Anybody have experience cleaning out a gas tank? Mine seems to have enough particulate matter that the fuel line gets clogged. We blow it out back from the fuel pump with compressed air, the truck runs for a while, then gets clogged again.
New tanks are expensive and take weeks to arrive.
I'm considering dropping the tank, and flushing it to remove the (presumed) rust.
Anybody do this previously, and any hints would be appreciated!
Thank you!!!
Lisa
1952 Chevy Carryall in completely original condition Pulled out of a barn in Colorado high desert
This has been discussed before. A search of the forums should turn up a number of suggestions. A couple of them might involve putting some small stones, bolts & nuts, etc. in the tank and shaking or rotating it to loosen up the stuff inside. Some folks have used muriatic acid to wash out the tank, others have taken them to a radiator shop and had them cooked out. There are also a hundred different opinions as to what kind of coating or liner to use, or whether to use one at all. Those are just some of the methods that are out there. As this thread progresses I'm sure you'll hear them all, plus some I left out. Good luck.
Like Rich says, good old common sense. Inspection with a sun mirror thru the sender hole to see how bad and then knock it all loose and try to get it to come out. Soap and water at first. Use all above from Rich or 1 foot long chain.........anything that will scrub and can be retrieved. Chances are there are baffles in there which makes it very hard to clean without chemicals. A Carryall gas tank is rare and worth saving. The max option is cut it open to clean and weld/braze shut. Without blowing up.
Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. - William Penn
The decision is yours......I took mine to a radiator shop and they wanted $80 to vat it overnight...and another $80 to put the stuff in for a lining. Its been 3 or 4 years ago and I didn't like the "end results". About that time JimCarter had the tank for my 52 panel re-popped and I invested a few more dollars and bought a new one. Be sure to get your 10% stovebolt discount.
.....now, on the other hand I had to refurbish my 37 pickup tank. I purchased the POR TANK kIT which was about $75 bucks back then which included everything but the muriactic acid which is fairly cheap at the local Lowes/Home Depot. It has been in my 37 for 19 years and just this year I noticed it may have a tiny pin hole in it somewhere...or the air vent is malfunctioning . I look in the tank and the liner looks in really great shape..........except for a tiny hole. It took me 2/3 of a Saturday, with the help of my nephew, to get it done.
...if you have the coins and its available without costing you both arms I'd bite the bullet and buy a new one. You'll be glad you did.
If you buy a new tank, your worries are over. If you do anything else, your worries might not be over. So you have to ask yourself a question. What is piece of mind worth to you?
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
If you buy a 1954 panel body fuel tank, the "pickup" is on-top. A filter-sock is used at the bottom of the "pickup" tube. No sediment will get sucked into the line to you carburetor.
