CJ3A Fuel Tank Mounting

CJ-3A Fuel Tank Mounting
(and other Flatfender Jeeps)

CJ-3A service and parts information seem to omit some of the details concerning the mounting of the fuel tank in the body tub. A strap (Item #2) holds down the front of the tank and a J shaped retainer (Item #8) holds the rear. There are 7 pieces of "Anti-Squeak" fabric webbing listed in the parts manual that are also used to isolate the fuel tank. The proper location of the webbing is not specified. This missing information can be found in the CJ-3A's military siblings parts catalogs. Below is an illustration from the 1950 CJ-V35/U Parts Catalog that shows the correct position for all the Anti-Squeak material. A CJ-V35/U was a special limited production CJ-3A made for the military in 1950. See the Pictorial History of the Universal Jeep on The CJ-3B Page for more information about the "V-35".

Item #	Quan.	Description	CJ-2A and CJ-3A Parts List (©1949)	CJ-3B Parts List (©1953)
1	1	Anti-Squeak, fuel tank (1 x 6-3/8 in.)	640682	801559
23	1	Anti-Squeak, fuel tank (1 x 9 in.)	640171	801560
22	3	Anti-Squeak, fuel tank (1 x 18-11/16 in.)	640681	801561
stapled to 2	1	Anti-Squeak, fuel tank (1 x 23-7/16 in.)	640170	801562
11	1	Anti-Squeak, fuel tank hold down, outer	640704	640704

According to the CJ-2A and CJ-3A Parts List (©1949) both of these CJs used the same Anti-Squeak between the fuel tank and body tub. By the time the CJ-3B entered production, the Anti-Squeak part numbers had changed but the description and dimensions remained the same. When the Master Parts List (©1955) was published the replacement CJ-2A/3A Anti-Squeak parts had also changed to the newer CJ-3B numbers. During 1954 the CJ-3B fuel tank hold down and corresponding Anti-Squeak components changed. The military CJ-V35/Us used the same Anti-Squeak as the CJ-2A and CJ-3A. Another military vehicle very similar to the CJ-3A was the M-38 which had it's own unique part numbers. Most of the Anti-Squeak sections were slightly longer than the civilian counterpart. This was probably because the M-38 fuel tank was larger than that of the other vehicles. Although the Anti-Squeak was longer its placement was the same as the other vehicles.

Below is a photo of the Anti-Squeak as found on the bottom of the fuel tank from CJV35 10588. This should be exactly the same layout used in the CJ-2A, CJ-3A and CJ-3B. The three 18-11/16" pieces (Item #22) run from front to back. What remains of the 6-3/8" section (Item #1) can be seen on the right front corner of the tank (lower right in the photo).

The next photo shows Anti-Squeak material under the fuel tank hold down strap. This strap runs across the front of the fuel tank holding it into the body tub. The 23-7/16" webbing is stapled to the bottom of the hold down strap (Item #2) and the 9" section (Item #23) is centered under the strap clamp (Item #24). A 5/16"-24 x 1-3/4" bolt and hex nut secure the clamp to the strap. The nut is locked in place by double nutting with a stamped jamb nut.

The final piece of Anti-Squeak (Item #11) is located between the rear fuel tank retainer and the body. The length is not specified but it appears to be about 1-1-1/2" long.

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