A few years back a limb hit the fuel cap and wrecked the stem it fits on, the groove is beyond repair, I can't be the only one who's damaged the portion where the cap fits on, how do you go about fixing it so a regular cap fits or some sort of aftermarket cap fits. The local dealer wants to sell me a new tank and I can't find a aftermarket tank stem and cap assembly I can just weld onto my tank anyone know of any? I can't find a good used tank that's in any better shape than mine is now, so I'd not gain anything by doing that either. Right now we're using the tin can over the stem sort of repair but I'd like something a bit more permanent and water proof.
Weld a three or four black iron nipple on the tank and get a screw on cap for the nipple. Take a grinder and grind the threads on the nipple in one spot so the tank can breath unless it has a separate breather somewhere else on the tank.
Have you tried Machinery Trader to search for a used tank at the dismantled machines link?
Or maybe a used tank that's bad at the bottom, cut the stem off and weld it on yours?
If I remember right, the fuel tank neck is available from Deere/Hitachi. I think I had the part number written down, I would have to check.
Willie, the last time I did the search, all the tanks were listed in great shape except for the fill neck, which had damage to them, about the same as mine. Mitch as for welding the top off of a different tank and the bottom of mine, most used tanks have top damage to them that I've found that fit my machine. I thought someone made the fill necks separate and I just wasn't computer literate enough to figure out where they were located and how to contact them. So far truck 505 has the best idea and what I'll probably have to do, I can rig up a bracket to lock it with but for that major of a job, it'll have to wait till winter, we just got that machine serviced and hauled off to a job this afternoon, hence the reason for the question, I was working on it and it ticked me off enough to find a solution to tin can problem. Keep the ideas coming though. I'm still looking for the 15 minutes simple fix I've not yet figured out how to do, besides the tin can and some duct tape to hold it on.
It might help if we knew just what Hitachi we were talking about.
An ex100-2 machine, the tank should be about the same as a 120 machine but deere wasn't much help with it other than a whole new tank, if you have a part number, I'd try it, as for the neck it really wouldn't matter what tank it came off, any size or brand would work fine, its just a fill neck with a cap on it.
Unless you really need that big diameter filler, you could get an automotive filler neck from Ford or GM that could be welded on there.
The EX100-2 and EX120-2 is a gray market machine, but if I'm not mistaken, I think the EX100 and EX120 is the same thing as the Deere 490E. And if nothing else, do a Machinery Trader search for pretty much any Deere machine that has a good filler neck, purchase the tank, and do what Mitch said, cut the neck off and weld it on your tank. http://www.marketbook.ca/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=7199432&LP=MAT Another thing you could try is call a salvage yard, such as Iron Peddlers, and talk to a live person about what you want to do, either replace the tank with a used one, or purchase any Deere excavator tank to obtain the filler neck. http://www.ironpeddlers.com/
buy an aftermarket caterpillar d4c fuel cap from hfinney parts on ebay. purchase a short peice of thick wall tubing. i will be glad to measure mine on the d4 and tell you what diameter. have any competent machine shop single point the threads on a lathe after turning the tubing down to the correct diameter. cut off your old assembly from the tank, weld the new one on.
Try FFSH107859 Hitachi or Deere part number. It is the filler neck for the fuel tank. It is off the Forester machines but uses the standard fuel cap. It was used on the older Forester machines and the part number might still be good.