no gas getting to the intake valve otherwise the car will stay on. the sending unit was very rusted. so in order to change the fuel pump i have to drop the tank. i don’t know if the pump is working but i assume it’s not. how can i check if it is working mechanically &/or more importantly electrically. isn’t it a good idea to check if there is 12V @ the pump?
Follks with older bikes are particularly sentitive about their fuel tanks - it’s almost impossible to actually replace an old tank that appears OK on the outside, but is messed up inside. They have lots of tricks to cleaning them up (as they’ve tried them all). Here’s a link to a few…
http://www.mopedarmy.com/wiki/Removing_rust_from_a_gas_tank
Cleaning the lines may be a tad more difficult…
Good luck,
Chase
Chaissos is correct…I often use a product called “Cream” It is a 3 step process…and in the end you have a nice coated tank…its like an internal epoxy bladder… Goes in like a can of paint then you swish around to coat the tank and it hardens up and its a nice tank restoration… Don’t you have any U-Pull it salvage yards? There is a nice one here…a tank would be like 20 bucks… and easy to do…
WHY…do you have such a rusty tank? How did water get in there? You know if you pour BLEACH into a metal tank you will get HORRIFIC flash rust…in the tank and on the bottom…it sits below the fuel…or I should say the fuel floats on top of it. Did you get Bleached?
SUCCESS!!!
It started.
Now what?
Well For now lets celebrate the New Year!!!
Thanks everyone for all your help!!!
Have a safe & Happy New Year!!!
Congrats! Great work! So tell us what you did and maybe we can offer some suggestions as to what is next. An oil change . . . timing belt . . . water pump . . . other belts/hoses . . . tranny service. With this low mileage on a Civic you’re likely to have this car for another 10 years, so each service (IMO) is an investment. How’s the body? Interior? Tires? Since the price ($0) was so right you can invest a few bucks to make it a dependable daily driver. Rocketman
Well it was very technical. I drained the fuel tank as much as possible. took a look inside the tank & saw it could be in better shape (rust wise) so I decided not to buy anything I recharged the battery, put my son in the driver seat to turn the key, & I was under the car banging the fuel tank with a rubber mallet & broom, it started. white smoke coming from the tail pipe, burning smell other than that to me, a newbie to car repair, it sounds pretty good.
Yeah…what did you eventually and actually…Uh…DO?
AH…very good my man… So you just dumped out the tank then and refilled? That’ll work for me as long as there is no particulate in there to mess anything up… The white smoke I HOPE will abate after a while…Let us know if it doesn’t …You don’t want us telling you that you need a Head Gasket now…and thats why the car was parked in the first place now do you? Go away smoke…go away… I bet it will…
Blackbird
hey there I’m back in need of more advice. so now i have register the car & discovered that there were back penalties due. got the dmv to remove most of the fees but still had to pay $300. I thought it was worth it, I hope. what do you guys think? Now i have till the end of the month to pass smog & the numbers are all over the map. they jump from below 1% to 6%.
what can i do to get it to pass.
since getting it started the only thing I’ve done was fill it up with a bottle of techron and gas (91) & drove on the freeway about 55-65 mph in 3rd gear to try and clean out anything in the engine & mostly in the catalytic converter. hope that wasn’t a bad move.
Let me know what you think.
thanks
You need some fresh fuel in there, I would also dump in a few cans of HEAT gasline antifreeze… Run a few tanks thrugh the car. Of course get a full tune up (plugs wires, cap rotor), new air filter, change the oil if you have not done so yet… This is just to start, you may have a bad 02 sensor but get the basics done first and lets see where you sit.
Do we know when the t-belt was last changed? (year and mileage?)
fuel tank was drained & fresh gas was put in with the techron fuel treatment. have not done a tune up yet either.
i dont know if the timing belt was changed. my guess is no. but seeing that the car has 120,600 k miles on it & its been sitting for so long isn’t it a good idea to change it if 1. 120k is the recommended milage to change the t-belt & 2. if it will help pass smog.
The longest lasting belt change interval I’ve ever heard of was rated 105K miles.
Timing belts also have an age limit regardless of miles, and the longest I’ve seen is 7 years.
The timing belt won’t affect the smog test.
The 91 civic had an initial T-belt change at 60,000 miles. The replacement belts can go 90,000. Assuming the previous owner did what they were supposed to do, you’re not due yet (depending on how many years it’s been), but you can’t assume that. As far as you’re concerned, it’s never been replaced and you’re 60,000 miles overdue. It won’t help you pass smog, but if it breaks, it will destroy your engine, so there’s that incentive
While I agree with shadowfax you need to do the timing belt ASAP, wait till after you pass smog. Its a pricey job, and if you cant get the car to pass smog and thus cant drive it, that will be money down the drain.