Hello:

I got an 85 GSL-SE on Sunday. It make it the 4th 1st gen in my driveway right now, but my first 13B FB.

The gas tank leaks and needs to be replaced. I have a damn nearly new OEM tank I yanked out of a parts car, but I don't remember what year the parts car was. When I looked up fuel tank part numbers on Mazdatrix they have 2 separate part numbers, one for 81-83 and another for 84-85. The 84-85 says it is applicable for 12A or 13B.

Question: What is the difference in these tanks? If my spare tank is an 81-83 can I still use it on this 1985 car?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jon K
Ann Arbor Michigan

 

Here's the car. I'm pretty damn happy with it. It runs really strong. I gotta ditch that tint tho... I think it'll look a lot better with clear glass. Plus I got pulled over just last weak for dark tint on a completely different car.

 

Since you have the 13B with fuel injection, you need the S3 FI tank. It has a small sump cup that the fuel pickup and return sit in to prevent starvation during cornering. You should either have your tank repaired or find another SE tank. Also the earlier tanks do not have removeable pickup and return units and the piping is much larger for the SE tanks. Supply tube is bigger even than the 2nd gen TII's supplies.

In the following is a thread I did explaining the differences in the S3 tanks.

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/84-85-fuel-tanks-facts-416682/

 

Thanx for the fantastic and prompt feedback! I really appreciate your input on this. Your referenced thread was great.


Not to be a hack, but I need to drive this car. Would it be okay to swap an non FI tank in temporarily until I can either track down another tank or get the rusted one repaired?


very best, Jon

 

the SE's main fuel line is 1/2" whereas the non-SE's are 5/16.

 

i have a 12a tank in my se. i just switched the pickup lines so i kept 1/2 in.

 

12a 84/85 have a different sender unit with one extra wire than the earlier ones. Tank is the same other than SE differences mentioned.

 

Thanx for all the feedback so far.

I think I have enough to get my feet wet with this fix. The main thing is I need minimal downtime on this car, and I don't have a spare SE tank.

Please keep the thoughts and comments coming as they occur.

 

If you are running the car with a non FI tank, it wont have the "cup" that the FI tanks have, so make sure you keep it FULL that way you dont suck up air


I too have an SE just like that with the same Ugly purple tint, but Old Grandfather time has help to take it off lol

 

i run mine 1/4 full all the time and drive the **** out of it and so far have not had any problems.

 

I have SE tanks but you need friends in LA as I hate shipping parts.

 

If you NEED to drive it, mount the S2 gastank.
Then get a FI pump from a BMW E30, its external, I did this and it works.
I would'nt track it though, but for city/highway driving its fine.

 

Hmmmm... in a pinch maybe I can talk you into it....

 

On reason the S3 FI fuel tank pick up and returns are so large, larger than the 2nd gen tanks even, is the capacity of the SE FI fuel pump. It pumps more volume than even the TII 2nd gen FI pump does.

Installing the carbed version of the tank may cause fuel volume or pressure issues, may not. Keep in mind that the pump is cooled by the fuel that goes through it. An intank pump will need less volume since it sits in the fuel to begin with, which dissapaits pump heat.