I think a lot of my carburetor problems originated from having grit (dirt ) in the fuel system that got past the fuel filter. So I'm thinking of cleaning out the gas tank. On You tube they usually take the tank off and then clean it. Car is close to 50 yrs old and my neighbor warned me not to remove the fuel tank ( because of bolts and straps busting etc. ). Is there an easier way to clean the fuel tank that doesn't involve removing it? Paul
Question on cleaning a gas tank
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Just Carbs
Well-Known Member
The straps and j bolts are not expensive. If I were to drop a suspect fifty-year-old tank I would put a new one in.
If I wanted to use the old tank and not drop it, I would go with parallel spin on canister filters on a three-way valve. Thats a very common setup on boats. Works like new money.
Sooner or later, there's a new tank in your future.
If I wanted to use the old tank and not drop it, I would go with parallel spin on canister filters on a three-way valve. Thats a very common setup on boats. Works like new money.
Sooner or later, there's a new tank in your future.
Jakter
Well-Known Member
I've cleaned several tanks because new were not being made.
You will have to drop the tank.
After removal, let tank air out for 1 week.
Power wash with soapy solution.
Put a good hand full of 3/4" nuts, 16d nails and a gallon of cleaning vinegar in the tank.
Buy rubber plumbing plugs, the kind with the steel washer with the bolt and wing nut and plug the filler hole and the sending unit hole.
Swish tank around until you get tired of doing it and keep doing it daily until you can see it is clean inside.
Empty tank, power wash tank again.
Dry tank and pour oil in tank and rotate tank until inside is coated with oil.
Repeat rotating tank with oil in it until ready to install tank.
Drain excess oil from tank and install.
You will have to drop the tank.
After removal, let tank air out for 1 week.
Power wash with soapy solution.
Put a good hand full of 3/4" nuts, 16d nails and a gallon of cleaning vinegar in the tank.
Buy rubber plumbing plugs, the kind with the steel washer with the bolt and wing nut and plug the filler hole and the sending unit hole.
Swish tank around until you get tired of doing it and keep doing it daily until you can see it is clean inside.
Empty tank, power wash tank again.
Dry tank and pour oil in tank and rotate tank until inside is coated with oil.
Repeat rotating tank with oil in it until ready to install tank.
Drain excess oil from tank and install.
If you you can source a new tank, buy a new one. If no new take to radiator shop and have them clean it out, some might even still seal the tanks, as after cleaning you may have pin holes if it was rusty.
Jakter
Well-Known Member
I had a tank repaired by a radiator shop.
Apparently they didn't understand that the drain plug would have some type of washer, o-ring or sealant around the plug.
It must have leaked during the pressure test for leaks.
When I picked up the tank I found they had brazed around the drain plug to "fix" the leak.
I guess I should have told them not to touch the drain plug.
Apparently they didn't understand that the drain plug would have some type of washer, o-ring or sealant around the plug.
It must have leaked during the pressure test for leaks.
When I picked up the tank I found they had brazed around the drain plug to "fix" the leak.
I guess I should have told them not to touch the drain plug.
Does your neighbor work on cars regularly? If not then dont take his advise.
What car do you have? we don’t know how bad it is to start with, but really works better if removed. Start by wire brush the threads and spray with penetrant. They are locknuts so they dont just spin off easily. Will need to use a socket the entire way.
Those may just come off OK. If not they sell new j bolts.
Castrol super clean and a pressure washer to start with.
Triple Pickle
Senior Member
I’m all for repairing the original stuff if you can. But, in reality, the chances of it being a salvageable tank are slim. I hate being broke down, myself. I hate re-visiting a job because I half assed it the first time. If it’s not in pretty damn good shape upon inspection, trash it and replace everything with new. Otherwise,you’ll be plagued with problems. Been there done that. Cheaper to do it right the first time. And a whole lot more fun!
bronze turbine
Active Member
We used to have a good radiator shop in the town where I live. One day, I went there to talk to the mechanic about something and he was welding on a gas tank. It was wobbling around on him so I steadied it with my foot. He said most people wouldn't even stand there while he was doing that. I figured he knew what he was doing because he didn't want to blow himself up, but I hadn't really given it much thought. Then I noticed the car idling next to us with the hose going from the exhaust pipe into the nozzle on the gas tank. He said the gas tank would never explode as long as the exhaust was going into it. But back to the issue at hand, I had a van with a rusty gas tank and I was replacing the fuel filter about every 3 months. If a new tank is available, that's what you want.
Don't forget that steel fuel lines can have rust in them, too. Put a fuel filter on the inlet side of the fuel pump, for good measure.
In the mean time, the "sock" on the inlet tube of the fuel sending unit should keep "grit" in the tank. Replace THAT thing FIRST! Then add the extra inline filter on the inlet side of the fuel pump. That should stop any "grit"!
I concur with a new tank, fuel lines, and hardware being the best long-term alternative. Price shop, big time!
CBODY67
In the mean time, the "sock" on the inlet tube of the fuel sending unit should keep "grit" in the tank. Replace THAT thing FIRST! Then add the extra inline filter on the inlet side of the fuel pump. That should stop any "grit"!
