How To Clean Gas Tank ????????????
What would be the best thing to use to soak the inside of the tank on a 51 and get the crud to break up enough to flush it out ? Would you need to keep turning it or fill it completely ? ---My 37 I steamed it but I think the 51 has more baffles in it . Thanks guys, BUD
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I washed mine out with some kerosene to render it less prone to explode, cut a 5 inch dia hole in the top over the pickup area with a dremel tool, cleaned it out with a putty knife and wire brush, sealed it and resoldered the hole shut.
With another one, I used small sharp stones and tied it to a cement mixer, and used a soak of muriatic acid before the foregoing procedure. Then wash with washing soda before coating with sealer. I closed that one with JB Weld.0 -
Not to say that you can't clean and seal a gas tank at home, but how about taking yours to a shop that does this sort of work?0
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Many Radiator shops will boil out gas tanks also. Some like Kings Radiator in Morristown, TN clean and seal them at a very reasonable price. Kings has done 3 1954 tanks for me, last one was $125.00. When you consider that someone once said Gas tanks Renu was about $300-$400 that ain't bad!
Bob0 -
i'd use kerosene and about 2 feet of chain.. shake it up real good .. rinse and repeat... nuts and bolt arent heavy enough..0
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The fuel tank on my '50 Pacemaker, Deluxe!, suffered from foul smelling bad fuel. This was about 15 years ago. I was able to drive the car whereby the tank was just about out of gas. Then I drained the remaining fuel, removed the tank and took it to a radiator shop that cleaned out the tank of the remaining old fuel and anything else in it. After the tank cleaning, I poured in a fuel tank sealant (one that's impervious to gas with ethanol), let it dry, put in a new float and then put the tank back on the car. Haven't had a problem in the over 10,000 miles I've driven the car since having this work done.
Dan0 -
Dave53-7C wrote:Not to say that you can't clean and seal a gas tank at home, but how about taking yours to a shop that does this sort of work?
Dave, I would have gone right along with you on this up to about 6 weeks ago. Had the occasion to get one cleaned out locally. One radiator outfit told me they stopped doing this several years ago. Another told me that yeah, he could do it for $375!. Finally one guy said at another place that the new method of ultrasonic wouldn't get the tar and residue out like in the old days when they boiled them out. OK so why don't you boil them out? Because of EPA. Its running radiator shops out of the business. Some needed to go but others just got sick of having to keep EPA paperwork and records. Best shot now is opening them up and doing it yourself. There's also another method a friend of mine who works at a junkyard told me.. This is not endorsed by me but.... Get a can of Draino. Pour it into the tank. add water ,shake and wait about two days. Don't know what he did with the mess once he poured it out but guess what.. clean tank..
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I really had good success with POR15's gas tank cleaner. It is under $100 and has three steps to it. I think there have been multiple other discussions on here about gas tanks. You might want to go back and look at those as well. With POR15's cleaner it took the tank down to shiny metal inside with their marine clean, then you put an etching liquid in and then finally you put the coating. Biggest thing is you have to dedicate time to it, but you also have to be dedicated to keep that tank moving. I put the chemicals in and kicked it around the yard for the max time it stated on the instructions. The coating is the most critical. Once you put it in you have to get all the surfaces coated and get the excess out before it starts to harden. Hope this helps. Here is the link if you are interested.
http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=FTRK&dept=120 -
Several years ago, I re-did my original tank myself, using 'RustBeeter' to clean and dissolve all of the rust. It's probably one of the larger things you can use that stuff on, but I was able to make a 'vessel' around the tank from heavy duty trash bags. Then, using the entire 5 lb. package of Rust Beeter, along with 20 gallons of water, I assembled all of this in my wheelbarrow. This had to be 'agitated' regularly, but within a week, I dumped it all out (it's organic!), and my tank looked like new metal!
Then I used POR-15 gas tank sealant, being extremely careful to have everything CLEAN and DRY, and following the instructions diligently.0 -
I've just been through the exercise myself, not with a rusty old tank, but with my daily driver tank. At sometime in the past the tank has received a chemical liner and it was starting to deteriorate and clog the fuel line filter in short order.
The local radiator guy is set up to handle fuel tanks and he soaks tanks in caustic to soften the liner then blasts the inside with a pressure cleaner. Rinse and repeat.
Because of the baffles, there were a couple of areas he could not get to so he cut access holes in the top of the tank, the pieces were TIGed back in.0 -
Hudzilla wrote:Dave, I would have gone right along with you on this up to about 6 weeks ago. Had the occasion to get one cleaned out locally. One radiator outfit told me they stopped doing this several years ago. Another told me that yeah, he could do it for $375!. Finally one guy said at another place that the new method of ultrasonic wouldn't get the tar and residue out like in the old days when they boiled them out. OK so why don't you boil them out? Because of EPA. Its running radiator shops out of the business. Some needed to go but others just got sick of having to keep EPA paperwork and records. Best shot now is opening them up and doing it yourself. There's also another method a friend of mine who works at a junkyard told me.. This is not endorsed by me but.... Get a can of Draino. Pour it into the tank. add water ,shake and wait about two days. Don't know what he did with the mess once he poured it out but guess what.. clean tank..
The good old EPA, still trying to save us from ourselves. I pity the small plating and radiator shop owners who have to deal with them. Considering the mess, expense, and potential problems down the road, it looks like having a new tank made is probably the best solution. After all, having a safe and reliable source of fuel should be a top priority since rust never sleeps and coatings do not appear to last. I cringe at the thought of using caustic chemicals or beating up the interior of a compromised tank with chains, rocks, old teeth, diamonds, etc.0 -
If you are looking for a new tank for your Hudson, Rock Valley Antique
Auto Parts claims that they can make you stainless steel one.
http://www.rockvalleyantiqueautoparts.com/catalog.htm0 -
Thanks for posting this info mars55, I can get new parts instead of trying to reclaim the old filler neck, sender etc. This forum is so helpful.0
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I have cleaned two with "Kreem Products" bought from JC Whitney for about $30.00 each kit. The trick I used to clean the crud out was as follows. Buy 50 large nuts from the hdw store put in with the cleaning compound,then strap the tank to a paint shaker and let her rip for an hour or so. I did go over to the welding machine and fabricate a jig to hold the tank on top of the shaker,just a small piece of angle steel and a sq bar to the bottom to place in the shaker jaws. Be sure to count the nuts when you empty the solution.
worked for me well0
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