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06-18-2012, 05:23 PM | #1 |
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side saddle gas tank recall?
anyone know anything about the side saddle gas tank recall, my instructor today mentioned something about a side saddle gas tank recall due to side impact crashes causing dangerous conditions, anyone know anything about this?
http://www.rolanddarby.com/br_sidesaddle.html If i push this issue at my local chevy dealer, think they'll replace my side saddle tank with a new in frame tank?
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06-18-2012, 05:38 PM | #2 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Here's a pretty good summary of the lawsuit
http://www.autosafety.org/history-gm...as-tank-defect
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06-18-2012, 09:52 PM | #3 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
the purpose of this post is for all you 73-87 C/K owners to identify if your truck was repaired by the GM campaign to upgrade the fuel system integrity of the 73-87 C/K trucks (and certain 88-91 R/Vs as well)
Vehicles Affected: All 1973-1987 Chevy/GMC C/K pickups, 10-3500 series, to include Chassis-Cab models 1988-1991 R/V Chassis Cab and Crew Cab models to identify the repair, you will need to get under your truck and look up at the fuel filler neck. if the repair was completed, you will see a small piece of plastic like this... if you look and it's not there, you can call your local Chevy/GMC dealer and they will ask for the last 8 digits of your VIN. if their computer shows that your vehicle hasn't been retrofitted, then you can schedule an appointment and they will install the shield free of charge. note to all you dual tank guys...check BOTH sides of your truck. this shield prevents the fuel filler neck from being compromised in an accident, causing fuel spillage and potentially a fire.
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06-18-2012, 10:00 PM | #4 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
As I recall......this came up many years ago...after/around the time the next new design trucks had come out ('89up)? When it was all said and done....GM was offering a certificate to the owners to go and buy...a new truck!
I had a 3rd hand '77 GMC Royal Sierra (wierd package...loaded to the hilt with a/c, dual tanks, tilt, cruise, tow package, HD 5/8 ton Heavy Half option, power everything, carpeted door bottoms, etc....and a metal? roof insert - instead of a headliner?) and didn't benefit 1 penny.
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Kurt - '68 GMC short step - NIB '09 LY6 6.0L crate motor w/mods, NIB '12 crate 4L85e w/billet 3k stall Circle D, 3.73 posi 12 bolt, DynaTech f-swap headers, 3/4 drop, handling mods, etc. - my toy '72 Chevy LWB C-10 Highlander - 350/350 ps/pb/tilt/ac - not original but close '06 Chevy TrailBlazerSS - LS2/4L70e - little black hot rod SUV - my DD '18 Kia Sorento - wife's econo-driver '95 Chevy S10 - reg cab shortbed, LS, 4.3, auto... my '68's powertrain and chassis build -links broken A surprise phase - carb to efi -links broken |
06-19-2012, 01:46 AM | #5 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Wasn't this shield metal?
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06-19-2012, 07:55 AM | #6 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
I read an article a few years back that dispelled the myth.
The only trucks that ever exploded from a side impact were those used in testing, and those used pyrotechnics to blow the tanks, they NEVER exploded from impact alone. Apparently someone thought they were dangerous and wanted to make sure their tests showed it. |
06-19-2012, 08:02 AM | #7 | |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
There was some discussion about this topic previously in this thread:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=388675 I commented with my opinion at that time. I will repeat it here, but want to soften my tone a bit. I understand there is a member on this board who's relative was killed in an accident, so I want to proceed gently and respectfully. NHTSA indicates that there have been 1800 people killed as a result of fires in side impact crashes. I agree that each loss is a tragedy. Nonetheless, there are risks in every aspect of life, and my comments below are an attempt to put a framework around those risks. I hope the reader will recognize that perspective, and that special interest groups are not always objective in the way they present their data and opinions. K Quote:
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06-19-2012, 08:53 AM | #8 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
I come at it from a different view... Drive your truck and enjoy it. NO vehicle is totally safe and cannot be expected to be. The brute force of a collision can do all sorts of stuff.
Recently this week, they started into the Jeep Liberty on this subject. Now my wife is paranoid to drive her Liberty that she loves so dearly. I am having a heck of a time re-assuring her that the minute chances are there, sure, but the odds way too high against that this exact incedent will happen. Enjoy your ride, smile, and burn some rubber (makes me always feel better ) Last edited by Weasel Diesel; 06-19-2012 at 09:08 AM. |
06-19-2012, 11:25 AM | #9 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
how much better was it with the tank behind the seat...like '60-72 models?..or below the seat as in even earlier models?
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Kurt - '68 GMC short step - NIB '09 LY6 6.0L crate motor w/mods, NIB '12 crate 4L85e w/billet 3k stall Circle D, 3.73 posi 12 bolt, DynaTech f-swap headers, 3/4 drop, handling mods, etc. - my toy '72 Chevy LWB C-10 Highlander - 350/350 ps/pb/tilt/ac - not original but close '06 Chevy TrailBlazerSS - LS2/4L70e - little black hot rod SUV - my DD '18 Kia Sorento - wife's econo-driver '95 Chevy S10 - reg cab shortbed, LS, 4.3, auto... my '68's powertrain and chassis build -links broken A surprise phase - carb to efi -links broken |
07-10-2012, 11:44 PM | #10 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Does anyone make a poly tank that bolts in the same location on a 74 short stepside ,mine is rusty inside and needs replaced .Is there a steel replacement if not a poly one ? I am just getting into this barnfresh 74 ,Im more used to my 72.