I concur with a new tank, fuel lines, and hardware being the best long-term alternative. Price shop, big time!
CBODY67
Just Carbs
Well-Known Member
My theory on the tank sock is that I would rather have a clog at the line filter than in the tank where I can't get at it. And I want the trash to exit the tank because that stuff can and often does stick to the sock to the point of stopping it up. So, I don't use tank socks.
If you have no sock and need to change the line filters often for a while, you are cleaning the tank.
I've been using the steel fuel injection filters from the Ford Taurus for a long time with good success. Nothing has ever gotten through them and shown up in the carb.
Just pulled and cleaned mine. Pressure washer required to force out the massive amount of hard particles in the tank.....high pressure flush from one end out the other got it done, finally. Use the degrease and etch then seal it....works great. Mine had a bit of rust and some outside damage. I used JB to fill the dents that looked suspicious, and I am happy....all working well with the world.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Pull it, empty it, pull the sending unit and toss it. Drop a section of chain in tank and shake it all around, up and down until you get tired then rest and do it some more. Flush it out with water watching for leaks, if it starts leaking weld it up, check again and install.
fury fan
Senior Member
If you run no tank sock (yes, I agree it can get covered and stop gas flow) you are allowing all of that crap to enter your fuel pump.
If you put an inline filter before the pump, you are making additional restriction for the pump to pull thru - pumps are made to push fluid, they don't do as well pulling it. Every hydraulic pumping system I've seen uses a much coarser mesh for the inlet to the pump.
If you use a coarser-mesh filter to reduce that restriction, well, you just added an inline fuel-sock. (although that's easier to change, I suppose)
But if you have a fairly-clean tank, you'll likely have no troubles with a fuel sock.
fury fan
Senior Member
FWIW, I've had good results with just a pencil-tip on a garden hose to clean out a tank. But certainly use a pressure washer if you have one.
Drain it well and let it sit out in the sun. Prop it up so that it will drain toward the filler hole, that's the easier hole to get water out of.
Check it a few times during the day to see if any run-down water can be drained out.
On a good hot/sunny day it'll be RTG next-day.
I have never used the 'loose metal pieces' method - not to say that it's wrong.
But seems to me that if the rust is that severe, you're heading toward making a seeping hole.
If just to knock silty stuff loose, I would use BBs rather than risk a sharp corner of something putting a nick in the terne coating? And creating new rust spots? (admittedly, I don't know how thick/tough that coating is after 50+ years)
But if just to knock silty stuff loose, the water-wash should do that sufficiently.
That's just my experience on 3-4 tanks I've cleaned, way back when new tanks weren't available.
Would I buy a new tank? Depends on how the existing one looked and if I had a better place to spend that $300+.
Drain it well and let it sit out in the sun. Prop it up so that it will drain toward the filler hole, that's the easier hole to get water out of.
Check it a few times during the day to see if any run-down water can be drained out.
On a good hot/sunny day it'll be RTG next-day.
I have never used the 'loose metal pieces' method - not to say that it's wrong.
But seems to me that if the rust is that severe, you're heading toward making a seeping hole.
If just to knock silty stuff loose, I would use BBs rather than risk a sharp corner of something putting a nick in the terne coating? And creating new rust spots? (admittedly, I don't know how thick/tough that coating is after 50+ years)
But if just to knock silty stuff loose, the water-wash should do that sufficiently.
That's just my experience on 3-4 tanks I've cleaned, way back when new tanks weren't available.
Would I buy a new tank? Depends on how the existing one looked and if I had a better place to spend that $300+.
Just Carbs
Well-Known Member
I get what you are saying, any filter is a restriction.
And the pump must overcome that restriction no matter where it is in the fuel system.
My point is, if it's in the tank, you're storing trash.
rags
Senior Member
i've had a fitler for a ford fuel injection system inline ahead of the fuel pump in my '69 since 1995. junk yard fuel tank was rusty. the injection filter is much larger and filters better than a regular paper filter. had to pull the filter off and clean it out a couple of times but it's been good all these years.
my5thmopar
Member
I've had success with three tanks. That tank in my 64 D100 is not made any more... (That I know of and I'm going to put one behind the axle one day) I used the chain, nuts, bolts and even gravel method. I've used Red-Kote without issues on all three. My 2cents. Craig
Last fall I took the tank out of my '67 Monaco. The car had been in storage for 20 years and there was a couple gallons of "turpentine" in the tank, but it obviously had leaked more out over that time, a thick sludge of black tar on the floor under the tank. God knows what they put in gasoline to do this.
I took a small grinder to the J-bolts (they're easy enough to make out of a pair of regular bolts).
There was some sort of gritty stuff in the tank, like sand or dirt, a lot of it. I drained the tank, but didn't really flush it. I set the tank outside for the winter, protected from direct exposure but still able to air out. Took the sender out, it looked like it came from the titanic. I had a new one, bought 20+ years ago.
