Defender sill tanks

[PAT303]

I want to increase my puma's fuel capacity,with the standard tank I can get just over 500k's which is next to useless living in the Pilbara.I have been looking at the LRA 140ltr which Drover has on his vehicle but I would really like a second sill tank as I want to set up a seperate filter/water trap and pump the fuel from the aux tank into the main so it gets filtered for water,my biggest worry before going to the engine.Who has sill tanks and how does the filler work,were is it and are you happy with how it works.I would really like the tank to be on the LHS so it balances out my wieght but if the RHS is what I get so be it,one issue is the X-Tech comes with side steps so they could be in the way to.Thanks in advance. Pat

[Rimmer]

Bundalene has done a great job modifying a tdi filler to incorporate the additional fill points for his aux tanks. A quick search should reveal all.

Tod.

[pannawonica]

I quite agree with you and also have been looking into this. It seems the largest tank for a puma is 127 litres, with usable fuel beiing 120 litres.Dolium do both R/L sill tanks. I know of a Puma in Karratha with 276 litres of dolium tanks, he pumps from the sills into the main tank then through the standard fuel filter.

[Xtreme]

I had a dozen of these made up about eight years ago for the Td5 Defenders, less capacity than Bundalene's due to the simpler design - about 35 litres for the passenger side and 55 litres for the driver's side.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/08/1168.jpg

Transfer pumping, filling and filtration was done in a number of different ways depending on how people wanted them set up.

Rough drawings/dimensions are available, in case you're interested and have a fabrication shop handy.

[PAT303]

Roger they look the goods,did you fill from the original filler or a seperate one?. Pat

[Yorkshire_Jon]

I have the LRA 140L tank and also an LRA 60L right hand tank.

The 140L is great, the 60L uses a seperate filler, filter and fuel pump. Quality and fit on both tanks is excellent.

All works very well but I have 2 issues with the 60L aux.
1. The filler is crap - You have to fill it very slowly otherwise you get wet feet!
2. The fuel transfer pump (aux to main) does not have an auto cut-off.

The other thing you need to be aware of with the 140L tank is that you need to cut off the right hand side anti-roll bar chassis mount. This was not a problem for me because my 110 left the factory without an anti-roll bar (110 Double cab).

HTH
Jon

[JamesH]

Not helpful I know but in all the posts Ive seen on this topic nobody has shown anything as good as my unknown brand 70l sill tank.

It is totally independent, you flick a switch in the cab and over to the new tank you go with the fuel guage moving accordingly. There is an external filler. None of this transferring from one tank to the other, filling from out the drivers seat stuff.

Here is a link which shows the setup from the outside anyway:

http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/14415/title/my-new-sill-protecots-and-my-defendoor/cat/500

Again, I'm sorry i have no idea who did it as nobody on here has shown me a setup to match it. I *think* it was put in by ARB in Perth. I bought the car from a mate but he can't remember.

Pat the advantage of having the sill tank on the drivers side is it's easy to fill both tanks from the same side. Furthermore isn't your weight factored in to the spring set up from the factory? I thought that, counterintuitively, the drivers side was where you put the weight. I don't know why I'm giving you advice though as you must have forgotten more about Defenders than I'll ever know.

[Xtreme]

Roger they look the goods,did you fill from the original filler or a seperate one?. Pat

I only fitted the one (driver's side tank) and used an independant filler using a deck mount filler from the boat shop. Others set them up similar to Bundalene with the 'Y' junction at the main filler point and a further 'Y' or 'T' junction to connect the two sill tanks.

In this case they used one of the old Tdi fillers as these were metal and the Td5 (and probably the Puma) ones are some type of plastic.

Two factors that affect filling as mentioned by Jon above is the plumbing and size of both the filler and breather pipes.

[Xtreme]

Not helpful I know but in all the posts Ive seen on this topic nobody has shown anything as good as my unknown brand 70l sill tank.

