52 Merc Gas Tank
 

I am doing a test fit of a gas tank on my 52 Mercury and can't seem to locate the rubber grommet that goes around the filler neck behind the license plate. I did a brief search at C&G Ford but could not find anything like that listed. Its years since I removed the original rusted out gas tank and the rubber grommet (if it had one) seems to have gone missing. Did they actually have one originally or am I searching for something that never existed?

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

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Ralph, I think what you need is P/N BA-9080-B. C&G shows that they have it and Steele rubber also lists one for a 52 Mercury.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Thanks for that. I figured there had to be something around that filler neck.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Ralph, I just did this same thing to my wife's 1952 Mercury last summer. You will need to order two of those grommets. Fred Killian

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Two of them? Is that because I am going to break the first one trying to install it? That would be my style. :D

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

In the old 1952 Mercury parts book, they used the 1M-9080 for the 1951 but listed it for the 1952 as well. The 1951 cars used two of them. One for the floor of the trunk and one for the filler box. The 1952 and later only used the one since the filler pipe didn't go through the floor. The part number likely changed later since that version was a little larger and was used up through 1956.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Thanks for that info. It sounds logical that the 52 would only require one grommet. In fact I did find one of my old ones today but it is a bit hard and brittle from age and not sure if will survive the stretching required to go over the filler neck. Also notice the difference between Mercury and Ford/Meteor gas tanks. The Ford tank has a vent pipe running along the top of the tank right up the outside of the filler neck. The Mercury does not have that.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

I learned a trick to soften dried up old rubber seals, grommets and body plugs.

Put that rock hard grommet that you have in a zip-lock bag. Spray a bunch of silicone spray in the bag and coat the seal liberally. You almost want it swimming in the stuff. More is better haha.

Seal the bag and let it sit a few days. It will totally soften up the grommet.

I had some body plugs that would snap in half if you tried to fold them. Heard about this silicone spray trick so I soaked the remaining rock hard brittle rubber plugs in the manner explained above. It's honestly a miraculous fix.

Not sure if you will have the same success I did, but it might be worth a try.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Thanks for that tip. I should give it a try before attempting to stretch it over the filler neck. I considered something like Armour All spray too but have not tried it.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Is putting hard rubber parts in boiling water supposed to soften them also, or am I imagining this?

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Yes the hot water will make the rubber or plastic parts more flexible to install but it only lasts until they cool off. That would not be very long today at 0F degrees .Too cold to even work on it.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Ralph, that harder and more brittle sounds alot like me LOL. Always enjoy you stuff.

Re: 52 Merc Gas Tank
 

Even the synthetic rubber elastomers break down with exposure to the ozone in the air. Fuel doesn't help them either. Relatively new rubber that is kept in air tight packaging will last a long time on the shelf. The best place for old hard rubber is in the file 13.

I worked at a boat window manufacturing facility while I was going to A&P school. They kept their window rubber in a hot room that was kept at 110 degrees F at all times. We would go in and get a roll of the rubber needed and use it till it cooled down after about an hour. We would then go back to the hot room and exchange it for another hot roll of rubber. It made it a lot easier to force into the channel around the glass. Sometimes we could use up a roll before it cooled off. I know I installed a lot of windows in my time there.