Fine Rust in tanks

[gator4life108]

Have a 82 GMC K1500 with the dual tanks. Been battling rust in the tanks. I have an inline filter before the carb that I change regularly because of the rust. Apparently some fine particles of rust have been getting past the filter and building up in the carb.

Anyone have recommendations on good in line filters to help keep out the rust? I have used Spectre and Fram so far.

Also any recommendations on what to put in the tank to help cure this? I have lately been running a lot of gas through to try and slosh the tank out of any further rust. Not really having a problem with chunks just the fine dust.

[willett]

Have you considered dropping your tanks and cleaning them? It's really a lot easier than most people think. Just get a few feet of 3/8 fuel line so you can extend your sender lines a bit. Makes reinstallation a hell of a lot easier.
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[tlawre87]

Here is how we cleaned the tank in the 79 nova.
We first drained the tank and cleaned it with a pressure washer.
Next we put 3 gallons of vinegar in the tank. We let it site for a couple days on each side.
Dumped all the vinegar.
Next used coca cola in the tank and swashed it all around (used it for the phosphoric acid)
Rinsed the tank out...most of the rust was breaking loose at this point.
Lastly put about a gallon of gas and swished it around (this is to make sure of no sugar residue.)
Let the tank fully dry. It was ready for gas now.

This process was over about a week but the tank came out like new on the inside. Keep in mind with this method any rubbers seals and the sender unit will be ruined.

[motornut]

I found a smell/leak and rust /dirt
looked dark and damp from the side could see vapours...
I would drop it ,find out whats wrong,before your stuck

[gator4life108]

When we restored the truck everything was removed from the truck and cleaned. I guess we didn't get the tanks completely sealed. The truck has sat for about 7 years with only a couple hundred miles. I'm guessing just from sitting the rust surfaced.

I have seen new tanks online between $60-$90. I think I will go this route, but I wanted to check for any quick fixes for the time being. Since it's a Sunday driver I will most likely only drop and replace one of the tanks since we never put a lot of gas in it.

[stampy]

Originally Posted by tlawre87

Here is how we cleaned the tank in the 79 nova.
We first drained the tank and cleaned it with a pressure washer.
Next we put 3 gallons of vinegar in the tank. We let it site for a couple days on each side.
Dumped all the vinegar.
Next used coca cola in the tank and swashed it all around (used it for the phosphoric acid)
Rinsed the tank out...most of the rust was breaking loose at this point.
Lastly put about a gallon of gas and swished it around (this is to make sure of no sugar residue.)
Let the tank fully dry. It was ready for gas now.

This process was over about a week but the tank came out like new on the inside. Keep in mind with this method any rubbers seals and the sender unit will be ruined.

Just wondering how this worked out for you? Did you have any problems with rust resurfacing in the tank after doing this? Sounds interesting....not so much for my truck gas tank, but rather a Honda ATC three wheeler I am restoring!

[dieseldawg142]

^^^185? in the 80's had a 70 & a 185.
'till you clean/change your tanks, try putting another f.filter in front of the switching valve. i have an elec. inline f.pump in front of s.valve with a fuel filter in between, learned the hard way after i killed a $250 pump.
new socks on your pick-ups will help. when my truck sits for extended periods of time, it's expensive, i fill both tanks to the top to cut down on condensation

[tlawre87]

Originally Posted by stampy

Just wondering how this worked out for you? Did you have any problems with rust resurfacing in the tank after doing this? Sounds interesting....not so much for my truck gas tank, but rather a Honda ATC three wheeler I am restoring!

It worked extremely well. Saved us buying a new tank actually. So far no rust issues. Fuel filter has been good so far. The car is primarily driven on weekends so not a ton of miles. The vinegar and coke help dissolve the acid. Only thing looking back I should have done...maybe not needed either is to put some baking soda in to help neutralize the acids in the tank. But we washed it out pretty good.

All in all its the route I would go. If doing a small tank you may not have to do it near as long either.

[stampy]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

^^^185? in the 80's had a 70 & a 185.

Its a 84 250R

Originally Posted by tlawre87

It worked extremely well. Saved us buying a new tank actually. So far no rust issues. Fuel filter has been good so far. The car is primarily driven on weekends so not a ton of miles. The vinegar and coke help dissolve the acid. Only thing looking back I should have done...maybe not needed either is to put some baking soda in to help neutralize the acids in the tank. But we washed it out pretty good.

All in all its the route I would go. If doing a small tank you may not have to do it near as long either.

Ok Awesome, thanks.... i will definitley try this! It has lots of rust in the tank, and its hard to find a good used one for it.

[wilkin250r]

And 84 250r?!? Oooh, baby. I'm a 4-wheeled man myself, them 3-wheelers scare me, but you can see by my name I'm an enthusiast.

I've worked on quite a few quads, and what I usually do with a rusted tank is first pull all the gasoline out, and remove the petcock. Then rinse it out really well with water. REALLY well, you want to remove as much of that gasoline as you can, ESPECIALLY THE VAPORS, because the next step can be risky if you still have gas fumes.

I then put several feet of brass chain inside the tank along with a couple cups of water. Brass because it won't spark, do NOT use a steel chain. And I shake that thing, forwards, backwards, and upside down. Shake it till your arms hurt, take a break, and shake it some more. That brass chain will act as sandpaper and scrub all the rust out of the tank.

Pull the chain and drain the water, and then do everything you can to rinse all the gunk out that you knocked loose. This step may take a while.

Next step, pour a couple cups of Denatured Alcohol into the tank and swirl and shake, and that alcohol will absorb any water residue. To soak up all the alcohol, I usually use a small dowel to poke clean rags or paper towels into every nook and cranny inside that tank and pull them back out again.

Let the tank dry, and you're good to go! I've done this with about seven or eight ATV and motorcycle gas tanks. You could probably combine my method with the acid method, neither vinegar or coke will ignite if you DO happen get a piece of steel flying around in the tank.

[gator4life108]

Ended up going with a new tank and sending unit. All together $128 shipped from Rock Auto.

Only lowered the tank with a jack and didn't bother with unbolting the bed. A little easier than expected. Probably because I cut the fuel line. I'm sure putting it back in will be a little tougher.

[clapage6]

nice good plan and good price.

any pics of the condition of your current tank?

[gator4life108]

[motornut]

Originally Posted by gator4life108

Ended up going with a new tank and sending unit. All together $128 shipped from Rock Auto.

Only lowered the tank with a jack and didn't bother with unbolting the bed. A little easier than expected. Probably because I cut the fuel line. I'm sure putting it back in will be a little tougher.

looks like it was a good choice

[badchevy]

So $128 shipped from Rockauto? That's not a bad deal. I'm going to be doing the same as you as one of my tanks has a bunch of crud in it. I already dropped it twice and flushed it and it still bad. Time to buy a new one.

[gator4life108]

They had tanks in the $40 range as well and some cheaper sending units as well. Could of gone cheaper but I went mid-range. Shipping was $20 for everything.

I thought about sealing the tanks myself, but heck with that when I can pay $68 for a brand new tank with a warranty.