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07-11-2012, 01:42 AM | #11 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
I have to say that I think the saddle tanks outside the frame rails was not a great engineering design. Keith's passion for the trucks he built and our own biasness for these trucks doesn't change the facts that GM has paid out over a half a billion dollars in settlements and spent 100's of millions more defending it, and people have died as the result of fires. These trucks were built at a time when the Big 3 was concentrating on short term profits. Quality, safety, and workers rights were not a main priority. However the GM 73-87 trucks were probably the best thing out of Detroit in this era. How many 73-87 cars and trucks from the big 3 do you see on the road today? Like Keith posted though the chance of this scenario happening to one of us is unlikely and moving the tank or changing it for safety reasons is kind of crazy but I could see doing it for peace of mind. Just my rambling .02 worth.
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07-11-2012, 08:41 AM | #12 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
GM issued $1000 certificates to owners of side saddle tank GM trucks as part of the lawsuit settlement. I had 2 squares at the time so I got two $1000 certificates. I used the certificates with other incentives and a GM employee discount to buy 2 new GM vehicles. The certificates had a time limit, and as I recall if you did not use them by a certain time the were only worth $500, then after another time had passed they were worthless. So, I think the time window for GM certificates has passed. I think those $1000 certificates were worth more than my 2 old squares at the time. So, I would say you cannot get anything from the settlement, but you can google "GM side saddle tank settlelment" and probably get the full details.
Interestingly, NBC did a phony crash test that they broadcasted on television where they secretly rigged up an old Chevy pickup with an explosive attached to the side saddle tank and tried to demonstrate that Chevy trucks were unsafe. They were eventually outed by someone knowledgeable about the "testing" methods and issued an apology. This makes me have very little regard for their "reporting" integrity. While GM trucks now have their gas tanks inboard of the frame rails, relatively few trucks were set on fire because of side saddle tanks, so it was an inferior design but not a gigantic fire hazard. I have been driving old squares as second vehicles or primary vehicles for the past 30 years and have not been set on fire yet - although they have fired up my irritation with them for their pesky other problems from time to time. |
07-11-2012, 10:08 AM | #13 | |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Quote:
Look at all the muscle cars made with tanks and (unprotected) filler necks in the rear of the car....I'd say on average there are just as many, if not more rearend impacts than anything else. How many people have complained about the 100's of millions of vehicles built like this? I feel it's just as easy (and more likely) to puncture a tank in the back of the car. At one time the Pinto was brought into the spotlight about this, and then it faded away. In the end, I don't worry about it. Drive the cars and trucks and enjoy, you can't control every aspect of life. Driving defensively is the best approach, be aware, and pay attention (stay off the cell phones) |
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07-11-2012, 10:34 AM | #14 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Reading these reminds me of a story a while back.... A guy went to South Carolina's South of the Border, and bought a boatload of fireworks to smuggle back north where they are illegal. He hit Richmond on I-95 in his Chevy pickup, flicked a cigarette butt out the window and it went into the bed. The 4th came early.... I know its not related, but the fireball thought did remind me of the story.
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07-11-2012, 12:30 PM | #15 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Now that would be a fire show, bet that got some looks
I just looked at mine because I couldn't remember, the GM campaign or recall was never done on my 79 with dual tanks. |
07-11-2012, 03:55 PM | #16 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
You know, Dodge trucks in the 70's were the exact same way (side mounted tank outside the frame rail) why doesn't anyone ever hear a word about them? Ford was the only manufacturer to put the tanks inside the frame starting in 1973.
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07-11-2012, 04:03 PM | #17 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
My guess is that most of the Dodge trucks fell apart before they got hit.
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07-11-2012, 04:08 PM | #18 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Nobody bought Dodge trucks
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07-11-2012, 04:33 PM | #19 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
My Dad had a pinto in 1973, there was no place safe to put a gas tank in that thing..
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07-11-2012, 04:46 PM | #20 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
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07-11-2012, 05:13 PM | #21 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Many vehicles of the 50s and 60s had gas tanks in the rear of the vehicle under the trunk, with the filler neck behind the license plate. That configuration had a propensity to splash back fuel when you were refilling, and left fuel sloshing out of the filler neck if you over filled. I would imagine that any significant rear end collision would risk filler neck rupture, except for the massive bumpers made of real steel used in those days possibly protecting the filler neck.
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07-11-2012, 05:27 PM | #22 | |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Quote:
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07-11-2012, 06:50 PM | #23 |
It'd be alot cooler if you did
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
Keith, its incredible to have you here....
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07-11-2012, 08:51 PM | #24 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
If you get rear ended and blowed up in Preskit I could probably see the flames down here in Tucson.
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07-11-2012, 11:03 PM | #25 |
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Re: side saddle gas tank recall?
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