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1987 R10 Fuel Tank Shield
- Thread starter tmwork
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Couple of questions: is it the plastic cover? Do you drive your truck daily? I ask as several of us have ditched them because they hold dirt and debris which can lead to rot and damage to the tank(s). I had the tank on my old 65 Chevy II Nova sprayed with bedliner. Protected it and unless you really looked, it wasn't noticeable.
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- 350 TBI
You really don’t want to run those full covers. As someone else already pointed out, they’re a poor design. They trap water/mud/dirt and hold it right up against the bottom of your tank which ends up rusting your tank out.
Earlier year trucks ran a partial shield on the leading end of the tank. I found a set of those and put them on. Even with them it would be a good idea to drill some drain holes in them before installing them.
78C10BigTen
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The partial ones do the same thing, my 91 s10 rotted out on the nose of the tank behind that cover. Granted it took 34 years lol
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GM gave rock shields out for free so they could sell more $100 gas tanks.
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Yep, and I got the partial shields for my truck for free because anyone and everyone yanks them off because it’s well known even the partial ones trap dirt/moisture and rust out the tanks. I THINK the partials are OK with holes drilled to drain off anything wet that gets in there since they kinda tip forward and have only that one low spot in the front plus it’s just one nut holding each on so I can always pull them and clean them out too. The full size covers are a real hassle to get off to clean and then put back on plus they’re like a bathtub. You’d have to drill holes all over it to drain and even then there’s bound to be a low spot where water is going to pool up. Just not worth the hassle.
I don’t know if GM ever offered them on the squarebody 4x4 but I’ve seen folks make flat metal skid plates for the tanks and that would offer more protection than plastic ever would PLUS wouldn’t trap water since they’re flat with no flex. Might be something for OP to look at if he’s wanting protection for his fuel tanks.
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It’s not really the water that is the problem. Like you said, you can drill a couple holes and solve that. It is the dirt and leaves and junk that get stuck up there and then stay wet that ends up rotting the tanks. There is really no fix for that. I have a 74 C30 on the farm that has not had shields for 50 years and have the original tank. Never with an issue, we use it everyday. The shields are cool to keep it original, but it was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist IMHO.
