Freightliner fuel tank straps.
If you live in the rust belt and own a semi tractor, part of the annual DOT inspection is checking the condition of the fuel tank, fuel lines and the tank mounting straps.
Some trucks have a bracket the fuel tank sits on with straps that go over the top of the tank. Others have brackets on top of the tank with straps that wrap around the bottom of the tank, with this design if you have a 120 gallon tank there is 800 to 900 pounds of fuel secured to the truck by the fuel tank straps. In most cases these fuel tank straps are fabricated from the factory using 12 gauge mild steel. With more aggressive ice melt chemicals like potassium and magnesium chloride now in wide use coupled with fairings that cover the fuel tanks for aerodynamics these steel fuel tank straps rot and rust away very quickly. A characteristic of potassium and magnesium chloride is that it gets in every nook and cranny under a vehicle and gets reactivated every time it comes in contact with moisture, so driving in a summer rainstorm, or even 90% humidity summer air gives these chemicals the ability to keep on munching away at any metal that corrodes, all year long. I have found many Freightliner model FLD120’s that will have the fuel tank straps in very rusted out or very thin condition, not something you would want to trust to hold nearly a half ton of fuel. The new fuel tank straps from Freightliner that incorporate a 5/8” T bolt at each end range from $450 to $550 per strap depending on what dealer you buy from, and are made from the same mild steel that the original straps were. The first winter with the new straps begins the rust and rot process all over again.
I began fabricating replacement fuel tank straps for these Freightliners from 16 gauge 304 stainless steel with a 2B finish, this eliminates the corrosion and maintains the structural integrity of the straps that hold nearly a half ton of fuel to the truck.
The most difficult part of the process is finding T bolts, as Freightliner does not sell the T bolts separately. These T bolts are 5/8” forged steel, I have contacted over 30 different companies that manufacture forged T bolts but none have anything close. So I am limited to using the T bolts that are in good shape from the original straps, or from Heavy truck part yards.
A set of four of these stainless steel fuel tank straps is $1500 plus $60 shipping.
I currently make them for the Freightliner FLD120 trucks, however, with dimension information and T bolt or specialized hardware available, I can fabricate them for Peterbilt, Kenworth and other brands as well.
Please contact me at don@donsoil.com
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I deal with a lot of stuck rusted on pulleys and this works almost every time to remove then with no damage.
Doug Fackler 9 minutes ago
You never explained the use of the ball joint splitter.
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redneckcomputergeak 1 second ago
WOW your right sorry. You can use it under the pulley at the top of the input shaft to apply pressure if the pulley is to rotten to use 2×4 method but you take a big risk of snapping the input shaft.
Reply · in reply to Doug Fackler (Show the comment)