Chevy HHR fuel tank cleaning challenges and Tips

[@oxygen454]

This video was great. I heard it was a bear to get the tank out but that doesn’t look quite as ad. I haven’t seen a tank removal video for the HHR. I may not cut an access hatch inside the car floor after all.

[@followyourbliss101]

yup, it's really not a hard job and it gives you a chance to give the tank a good cleaning - which in my case was a necessity due to all the charcoal pellets in there. Would've been nice if chevy had made the effort to make the pump accessible through the backseat like a lot of cars and suvs do nowadays. I cringe at people who cut the hole in the floor. between the sparks flying near gas and risk of really screwing things up, you are now left with a slightly compromised monocoque frame that could start rust issues or water intrusion. I've never read or seen what people who do that do after they've finished the job. do they get someone to weld it back on? seems like a lot more work than jacking up the rear and dropping the tank. Plus you've fubarred the car at that point. Glad you found the video helpful. I almost didn't bother publishing it since i thought it wasn't a complete tutorial.

[@oxygen454]

@@followyourbliss101 I had detailed instructions on the area to cut out the floor on my 97 Camaro. It saved dropping the rear end and exhaust which was a big job. Shop wanted over 3 grand to do the work. I used metal shears which created no sparks and no danger of cutting fuel lines. Hammer guns work well for cutting the tin too. When I was done, I siliconed an access hatch on top and riveted it. My years in sheet metal and steel fabrication came in handy at home. Will see, the weather is pretty ugly up here in the great white north. A tank drop outside would be a pain but will see. I just need to replace the tank pressure sensor, too bad I couldn’t reach in there and just change it.

[@followyourbliss101]

i forget about working outside weather issues for northern climates

[@bigboi7993]

The purpose was to watch you take it off and drop it, now im stuck playing guessing games. How did you detach he fuel lines.

[@followyourbliss101]

sorry wasn't able to make a better video - didn't plan on it when i was doing the job so i didn't get all the details. I put either a bottle jack i had laying around or some blocks of wood so the tank wouldn't drop all the way to the ground before detaching the lines. It's been a while but i think i had it tilted back towards the rear of the car so i could access and see where the fuel lines attached and used some of those long forceps to release the clips on them.