SPG123
SPG123 HalfDork
3/12/18 9:13 p.m.

Don,t know what exactly is in the front tank of my old Diesel truck but the truck does not like it at all. So off comes the tank. Now what? 

oldopelguy
oldopelguy UltraDork
3/12/18 9:58 p.m.

Dump it out, remove sending unit, drop in a chunk of chain, add some gas, tape up the holes, and shake liberally. Rinse a couple of times and then let air dry before you reinstall.

Dirtydog
Dirtydog GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
3/12/18 10:03 p.m.

A trick we did on motorcycle tanks after cleaning, was take the magnetic door seal from a refridgerator and run it along inside to get residual rust out.

wae
wae Dork
3/12/18 10:06 p.m.

If you have a radiator shop in town they can dip it in their tank for you and then seal it.

stafford1500
stafford1500 GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
3/13/18 8:51 a.m.

If you dont have a rad shop in town, you can use acetone to break up the residue in the tank before putting it back into service. YOu will have to seal it with something after the cleaning.

I use acetone in tanks I need to weld on, since it takes the residue out and evaporates very quickly...

Jumper K Balls
Jumper K Balls PowerDork
3/13/18 9:44 a.m.

Speaking as someone who cleans and repairs 20 or more tanks a year I would suggest draining it and peeking inside with a flashlight to see what exactly you are dealing with before you go crazy. You might just need to flush it out, clean with simple green and rinse.

 

Sludge and tar? acetone is a simple and safe bet. Light rust? clean with a degreaser and evaporust. Heavy rust? send it out to be hot tanked or acid dipped.

Most tanks have baffles in them so the "fill it with jagged metal and stir either doesn't clean 90% of it, or you will have bits of washer or whatever left inside forever. Plus the act of shaking a tank enough to do any good will take herculean levels of energy and stamina. 2 out of 10 tanks I see have had a handful of crusty star washers rattling around inside for the last decade.

The best tank coating is the factory plating so if that is salvageable stay away from acids.

Once the plating is compromised I won't let them leave my shop without a new coating (currently using Caswell's 2 part epoxy system) and even though the seal kits say "Works over rust" I refuse to seal them without pristine bare metal inside and that means dipping in my case.

The DIY Muriatic acid clean is almost universally effective, but the caveats are you now have 10 gallons of a harsh acid tainted with rust and petrochemicals that would need the PH changed with something like lye or 2 pounds of baking soda which will react pretty spectacularly and would still need to be disposed of as hazardous waste. Instead I pay the nice man $100 to dip the tanks and get a perfectly clean tank back with zero hassle.

But yeah. Peek inside first. Probably no need to go with the nuclear option.

 

Edit: The two radiator shops in my town no longer dip fuel tanks. For like ten years now. They have switched to a more environmentally conscious water based cleaning solution that won't break down varnish. One still offers a fuel tank service but they cut the tank in two, sandblast it, weld it back up and then seal it. They are not pretty when they return.

iceracer
iceracer UltimaDork
3/13/18 9:51 a.m.

My dad used lye to clean outboard motor tanks.

NOHOME
NOHOME UltimaDork
3/13/18 4:19 p.m.

On the coating front. Used to be common to coat tanks as a DIY thing. Seems that the ethanol in todays fuel challenges the conventional coatings. Local bike shop that used to coat tanks has stopped doing it because of failures. The Epoxy mentioned by Mr Jumper might be the new solution. Might be that as with all things paint related, preparation is the key to success.

 

Pete

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