Oil & Fuel dropped fuel tube into fuel tank

[lduren]

We just started using the Case IH Farmall 55A tractor with fel, and have dropped a clear plastic tube used to guide fuel into the tank, INTO the tractor fuel tank. I tried briefly to fish it out with a clothes hanger but with no luck.

Will the tube, which is used for portable fuel tanks, biodegrade over time and foul up the engine? Are there any other problems I might come across with it left in the tank indefinitely?

Lee

[Riderguy]

I had the same thing happen on my JD3720. It took me 2 hours to fish it out using a 23" mechanics "grabby tool" (plunger on one end and a 3 finger expanding gizmo on the other) and a long magnetic pickup rod (30") to get the thing out. Be careful with all stuff in the tank. It is a pain to fish out, but I feel a lot better about not mucking up the tank inards and screwing up the fuel gauge or delivery to the engine.

Good luck,
Scott

[johnrex62]

Considering that these tubes are designed to be chemical resistant and my father has some fuel tanks with filler tubes that are 50 years old......I think perhaps your great-grandchildren may have to deal with a partially degraded tube integrity. I think your only problem will be a plastic part sloshing around in the tank and possibly blocking fuel flow. I think biodegradability is the least of your concerns.

[lduren]

Thanks to all for the advice, I did not think about possibly fouling the tank guage. We ran it today and it runs just fine.

I missed the part about the FILLER TUBES that were 50 years old. sounds like they are (or were at least) made as well as the tanks themselves.