It is totally independent, you flick a switch in the cab and over to the new tank you go with the fuel guage moving accordingly. There is an external filler. None of this transferring from one tank to the other, filling from out the drivers seat stuff.

Here is a link which shows the setup from the outside anyway:

http://www.aulro.com/app/showphoto.php/photo/14415/title/my-new-sill-protecots-and-my-defendoor/cat/500

Again, I'm sorry i have no idea who did it as nobody on here has shown me a setup to match it. I *think* it was put in by ARB in Perth. I bought the car from a mate but he can't remember.

Pat the advantage of having the sill tank on the drivers side is it's easy to fill both tanks from the same side. Furthermore isn't your weight factored in to the spring set up from the factory? I thought that, counterintuitively, the drivers side was where you put the weight. I don't know why I'm giving you advice though as you must have forgotten more about Defenders than I'll ever know.

This (the above bit in bold) is possible and desirable with a Tdi as they have an engine mounted lift pump but the Td5 (not sure about the Puma) has a rather complex two stage pump setup with the pump inside the original tank.

[Drover]

The other thing you need to be aware of with the 140L tank is that you need to cut off the right hand side anti-roll bar chassis mount. This was not a problem for me because my 110 left the factory without an anti-roll bar (110 Double cab).

HTH
Jon


New LRA 140L tank to suit the PUMA model come with extension legs to lower the sway bar mounts, so there is no need to remove the sway bar or cut the mounts off.

Cheers

[PAT303]

I only fitted the one (driver's side tank) and used an independant filler using a deck mount filler from the boat shop. Others set them up similar to Bundalene with the 'Y' junction at the main filler point and a further 'Y' or 'T' junction to connect the two sill tanks.

In this case they used one of the old Tdi fillers as these were metal and the Td5 (and probably the Puma) ones are some type of plastic.

Two factors that affect filling as mentioned by Jon above is the plumbing and size of both the filler and breather pipes.

Funny enough my 98 Tdi's filler is plastic,grafting a Y onto the original was my first thought as it's neat and easy. Pat

[PAT303]

James,the tank you have is just right,the side steps would just come to the bottom of it,I only know Defenders because of the trouble I had with mine after I let the dealer monkeys play with during it's warranty period.Drovers sent the number of the place he got his so I'll chase the 55ltr sill up as I'm driving over to his side of Oz at Xmas. Pat

[Phoenix12]

Speak to Daniel at MULGOS.........you will get the right advice, the right price, and he does expedition vehicles, so you cant go wrong.

I recently had him put in a 45l gravity fed fuel tank for me (back rear panel), I then got it filled up to the brim to check for leaks, we tightened up a join that was leaking, and then I drove it away as happy as Larry...........

Cheers

[PAT303]

I've looked at Daniels site but he doesn't list the sill tanks anymore.LRA do a good 55 and 65ltr model. Pat

[KarlB]

I've looked at Daniels site but he doesn't list the sill tanks anymore.LRA do a good 55 and 65ltr model. Pat

Mulgo has two websites and that makes it a bit confusing, but have a look here Pat:

Dual Fuel Tank System - Mulgo Pty Ltd - Australia (http://www.mulgo.com.au/p11_Mulgo-Dual-Fuel-Tank-System.html)
and
Tanks | Buy 4x4 Accessories and Parts Online Store | Expedition Centre Australia by Mulgo (http://www.expeditioncentre.com.au/online-store/tanks/)

Cheers
KarlB

[PAT303]

They are the ones I was looking for,trouble is looking at the picture my side steps will need to go. Pat

[KarlB]

They are the ones I was looking for,trouble is looking at the picture my side steps will need to go. Pat

The Front Runner one in the photos is fitted to a D90 with side steps but I would imagine not all side steps are afixed the same way.

http://www.expeditioncentre.com.au/product-images/500-ftl42-4.jpg.png (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0))

Cheers
KarlB