Gas tank and skid plate... plastic?

[toddunderscore]

Before I bought my FJ (three days ago), I looked for negative reviews on it. Besides the usual suspects (blind spots, plastic bumpers, gas mileage, premium fuel, suicide door handle location, etc...) I read someone harping on the fuel tank and its skid plate and the fact that they were both plastic. The seller of my FJ said that the gas tank skid plate was made of carbon-fiber and was better than a metal one. Any comments to support this claim?

[smack]

It's a new kind of carbon fibre that's made out of plastic
I've taken mine of a couple off times - if it's carbon fibre, it's very well engineered to look and feel like plastic

[BMThiker]

I guess it was a weight saver, to design the tank skid out of plastic. The tank itself is supposed to be pretty resilient--some kind of super strong resin that is hard to puncture.

If you are that worried about it talk to BUD

[sbechtold]

The gas tank is a one-piece 3 layer roto-molded high density polyethylene (HDPE) tank.

Most of the large auto makers have switched to polyethylene gas tanks as they last longer and are stronger than metal tanks. The HDPE tanks meet the more stringent EPA requirements easier then metal tanks. They are also more cost effective for the automakers when produced in large quantities.

[Rmplstlskn]

BMThiker previously said:

The tank itself is supposed to be pretty resilient--some kind of super strong resin that is hard to puncture.

Anyone who has used any of the military MFC fuel cans or water cans can attest to the TOUGHNESS of the material used in the FJ gas can. It can still be repaired easy as well with some epoxy and a patch.

Rmpl

[BDFJ]

Yes...If you do some reading on it, check out the Engineering section at: Toyota.com : Vehicles : FJ Cruiser : Bulletin

Great stuff there.

The FJ gas tank is actually termed a fuel cell. Not unlike F1/ChampCar/IndyCar, that is highly puncture resistant and much stronger than the typical metal tanks found in the average passenger car.

[Briareos]

The FJ is my second toyota. My first, a tacoma, has a metal tank and metal skid. I managed to really dent the metal skid/tank badly, and it was a major PITA to replace myself. I much prefer the plastic, if it dents, it will pop back out, will not rust, and is much lighter. My only worry would be about the plumbing from the fuel pump/sending unit if it is still inside the tank as it was in the tacoma. When I dented the tacoma tank, I also bent the plumbing and had to manually straighten everything out when I reinstalled into the new tank. Hopefully the plumbing inside the FJ tank is also plastic so it will pop back into shape if it does get dented badly.

Shawn

[toddunderscore]

Thanks for the information guys. That's the last time I read a forum on FJs other than this one. Was probably some Wrangler tard who was just bad mouthin' FJCs.

[07FJFAN]

Its a weight saver on the 2 ton mud pig! lol!