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Author Topic: How to clean fuel tank?  (Read 5989 times)

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Offline aboyandhisdog

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How to clean fuel tank?
« on: August 18, 2015, 11:35:32 AM »
I bought a new tank 7 years ago from Besingers' and it had been sprayed (oversprayed?) with red primer well down into the spout opening.  Has not been a problem, but now I find that the primer is all flaking off and settling into the tank and getting to my carb.  So, tomorrow I plan to take the tank out and try to wire brush all of this paint away and thoroughly rinse out the tank. 

So I have two questions:   1) What is the best way to do a good job cleaning the tank and getting this paint out,  and 2), Is there a product out there that will give me a good permanent "seal" over the bare metal of the inside of the tank?   I saw in an old thread that Ryan used some kind of a magical liner, but it didn't say what it was.  Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
Tom


Offline Dutch_Jeeper

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2015, 12:02:23 PM »
Pebbles or small rockgrit and diesel fuel. Just dump both in the tank and start shaking :-)

For the finish, here in the Netherlands there's a product named Tapox & tx-10 which is a 2 component fueltank coating.

You could also try bedliner, problem is getting it evenly spreaded on the inside of the tank but that goes for anything you use. There's probably more options, 1 component or even plastic type coatings.


Edit:
Found this: Red Kote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXwawsJAdik
« Last Edit: August 18, 2015, 12:18:24 PM by Dutch_Jeeper »
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Offline athawk11

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2015, 06:09:34 PM »
I read about a cool trick at the 2A page.  As Dutch suggests...pebbles.   Then add a small cement mixer.  Plug up the openings, then strap the tank to the mixer and let it run for a while.  I thought it was pretty clever.

Tim   
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Offline aboyandhisdog

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2015, 06:40:34 PM »
Ha, great...so now I get to buy a cement mixer!  ;)    Actually there is only mild surface rust in the tank and I scraped the loose paint out as best I could,  I have it soaking now with vinegar in it which is supposed to get rid of the rust. 

Dutch, I ordered a quart of the Red Coat that you saw in the video, and thank you for that link.  I hope to have it in a couple of days so should know more by the weekend.  Things look promising.
Tom


Offline Oilleaker1

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2015, 09:12:00 AM »
Tom, there is a pickup tube inside the tank that can get sealed shut as well. I actually blast, nuts and bolts, chain, shake etc. mine and then if it has a hole, blast it clean, dimple the hole area, and solder it. I stay away from liners. They can fail and then really mess things up. A hot pressure washer is a good way to clean it up after all the blasting/cleaning. Hot water tends to evaporate out quickly. After painting, a little diesel/marvel mystery oil will keep it from rusting until you fill it with gas. John

Offline RICKG

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2015, 09:41:59 AM »
Hi Tom, not knocking the "magic liners" but most I've read on the subject is negative. As John said when/if it begins to fail you've got a bigger problem than you started with. But I'm sure there are guys out there that have had great success with it and will tell you so. If all you've got is an overspray problem and a small surface rust problem just deal with that and move on. Staying away from ethanol as much as possible, keeping your tank full when not in use also help with condensation problems.
OD MULE MC51986

Offline Bob W

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2015, 08:16:08 PM »
Here is what an original fuel pickup looks like inside the tank.....

Bob W

Offline aboyandhisdog

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2015, 03:15:24 PM »
Thanks for the input, guys.  As per your recommendations, I didn't do the Red Coat.  Every year or so I like to run some acetone in the gas to clear out gum (page 28 of my 3A owners manual) and I called the Red Coat mfg. and they said acetone could strip off the coating.  Didn't want to open that can of worms.  Got everything back together and she runs like a top.

Bob, I have an M38 tank so don't have a pickup like the 3A.  I really like the M38 tank - there is a filter right in the tank which I replaced and taking the tank out is a breeze as the connections are right on the top of the tank.  And a nice drain on the bottom if ever needed.
Tom


Offline Bob W

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2015, 04:21:31 PM »
The M-38 tank also holds more fuel!
Bob W

Offline Dutch_Jeeper

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Re: How to clean fuel tank?
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2015, 05:22:00 PM »
Actually the bio ethanol in modern fuels does the same thing as adding acetone. If you rebuild your fuel system and replaced any of the rubber seals with new rubber seals, those should all be Ethanol proof and you will not have the problem of E fuels dissolving the old style rubbers.

Ethanol is a very good cleaning agent and a lot of problems from switching to, for instance E85 in modern turbo charged cars, come from injector gunk. The old deposits left behind by using regular fuel in the past are dissolved by the ethanol and clog up injectors (and carbs needles) Once the old gunk is out, everything cleaned and you have made sure you have Ethanol proof seals there is no need to use acetone. The fuel with the added ethanol will keep things clean for you.

But, Ethanol acts like brake fluid, it attracts moisture, so of you fill it up and not use your car often you will get water in the fuel and all the problems that come with that, including rusting fuel tanks. Cold starts can be difficult if you do not use it often and rough iddling because there is a water mix instead of 100% fuel going into your engine.

It's not a really big issue, in Mexico they use the stuff in much purer form then anywhere else for decades and they do not have any issues apart from worse mileage, if you use your car regularly. Almost any car from the late 80's on should have ethanol proof seals. Any new replacement seals should also be E proof quality by now.

There is alot more on the subject of E fuel and more *crap then thruth. I had a Mitsubishi Evo 8 i was planning to convert to run on at least E85 only. Gaining at least 100 BHP over stock with just bigger injectors and a remap for more pressure. No need for anything else really then clean the fuel system to prevent injector gunk for the first few 100 miles. Only other thing to really worry about was borewash. E-fuels are thinner and wont burn completely with mall adjustment. Leftover ethanol will drain past the piston springs/seals (borewash) and dilute the oil over time causing massive damage through lack of lubrication.

Frequent oil changes (in the case of turbo charged cars on E85 and higher only, every 5000 miles) should counter that problem.

This is just E fuel in a nutshell, my technical english is not good enough to write an entire essay about it, but Google is your friend. This brief incomplete info of me might shed some light on common carb and fuel problems and where to look.

I admit i forgot about that when i posted about the Red Kote. On the other hand always do a test on old cars yourself. Put some of the stuff in a container and dump fuel in it, empty and repeat for a few weeks to see what happens to the coating.

Got a few beers in me atm so i hope i made some sense  ;D ;D ;D
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