1987 Toyota Cressida more problems and question on fuel sys

all stalld out · Posted at Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:37 pm

Engine Mechanical problem
1987 Toyota Cressida 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 110000 miles

2carpros,i did the trouble shooting you gave on the jump wire?I saw it spark(jumper wire)but their was not a single noise??Since then i've drained the tank(i'm not able to get it all out)even tried removing the bottom plug and got 5 gallons and 2 on myself?I also removed the gas level unit and see why the gas gauge wasn't working.Its been eaten up by rust and some of the rod is literally gone from the long time it was stored and now i've come across another not good thing!!Since i got the float out i'm able to get my little penlite inside to see inside the tank.Carpros the rust is VERY BAD.The fuel pump is rusted,also the wire leads that power it are too.The little strainer looks as bad!!I put my finger in the tank and touch the top and rust just falls off.Is this tank gonna be worth fixing?Can i get the rust out or it has to be done professionally?I am surprised the car even ran as good as it did for a couple of weeks before stalling out but i was aware of it sitting for almost 2 years!!My daughter says i got her a lemon.I have faith that with the very low miles on it and with the help of 2CARPROS and myself it still has a lot of life left in it??Thanks for your time and advice!!!
all stalld out

Extrudedcow · Posted at Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:14 pm

It sounds like it would be worth replacing the tank and pump. If it's rusted that badly, you the pump screen may have clogged entirely, which can starve the pump of fuel causing it to burn out.

I've had some luck finding used parts online before (car-part.com was decent), and a quick search shows compatible used tanks available for under 100$. You may be able to find one in good condition locally.

I have no experience removing rust from a gas tank. There may be a way to safely clean and repair the tank, but with the low cost of a used tank I would suspect it's more time and cost efficient to simply replace it.