How to replace fuel cell foam?

[DavidM]

I got some new foam for the fuel cell and am about to try and replace the old stuff. The foam blocks definitely look larger than the cell opening. Do you just squeeze it in there? I haven't opened the fuel cell before so aren't sure what I'm going to find. Any hints are appreciated.

David

[Ron Earp]

Cut it and stuff it in there. Pretty straight forward. An electric carving knife makes cutting the foam a breeze but a sharp knife will do well too.

[pballance]

Be sure and order new gaskets for the bulkhead. My cell required two cork gaskets, one between the inner flange and the cell and one between the outer flange and cell. They are cheap enough anyway. Also, you may want to check your pickup and replace the screen if you have seen foam degradation.

Paul

[TomL]

Unless you got the foam pre-cut for your specific cell (and that's rarely the way you get it - it's usually just in big blocks), what you also want to do is pull out the old foam first then use the old pieces as a template for cutting the new stuff. It makes the whole installation a lot neater than trying to figure out a pattern yourself.
Don't worry about compressing the foam to get it in and out. I recently replaced an 8" x 8" x 16" block thru the 3" opening of a "stock car" cell with minimal problems.

[DavidM]

Thanks for the info guys. I ordered replacement blocks from Fuelsafe so they were already the size of the cell. Once I got everything apart I wound up just leaving the old pieces in there. I pulled a couple out and didn't notice any real degradation. Since I'm just trying to get in a couple races for the license I decided not to replace. I'll do it when I pull the cell to put it in the new tub.

I don't know if Bob was having fuel starvation issues or it's just standard procedure to put in a surge compartment, but I have one in the center of the cell. The pump/fuel pickup are inside a square compartment in the center of the cell. Bob had also cut up some extra pieces of foam and stuffed them in the cell. I just left everything the way I found it.

Now I just have to figure out my oil pressure issue, but that's a different thread.

David