Cleaning the fuel tank

[James P]

How do you get the fuel tank cleaned? My 52 sat for about 20 years total with old gas in it and it also now has some flaky junk in the tank as well.
Just trying to determine what it takes to get it cleaned.

[NoCoWillys]

I haven't personally used it but I've heard good things about the por15 fuel tank kit.

http://www.por15.com/FUEL-TANK-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/FTRK/

The flakey stuff is probably rust.  One thing you might try is running some heavy solvent or grease cleaner around in it.  Stuff like purple power works good. I had it strip cosmoline off a nos part for my transfer case in about an hour. Rinsed clean.  You can pick up a gallon of it at places like auto zone or lows for pretty cheap.  I'd dump the whole gallon in there and swish it around, then let it sit over night.  The next thing I'd do after washing the purple pwoer out of it is to dump a gallon of evap-o-rust in there.  Let it sit overnight again.  That should remove all the remaining rust.  You should have a clean slate to treat it and seal it with the por kit after that.  Anyone else that's done it I'm sure will chime in.

[Carls_jeep]

In my opinion your better off buying a new tank. If you want to try to clean it I have used small gravel and sand with water and slosh it around for a few hours. you can try a goggle to a solvent that will dissolve old gasoline residue. Even after that if the tank is rusted inside it may continue to rust and deposit crap in your fuel system.

[RussellL]

You probably want to use a solvent to get as much oily gunk out of the tank, but then you should use a Pressure blaster to blast the tank out with water.  Take the fuel sender out so you can work from two inlets and it helps you see where you are blasting.  I rig a 90 degree elbow just before the nozzle on then end of a wand long enough to reach way back into the tank.   That way I can blast into the corners of the tank.  The pressure will blast any loose rust free and generally does a good job getting rid of the last of the varnish residue.  It can take a good while to thoroughly clean every possible nook and cranny in the tank.  Then of course you will need to let the tank dry thoroughly before you close it up.  

[bretto]

And don't be surprised if you see some pinholes.

[James P]

I have gone over the entire outside of the tank and it seems to be solid and it does hold gas with out loosing. (There was that one time I lost 5 gallons of lacquer thinner/Gasoline mixture over a week end. Then shortly afterwords my parents neighbor's truck and lawn mowers all had major issues. I am sure the incidents were not associated ;P. )

But I am thinking I am going to try the cleaning deal and worse case for me I chalk it up for lessons learned and buy a new tank.

Also If any one does have any more suggestions let me know. I figure it never hurts to learn what others have tried and failed on.
I will also try to get some pictures up of the gas tank and what I am dealing with if I can. Also a question are these tanks supposed to have baffles going side to side on the tank?

[macrisel]

If you try to clean the tank, go ahead and install a fuel filter in the gas line after you are done.  Even if you get it spotless inside, chances are you still missed something and it will end up in your carb.  Once a tank starts to rust inside, it is very difficult to save.

That being said, I have had some success using gas and putting a small chain inside the tank sloshing it around A LOT.  Dump it out, rinse with gas and then do it again several times.  I follow that up with a gas tank sealer of some kind.  I have used POR 15 and Eastwood's gas tank sealers and liked both products.  Your success just depends on how far your tank is gone.  

I tried everything under the sun to save a gas tank on a 1936 John Deere unstyled Model A.  My "fixes" would hold for about a year and then I would either develop a leak or more rust would show up in the fuel filter.  Sometimes you just can't beat the hands of time!

[polara6t]

Time to wake up my Jeep after sleeping for about 10 years. Two questions..

-Has anyone taken their tank to a Radiator shop and had it boiled out?

-I did the best search I could is there a thread on removing the tank?

I removed about 1 gallon of gas with the siphon..good news no big chunks of anything but there is some fine black grit. Thanks so much in advance!

[F Bill]

I had a DJ3A tank boiled out at the local radiator place in Brownwood....They got it really clean and I have no complaints. It was so clean that to show me what was inside one of the guy took a torch and lit it and stuck the torch in the tank to light it up. A year or more later the tank is still clean and sitting in the rafters in my shop. It had been badly dented and I think I will repair that before installing it in a jeep.

So yes, if you have a good old time radiator place nearby definitely give them a shot at cleaning it up. They also can repair the tank for you if needed if it is worth fixing.

[macrisel]

Ditto what Bill said......with the emphasis on "GOOD OLD TIME RADIATOR SHOP".  A quality shop can work wonders on old radiators when it comes to cleaning and patching them.  An average shop can ruin a radiator in about 10 minutes.  If there is a hot rod club or antique tractor club somewhere close to you, hunt them up and quiz them on who they recommend.  Most of those guys will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

[polara6t]

Thanks for the input on the boil out and the Rod/Customer Club lead is a great idea. Just as a follow-up to my post is there a current thread on how to remove a gas tank. I could not find one that covers the removal process. TIA!

[Ryan_M]

Thanks for the input on the boil out and the Rod/Customer Club lead is a great idea. Just as a follow-up to my post is there a current thread on how to remove a gas tank. I could not find one that covers the removal process. TIA!

Removing the gas tank is pretty simple.

1. Remove the driver's seat so you can better access the tank.
2. Disconnect the wire attached to the sending unit if it is still there. If you're extra-cautious you may want to disconnect the battery first.
3. Climb under the jeep and locate the access hole in the tub so you can reach and unscrew the drain plug in the bottom of the tank. Let fuel drain out.
4. Unscrew and disconnect the fuel line from the bottom of the tank.
5. Climb out from under the jeep and back up to the tank. Loosen the hold-down strap bolt and remove the strap. The tank should now be free. Angle it up wiggle the filler neck out. That should be it.

[polara6t]

Ryan thank you for taking the time perfect and a great info for this thread.

[ranchhopper]

Mine had about five gallons of nasty gas in it so I drained it out and took it to the radiator shop and had it boiled out there was a quarter inch of varnished gas in the bottom they got out now its good to go the radiator shop is the way to go plus they pressure test it for holes.