Lots of ugly stuff in the tank of my 69 Riv .. What is the best way to clean it ... with muriatic acid? What concentration and for how long? Thanks.
I used Muratic acid straight out of the jug. Took me almost a full gallon to completely clean the 14 gallon tank in my Charger. Wear gloves and old clothes of course, and try not to breathe in the fumes. I got a good whiff of the fumes and almost dropped the tank. p Anyway, basically just pour it in there and slosh it around until everything looks clean. I used half the gallon for the first time, poured it out, and then went through it again with the rest of the gallon. Then I sprayed it out really well, poured in a pint of acetone as a final rinse, and set it on the garage heater with a fan on it to dry it quickly. I bought some gas tank sealant from Speedway Motors (www.speedwaymotors.com) and followed the instructions on the can. They have a cleaner too, but it's not nearly as good as the muratic acid. If you don't plan on sealing the tank, then wait to do this until you're ready to fill the tank and drive. I initially cleaned the tank in the fall, and then it sat over the winter while I worked on the rest of the car, and by the time it was ready to run, the tank had rusted up again. Had to do it all over. Another thing I did- my fuel lines themselves were partially plugged (car sat for 8 years), so I looped a piece of fuel hose from the feed to the return, and then used an old electric 12v fuel pump to pump acid through the fuel lines to clean them out. I filled a bucket with a 50/50 mix of acid and water, set the pump in there with hoses to and from the fuel lines (to recirculate) hooked up the battery, and let it run until the pump died. Then again I rinsed with water followed by acetone. I will no doubt be repeating the same process with my GLHS in the near future, as that car has also been sitting for many years.
I've got a 16 gallon aluminum fuel cell with foam inside and I would guess its got a few gallons of old nasty fuel. I wonder if its possible to even clean this thing out 100% being its got foam baffles on the inside?
FWIW, I tossed a magnet inside my tank last time I had it open. That might grab any ferrous metals that might slosh around inside the tank. ElectraJim
I have used POR-15 gas tank restore kit. I liked it and recommend it. Cleaner and sealer in the kit. Follow the direction!!!
Thanks all for the feedback ... it ended up being not an easy task to get an old crudded tank clean ... the HCl work good on the rust but was somewhat impervious to the gum and rubber like stuff which I had a lot of ... and I was afraid to leave it too long. So short of buying a new tank ... if you have the tools ... this is what I think is the right way to do it. 1: Drain fuel and remove tank 2: Drain any leftover fuel 3: Fill with water 4: Use your saber saw to cut a generous hole on the top of the tank 5: Thoroughly clean and seal 6: Let sit for a few days 7: Fill with water ( just to be safe ) 8: TIG weld the opening shut 9: Drain water and let dry ( leave it in the sun for a few hours ) 10: Some more sealer to cover the weld seam from the inside 11: Pressure test 5 PSI 12: If no bubbles ... tank is as new and good to go And the fuel line is also completely shut ... and I am just gonna replace it. Educate me ... is there a reason why I shouldn't replace the metal line with appropriate fuel rubber hose? I don't have a pipe bender and I looking for a short cut. Or can I use copper? Aloha Mike
I took a magnet about the size of a silver dollar from the bottom of an old shower curtain and stuck it to the bottom of my gas tank. No more rust-clogged filters. It rode there for many years.
I used trans fluid, carb cleaner and bbs from my little bros. gun. Hung the tank from the rafters and swished it around for a half hour then dumped it out and rinsed with clean fuel until it came out clean
You can try it at home or, there is an outfit called "Gas Tank Renu" that does them. I just had them do the inside of my 41 Chevy gas tank and it came out nice. They aren't cheap but they have been around for a long time and seem to have a good reputation. It is a franchise operation. Here is the phone # of the one in Elkhart Indiana. Tool Free 1 866 417 7610. They are easy to talk to and probably can give you a real close idea how much over the phone. Mike D.
now the redneck way: strap the tank to a cement mixer, add some rock and let it spin. After about 20 minutes add some water and let it go for a while longer. Wash out the tank an shake out the rocks and you are good to go. It is kinda noisy so you want to position the setup closer to your neighbor that you like pick on.
mike i'd recommend NOT using flexible standard fuel line for the entire length of the car. now using some tubing that the racing guys use sure. but not the standard parts store stuff. check out finelines or some other repo fuel line and brake line maker. however shipping the big box to you maybe a bit pricey. (it's a big box)
Depending on how bad the tank is, E85 works wonders to clean 'em. Plus it's only a few bucks a gallon if you can get it. We filled a tank 1/4 way, sloshed it around, let it sit, sloshed it some more, poured it out, and repeated a couple times.. used a couple gallons, but the brown varnishy crud all came out. This one wasn't very rusty, though. The E85 is pretty corrosive, so it's a great cleaner.
