installing Dorman gas tank in Malibu

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jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
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Online (at RockAuto, and at Dorman aka rbinc.com), the applications for 576-351 are given as Monte Carlo and various Pontiacs. No Malibu. I ordered one anyway, since other than the totally unkown Fineline, this is the only alternative to the Spectra GM306A.

Spectra lists both Monte Carlo and Malibu along with the Pontiacs for GM306A. With my Malibu, I succeeded by re-bending the straps and using 1" spacers on longer front bolts. But the Spectra has a mysterious venting problem, and won't fill at anything near a normal rate. So, having never seen any posts anywhere about anyone ever installing a Dorman in a G-body, I decided to be the guinea pig, and here we go ....

First up is the label on the box. As seen below, the label says Malibu but not Monte Carlo, the exact opposite of online information.



Next is the stamp on top of the tank itself. As seen below, it looks like the Spectra number. The logo seems to ring a bell, but I can't place it. Maybe a bolt maker in Taiwan?



The Dorman filler neck is bent differently from the Spectra (more on that below). Outside, the whole tank is painted silver where the Spectra has vegetable oil smeared on it. Kind of rough, sand-like paint. Inside, the Dorman really seems to be made from real Ni-terne steel, that is, the terne appears to be lead-tin, like the GM fuel lines. In comparison, the Spectra looks galvanized like the inside of a food can.

So I put Buick GN rubber strips on it and wrestled it in. I kept the straps bent the same but added another 1/2" spacing on still longer front bolts. It nestles snugly against the underbody rails. However, flipping down the license plate reveals the problem seen below.



Whudda we do now, Jake?

Looks to me like the best idea would be to figure out how to cut out the upper license plate pocket around the gas cap to give it clearance. Any better ideas?
 

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jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
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With the Spectra GM306A, by the way, the gas cap emerged down near the bottom of the opening, about as close to the bottom as it could get without interference. The Spectra too was nestled snugly against the underbody rails, but without the GN rubber strips and with 1/2" less spacing on shorter front bolts.

How can these two tanks possibly be for the same car, I wonder, whichever car that might be.
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,391
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Kitchener, Ontario
you can adjust the neck, last time I had a new tank installed I had the same problem so I went back and the guy just used a pipe to bend the neck so the cap was centered in the opening
 

jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
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I have read about that, but never seen in person.

It doesn't look like it needs to bend very far. But what exactly to use, and how to avoid damage.

Certainly stands to be quicker and easier than cutting, though.

(Very funny pic.)
 

jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
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The humor in this situation is that the whole point of installing the Dorman is to see if I can fill it at a normal rate. That's the only reason I pulled the Spectra out.
 

jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
1,001
508
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Re: installing Dorman gas tank in Malibu-filler neck out of

Oops -- here's a more realistic view of the extent of the problem.



That's a full inch worth of gas cap that's obstructed. I don't see trying to bend the tube that much. As for cutting the upper license plate pocket, most of it would have to be cut away above the gas cap, and then the overhang for the license light is still in the way. You could get the cap out, but I don't know how much clearance the typical pump nozzle would need.

Another idea is to insert some kind of spacer between the tank and the underbody rails. Then I would just add more spacing on still longer front bolts, probably after re-bending the straps again. The big problem with this idea is that it takes the tank off the rails and out of their end shoulders, so there would be nothing structural to keep the tank from trying to move side-to-side and front-to-back, unless you could get real fancy with the spacers somehow.

I'm trying to imagine that the tank isn't installed on the underbody rails as well as I think it is, but I have trouble seeing enough geometry there to account for the gas cap being dislocated quite so much.

So how do you bend with a pipe? Or any other way? I'm having trouble seeing this. I have a long breaker bar with a rubber handle that I can wedge between the neck and the body. Call me a wimp, but it seemed like it would take so much force that you'd really be at risk of damaging something.
 

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RUDE DOG

Apprentice
Oct 1, 2012
92
0
6
Re: installing Dorman gas tank in Malibu-filler neck out of

No need for a pipe, Ive used my extra large vise grips (bare hands) to bend the filler down and call it a day.
 

jiho

Royal Smart Person
Jul 26, 2013
1,001
508
113
Re: installing Dorman gas tank in Malibu-filler neck out of

RUDE DOG, looking at the last pic just above, do you think you could bend that down far enough to clear the cap?
 

455'ed80Regal

Master Mechanic
Nov 3, 2010
467
211
43
Lincoln, MO
Re: installing Dorman gas tank in Malibu-filler neck out of

That's the problem with most things aftermarket...they just don't fit right half the time.
 
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