anybody have any suggestion on how to clean a gas tank that's been sitting short of having it tanked. It's not bad, but it's been siting a while and I think needs to be cleaned out--probably some goop in there. I've heard about using the vinager and baking soda combo to "scrub" the inside, but what do you do when you're done--just hose it out and drain to dry or? Any other suggestions? FWIW it's on a 60 Nash Metro.
I just did mine on my Unibody truck. All I did was take it out, dump out all the crap, and but new gas back in it and swish it around and the dump it in a pail to check my progress. When it finally came out "clean" (same color as it was when I put the new gas in) I stopped. I also prior to that took a air compressor and blew out the intake tube going down into the tank, and I also left the sending unit in as well. One other thingbi did too was blew out the line between the tank and the fuel pump and also put two new fuel filters on as well. Put it back together and everything worked great.
Take it to a radiator shop and have it hot tanked (boiled out). After that you can get one of the tank coating products from several different vendors. Eastwood comes to mind for one.
I've used lacquer thinner and nuts(the metal type) and sloshed it around and a lot of crap was dislodged,,installed the tank and it promptly loaded up the filter in less than a week. IMHO,just take it to the local radiator shop or engine builder and let them soak it over night,,money well spent. HRP
BTW,I will not use any of the tank coatings,,on a trip to the Nationals I spent more time on the side of the road changing filters than having fun, Over 900 miles and 7 in line filters after the coating started letting go in the tank. HRP
I cleaned a tank using Hot water and Polmolive dish washing soap.... It cuts grease, and I shoved a rag in, sloshed it around.... and dumped it out... repeated it many times until I was sure it was clean. Then I left it out in the sun to dry out..... Then poured some gas in it, sloshe dit around dumped it out, and painted the exterior... I also have heard horror stories on inside tank paints
I have built a simple rotisserie to mount gas tanks on for cleaning them. Last one I did was from a '63 GMC pickup. I mounted it up on there and poured a few quarts of varsol in it and then dumped about 15lbs of nuts and bolts in it and commenced to rolling it. It works pretty good to get all the loose stuff out. That particular tank though just didn't quite suit me. It was damaged beyond repair really and I ended up buying a new one. Sometimes you just have to figure how much your time is worth.
If you can get them clean and dry enough - you can successfully seal them with fiberglass resin. I have done it successfully many times and had good long-lasting results.
Just did a '29 Ford tank thathad sat for 40 years with gas in it. Stuff was like compressed coffee stuck to the tank. Got some POR 15 Marine Clean from Snyders, mixed it 1-1 with water and it turned the old hardened gas to a gooy liquid. There is a more envolved story on this on the Ford Barn, that is were I got the tip. Bob
ive heard of folk strapping the tank to a cement mixer and throw in nuts n bolts and set the mixer going for a while
The problem as I see it is the bolts getting wedge between the baffles and dislodging and start rattling around when driving. HRP
Whenever I did this in the past, I just made a count of what I was putting in the tank, and ensured that I had the same count when I dumped them out in the end.
I have done quite a few on a bench, but the last two I used a cement mixer with some lengths of chain and cheap laundry detergent with water. Rinse then repeat until clean rinse water appears. Then remove chain (which may require the use of a coat hanger). Immediately air dry at all angles. THEN dump a quart of oil in and slowly, slowly rotate to ensure all surfaces get some. It is equally important to get it installed and a full of fuel as soon as possible. I never use a kit or any type of coating. I have cleaned enough tanks to know the ones that were previously coated were far more likely to cause problems. I am sure others have seen the same.
I avoid tank linings at all cost, our fuel is constantly being reformulated, and what linings work today may dissolve with tomorrow's fuel. If the tank is varnished from old dried up fuel, lacquer thinner works well to remove it. If it is rust you are fighting, gravel, bolts, etc [as other posters above suggested] will remove rust if sloshed around enough. I do not recommend using muriatic acid, as it will remove any remaining zinc coating, and eventually hasten rusting. ---John
I have cleaned my tanks out spotless only to see them rust over the years so bad that I have to change filters very often.
Has any of you out there tried this new stuff METAL RESCUE in tanks? Supposedly you immerse the metal in this stuff for 5 minutes, up to 24 hours max. I would think putting in a gas tank would also remove the rust too.
I used "The Works" liquid toilet bowl cleaner on the tank of my OT project. It's 20% muriatic acid. It worked pretty good but putting a length of chain inside would have made it work faster.
thanks for all the comments guys. I'll keep you informed. may start with the marine clean--have some of that in the shop already.
I read up on a method using salt water and a battery charger I was going to do it on a Motorcycle resto . But didn't need to after all It sounded really good , it was on a motorcycle forum Search for it on the we see what you can come up with ! I know you insert a piece of rebar into the tank not touching the tank , and connecting the batt charger to the tank and the rebar at like 6 amps That's all from memory.
I looked at some of the molasses cleaning threads on here for body/parts cleaning.Would that work in tanks?
i just did this today, electrolysis. '69 f250 tank, very rusty. i used a long piece of 3/8 allthread and put short pieces of fuel hose on it to keep it from touching. couldnt find washing soda, but found some other stuff called BIZ! at the grocery store. worked really well, and smelled good. found a pinhole, welded it up, good to go...
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