The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Gas tank debris

Hello I am working on a 58 apache. I removed the gas tank to work on the cab and while the tank looks like there is no rust on the outside, I can hear some debris on the inside. Is there some way to flush the tank and refurbish the inside?

Thanks,
brian

Pull the sending unit & look down inside. If it is rusty it,s better to just get a new tank on a model like that. They are reasonable & readily available. The loose stuff might just be some trash that got in through the years.

I agree, if they are readily available it may be easier just to buy a new one.

If you want to clean it out Id dump in a few coffee cans of old bolts and put a gallon or two of diesel in, cap her off and roll her around the yard a hundred times. Then dump and keep rinsing it out til it comes out clean. I filtered the diesel into a bucket and used a drill pump to recirculate the clean back in.

Jeff

Your local radiator shop can clean and seal the tank for you. Or you can buy flush and seal kits from folks like POR-15. A new tank is $129.95 at LMC.

I want to know where these radiator shops are hiding! I called every shop on our peninsula and no one would do it. I ended up finding a place in West Seattle who wanted 200$ just to clean it! That was ridiculous which is why I did it myself...

I just restored the tank on my '48 with POR15 products. about $60 in materials and a little time, I now have a sealed, painted, rust-free tank. I soaked the tank in a mild muriatic acid solution for a few days and pressure washed the rust off of it, then followed the POR15 instructions.

The local rad shops here clean tanks for time and materials, usually comes out to about $80

All that work...$130.00 sounds cheap...

I was quoted, over the phone, $180.00 to $250.00 in Oakland to clean and coat a tank. I saved a lot by getting a new one. Martin

Radiator shops around here won't touch an old gas tank. If there are new tanks available (an option I didn't have) that would probably be the best route to go. If you want to save your original tank a search will turn up hours of reading on how others, including me, have done it. Good luck.

I,ve had them cleaned & coated at radiator shops & it winds up comeing loose makeing it worse then it was. If you have one of those see through inline filters the gas would be real red like the old Ethel gas we used to get. That was some real gasoline.

IMO - For the kind of money they get to coat a tank, if you can't find a used one that is clean, I would always elect to buy a new one.

I just finished cleaning my tank out of my '49 Chevy that had been sitting for about 5 years. I emptied the old gas and then poured industrial strength floor cleaner in it. Then I stuck a water hose in it and let it fill up then just emptied it out. It took about three washes but now it is clean.

My favorite tank cleaning method that I believe someone once posted here was gravel and acid in the tank, then strap it lengthwise against your rear tractor wheel and go about your field business. I understand it cleans them up right nice.

If you have a gas tank renu usa place near you, they do a very nice job.

I like the tractor wheel idea. I might give that a try sometime.