23.5 gallon gas tank? I’ve got the ‘87 Long bed with 120” wheelbase

[Kickin’Chicken]

4x4, automatic and 4.0. 
so I ordered the tank - the only tank - that I concluded was original in the truck, since mine was full of rust. I also ordered a new sending unit/pump that appears to match that tank. 
Anyway, I just removed the tank to dispose of and it has a 16 gallon tag on it?

 

Should I reverse course and order another 16 gallon or will the 23.5 work?

 

TIA and a pic of the tank ….

[Kickin’Chicken]

Here’s a pic of the tag:

[coheed]

So the 16 and the 23 are actually the same size. The vent tube is just lower in the tank making it so you can't fill it up as much. I had a 16 in my 86 and swapped a 23 in with no issues. 

[89 MJ]

You might need to swap to the sending unit for the 23 gallon tank though, if I recall correctly. 

[JeepSchmidt O'Guinness]

If your oem 16gal had three straps the 23 gal should fit inplace without issue.

Shortwheelbase used a smaller 16gal tank with only two straps that don't match the placemen of the 23gal long wheel base.

 

 

[eaglescout526]

6 minutes ago, JeepSchmidt O'Guinness said:

If your oem 16gal had three straps the 23 gal should fit inplace without issue.

Shortwheelbase used a smaller 16gal tank with only two straps that don't match the placemen of the 23gal long wheel base.

 

 

Youre thinking of the 18 gallon tank. 

[JeepSchmidt O'Guinness]

I thought something seemed off when writing 16. Thx 

[Kickin’Chicken]

57 minutes ago, JeepSchmidt O'Guinness said:

If your oem 16gal had three straps the 23 gal should fit inplace without issue.

Shortwheelbase used a smaller 16gal tank with only two straps that don't match the placemen of the 23gal long wheel base.

 

 

Yes. It has 3 straps!👍

Thanks 😁

[speeding_infraction]

12 hours ago, coheed said:

So the 16 and the 23 are actually the same size. The vent tube is just lower in the tank making it so you can't fill it up as much. I had a 16 in my 86 and swapped a 23 in with no issues. 

What on earth?

Even if we're talking about the 18 gal tank, why would Jeep do that? Makes no sense. 

[eaglescout526]

1 hour ago, TurboedMJ said:

Even if we're talking about the 18 gal tank, why would Jeep do that? Makes no sense. 

Costs. Its cheaper to put a baffle in a tank with higher capacity than it is to make a new tank. 18 gallon tank had to be made specifically for the short box

[speeding_infraction]

44 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

Costs. Its cheaper to put a baffle in a tank with higher capacity than it is to make a new tank. 18 gallon tank had to be mad specifically for the short box

My point was, why not just have only the 23 gallon tank if the 18 is the same external size?

[eaglescout526]

14 minutes ago, TurboedMJ said:

My point was, why not just have only the 23 gallon tank if the 18 is the same external size?

Its not though. 16 and 23 are the same externally. 18 is smaller than the 23/16 gallon tank and for the short beds only.

 

Were talking about AMC here. They did the same exact thing with the XJ by offering a 13 gallon tank and a 20 gallon and its the exact same externally. 

 

 

[speeding_infraction]

4 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

Its not though. 16 and 23 are the same externally. 18 is smaller than the 23/16 gallon tank and for the short beds only.

 

Were talking about AMC here. They did the same exact thing with the XJ by offering a 13 gallon tank and a 20 gallon and its the exact same externally. 

 

 

Oh ok, I thought the 18 and the 23 were the same. I guess I will never know AMC's reasoning for some things.

[eaglescout526]

1 minute ago, TurboedMJ said:

Oh ok, I thought the 18 and the 23 were the same. I guess I will never know AMC's reasoning for some things.

Yup. Only the 16 and 23 are the same externally. I think the easy answer for a lot of AMC's reasons is cost. 

[Pete M]

so they can bill an upcharge for allowing more gas in the same tank. 

[Eagle_SX4]

9 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

Yup. Only the 16 and 23 are the same externally. I think the easy answer for a lot of AMC's reasons is cost. 

I don't think it was cost of manufacturing because the 16 gallon actually used longer pipes to limit the capacity vs the 23 that used shorter ones. I think AMC just did it to have another option they could make more money from.

 

I think the bottom line is AMC could charge more for something that actually cost less to make.

[watchamakalit]

6 hours ago, Eagle_SX4 said:

I don't think it was cost of manufacturing because the 16 gallon actually used longer pipes to limit the capacity vs the 23 that used shorter ones. I think AMC just did it to have another option they could make more money from.

 

I think the bottom line is AMC could charge more for something that actually cost less to make.

I would seriously question AMC doing something just to make money. If that was their motivation, where did it all go wrong?