At the time I called a rad shop about having them work on the tank, they said bring it around. I didn't. I called back about a month ago, they say they don't really fix these old steel car tanks any more. Great.
So I make a cover plate to seal the sender hole, and then begin to de-rust the inside of the tank with vinegar and electrolysis.
About 2 gallons of 10% cleaning vinegar, rotate the tank to get the sides, ends, top and bottom, about 8 hours each session, leave the vinegar in there the whole time, about 2 weeks I guess. Have to watch for leaks from the holes. Using a lab or bench power supply, set the current sometimes at 1 amp, sometimes at 6 amps, usually to get 60 watts of power flowing through the vinegar. It gets warm.
Then I start flushing it with water. Flush all that sand and grit out. Let it dry. This is what it looks like.
I should check this with a magnet. I can't remember if back in '87 when I worked on this car if I used a tank coating on the inside. This might be what's left of it. Either that, or this precipitated out of the gasoline over the past 20/30 years.
This is what the inside looks like now.
The de-rusting has created more pinholes. I've tried soldering some pin-hole areas but I can't get the solder to flow like I want to cover these areas smoothly. I'm going to use fine copper screening soaked with solder like a patch to cover these areas.
I took a small grinder to the J-bolts (they're easy enough to make out of a pair of regular bolts).
There was some sort of gritty stuff in the tank, like sand or dirt, a lot of it. I drained the tank, but didn't really flush it. I set the tank outside for the winter, protected from direct exposure but still able to air out. Took the sender out, it looked like it came from the titanic. I had a new one, bought 20+ years ago.
At the time I called a rad shop about having them work on the tank, they said bring it around. I didn't. I called back about a month ago, they say they don't really fix these old steel car tanks any more. Great.
So I make a cover plate to seal the sender hole, and then begin to de-rust the inside of the tank with vinegar and electrolysis.
About 2 gallons of 10% cleaning vinegar, rotate the tank to get the sides, ends, top and bottom, about 8 hours each session, leave the vinegar in there the whole time, about 2 weeks I guess. Have to watch for leaks from the holes. Using a lab or bench power supply, set the current sometimes at 1 amp, sometimes at 6 amps, usually to get 60 watts of power flowing through the vinegar. It gets warm.
Then I start flushing it with water. Flush all that sand and grit out. Let it dry. This is what it looks like.
I should check this with a magnet. I can't remember if back in '87 when I worked on this car if I used a tank coating on the inside. This might be what's left of it. Either that, or this precipitated out of the gasoline over the past 20/30 years.
This is what the inside looks like now.
The de-rusting has created more pinholes. I've tried soldering some pin-hole areas but I can't get the solder to flow like I want to cover these areas smoothly. I'm going to use fine copper screening soaked with solder like a patch to cover these areas.
Here's what I would do...
I'd pop the sender out and take my cell phone and hold it up to the hole and snap some pictures. If the tank looks rusty or bad, I'd buy a new tank. If it looks good, but kind of dirty, I'd take the tank out and power wash it, dry it and stick it back in with a new sock on the intake.
A new tank is about $325 and a "kit" to clean and seal is about $100. I've never used a sealer, so I have no real feel for it other than I've heard horror stories about the seal coating coming off, so I would be reluctant to use it. No idea what a radiator shop would charge, but dollars to donuts, they will want to sell you a new tank instead of "boiling" out the old one.
$325 isn't cheap... But neither are tow trucks and repairs. Do it once, do it right and be done with it.
A pic of the inside of my tank. A couple rust stains from where the galvanizing is breaking down, but just fine otherwise. This was probably 8 years ago.
I'd pop the sender out and take my cell phone and hold it up to the hole and snap some pictures. If the tank looks rusty or bad, I'd buy a new tank. If it looks good, but kind of dirty, I'd take the tank out and power wash it, dry it and stick it back in with a new sock on the intake.
A new tank is about $325 and a "kit" to clean and seal is about $100. I've never used a sealer, so I have no real feel for it other than I've heard horror stories about the seal coating coming off, so I would be reluctant to use it. No idea what a radiator shop would charge, but dollars to donuts, they will want to sell you a new tank instead of "boiling" out the old one.
$325 isn't cheap... But neither are tow trucks and repairs. Do it once, do it right and be done with it.
A pic of the inside of my tank. A couple rust stains from where the galvanizing is breaking down, but just fine otherwise. This was probably 8 years ago.
Triple Pickle
Senior Member
This is solid advice. If it’s not too bad i would try to clean it out. But, the first pinhole, or stubborn rust spot I encountered, I’d buy a new tank. If it’s like the one that was in my 70 Fury, there was no fix that I felt confident in.
If a new tank can be had for 325 I wouldn’t fool with the old one much unless it was in a lot better shape than I would expect.
Don’t spend a dollar trying to save a dime just to cause yourself grief down the road!
I stress to anyone getting into this hobby that it’s very expensive, especially these days. Every corner you cut sets you up for a bad experience down the road. You’ll end up being disgusted and stuck with a troublesome car that’s hard to sell when you finally give up.
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