The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Flushing Fuel Tank Help

I need to flush out my fuel tank. It seems as though rusty sediment from a few years of sitting has collected in the fuel tank and that has clogged up my fuel pump. What's a good way to do this? Thanks.

Take it to a Pro in your area, too many HAZMAT & EPA issues to deal with at home. Most good radaitor shops can handle it or just replace it, I plan on a new one when I get to that point.
Brad

Or you can get about 5 or 6 see-through fuel filters,install one(use the others for spares)in-line close to the fuel-tank and keep some hose pinch pliers and a screw-driver(you will need 2)in your coffee can(also used for draining/replacing the clogged fuel-filter).
Drive it with about 3/4 tank of fuel so it will slosh around good when driving on curvy roads.
.
What is going on is there is surface rust inside the tank.With the newer fuels,it more redily dissolves the rust.
After about a month or two of driving it this way, it should be mostly free of rust sediment.

The last tank I had to clean , I took it out and went down to the car wash and blasted it inside with the engine wash gun , took it home , blew it dry with the vacuum cleaner , then sealed it with tank sealer compound , blew it dry with the vacuum cleaner again , left it for a couple of days so that I was satisfied that the sealer was cured , fitted it all up , Great , no more troubles .

Try this: Remove the tank, flush it out, put a couple of hand fulls of small gravel in and blow the gravel around with compressed air. Flush the tank again and your ready to go. I used this on junk motor cycles. Worked real well with them.

One word of warning - a tank that currently has rust problems will continue to have rust problems until the problem is fixed. Ever notice how quickly rust is attracted to bare metal?

I tried the gravel trick (even strapped it to a cement mixer and let it slosh around for quite some time) but a month later came to a slow stop as the brand new fuel filter clogged up again.

There are products on the market, plus professional services, to de-rust and then seal your tank. Otherwise you'll need to do this next month, next year, or next time you're out in the middle of nowhere late at night on a one lane road in the fog...

-Boyo

POR-15 has a tank cleaner and sealer. I've not personally used it but have heard good reviews from several that have. The also have instructions for cleaning and sealing tanks on their web site.

I have used the POR-15 tank sealer, and it can't be beat. It even does a good job of sealing pin holes. I volunteer at a railroad museum, and have applied it to three fuel tanks there, in addition to my roto-tiller at home. We have used 3 methods for cleaning, the POR method, tumbled a thick walled tank with 1/2" nuts in it, and had the last one boiled out at a radiator shop. Tumbling or the POR method work best, the boiling at a radiator shop left a coating of flux in the tank that was terrible to get out. Our next one will be a 40 gallon air tank.

i just did tis 3 weeksago .took it to radiader shop boiled it 3 days cut a 2 in hole in it to drain the crud out 2 32oz cups full .well when i put it back in and filled i with gas the next day i smelled strong fumes and it was leaking around the seam on the bottom so i threw it away and put a 30 gal alanaum tank no more rustproblem

I have had to do this to both my '49 & '51. I put a handfull of gravel in and shook it around real good, then took it to a radiator shop and had it boiled out. Then used the tank sealer kit from Eastwood. it comes with a metal wash and the sealer works really well. Don't try to speed drying with a fan though it will put air bubbles in the sealant. Just let it sit for at least 24 hours. If it's at least 70 deg. out it should be ok.