The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Gas Tank Rust

Just purchased 64 C-10,took out the old gas tank, which is in pretty good shape. Alot of rust and crud inside. Any simple way to clean it out real good before using?

One simple DIY way to clean it is throw in some gravel and strap it to a cement mixer. Hard part is getting the gravel out... A chemical etcher or rust remover might also do the trick.

If you clean it and don't seal it, it will rust again - probably faster than before! I've seen kits for about $50 including cleaner and sealer, check Napa Auto Parts or POR15.com for examples.

-Boyo

I highly recommend the POR tank sealer. Follow their directions to the letter, though. Since we had access to a lot of low cost nuts, we used 1/2" nuts instead of gravel. Shake the tank back and forth several times, this will break loose the loose rust.I've seen people take the tanks to the car wash in the middle of the night, a project you don't want to get caught doing.

Might consider taking it to your local radiator repair shop. Some will put it in their hot tank and boil it out for you. If this is overdone though or your tank is in bad shape be advised you may end up with pin holes. Sealing is a must to complete the job.

When working with gas tanks, I pipe exhaust from a running vehicle into the tank until the tank is hot to the touch. An old, old timer told me that the carbon monoxide eliminates the oxygen and the explosion hazard. (he use to weld them with exhaust running into them, too - lived to be over 90)
Then I used a few lengths of chain and tumble the the tank to loosen the rusty stuff. Chain was easy to remove. Rinsed it out, dried it in the sun and used gas tank sealer. The sealer set tacky at first - so I coated the tank sending unit float with vaseline to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the tank before I got the gas in. Been working great for 12 years.

Hey dude, my suggestion is go with a new tank. I have a '65 and the original tank has given me nothing but trouble I have like four fuel line filters, just so it can be drivable and it still dies off because of all the crud.I saved up a little green and just bought a new one from Golden state parts.

AB64, my buddy sent his 65 GMC tank to a local radiator shop, it was boiled, tested, cleaned and sealed for 65$CDN.
rick

Thanks for all the help! I used the Por-15 gas tank treatment kit. Was a little skeptical at first, the amounts they send you don't seem like there is enough to do the job. But it worked great. I had the advantage of being able to use a high pressure steam cleaner also. Tank was not real bad to begin with,no holes etc. Just a lot of crud and gum inside. I still went ahead and sealed it, and it looks fantastic. Would highly recommend the Por-15. Again thanks for the help.