After the last part of the week was stolen from me for work and the weekend and Monday fell to a stomach virus, I was definitely ready to cut some metal.

I pulled the fuel tank off the frame and drained it. I’m wondering why I completely filled it way back when. Now I have a really full 5 gallon can full of iffy gas. That’s a lot of mowing.

I first pulled the filler neck off. I found, not entirely to my surprise, that it was held by four sheetmetal screws and “sealed” with what appears to be Bondo.

With the filler neck off, I could photograph inside the tank. It’s not a happy sight. The outside of the bottom is somewhat pitted as well. Since it’s only about 16ga steel, there’s not a lot of material to corrode away. The entire bottom, if not the whole tank, should be replaced.

While I am formulating plan B to replace the bottom plate (or the whole tank), I will continue with plan A.

I marked and cut the hole for the pump and test fit it. I also cut a trial gasket.