Bobcat Fuel Tank Replacement

Mid-winter, I headed out to a winery to troubleshoot a Bobcat T650 with a mysterious fuel leak. I travelled out to the customer site and inspected the machine. I noted that there was water in the fuel, which is very uncommon for our area due to the arid climate. I pressurized the fuel tank and found that fuel was leaking out of the fuel tank under the engine oil pan. So I ordered a replacement fuel tank for the machine.

 Once the replacement tank arrived, I trucked back out to the winery to install it. In order to replace the fuel tank on this particular machine, the engine and pumps need to be removed. I started by pressure washing the engine and pump compartment.

After removing all the accessories connected to the engine, I used the crane on my service truck to remove the engine and set it on stands.

Next, I removed the pumps from the machine.

And finally, I removed the leaking fuel tank.

I pressure-washed the rear of the machine.

I also pressure-washed and organized all the parts that I had removed from the machine.

The following day, I returned to the customer site. I started off by confirming the cause of failure for the fuel leak by filling the leaking fuel tank with dye and water and inspecting it for leaks. With this method, I immediately found the leak in the fuel tank.

 I then installed the new fuel tank.

Next, I reinstalled the pumps.

Finally, I reinstalled the engine.

I then filled the fuel tank with fuel and started up the machine.

The following day, I ran the machine around the property and verified that it didn’t have any leaks or trouble codes. With that, I installed all the remaining covers and attachments. I parked the machine and informed the customer that the machine was ready to go back to work. 🔧