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rusty fuel tank

2956 Views 27 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  Dustytoes
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well, it finally happened.. No fuel to carbs. lots of rust upon removal of fuel filter!. I am faced with two choices once the tank get's removed. I am cautiously considering a tank coating product. I was leaning towards a product called" POR-15.. Then today a friend suggested i take it to a radiator shop to have it boiled. ?? I dont have much confidence in tank coatings. After learning what trouble others have had with these coating. Does alcohol eat away at these coatings? Since thier are fuels today that have up to 10 percent ethanol in them. i certainly would not like that attacking the tank coating.. Having my tank boiled by a radiator shop sounds viable. but i've never heard if anyone that has had it done here. boiling seems to be less harsh than chemical. But is it just as effective? need advice before that tank comes out of my '83 interstate. "knowbuddy"
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Hold it! Is this Deja Vu all over again? Did I not see this post on this subject earlier?

Hmmmmm.....maybe I'm seeing things!

:dude:
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Sorry, double post!... Had to leave the house in a rush. cancelled page. did not think it still posted it.:shock: your "peepers" are just fine!.. Starting tear down today with removal of the fairing lowers. and work back from there. "knowbuddy"
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whoa--- you starting at the wrong end. when i done mine i started with removeing the bages , removeing the rear caliper , rear wheel &diff. , tank pick up & gage unit ( if there is gas in the tank --now is the time to empty it -- sipion it out) battery & holder frame , fuel petcock valve , the fuel filter & lines , top retaing bolt , now is the time to start working it to the back of the bike and out. not a hard job --just time consuming. are we haveing fun yet ? hope i rembered everything--and if i for got some thing some one else will jump in here and let us know--i hope. its been a while sence i done mine.
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removing a fuel tank is sort of like birthen a baby....
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I read somewhere that you can get the tank dipped in copper than nickel plated for 130.00 bucks.
Should never rust again after that process.
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Elizabeth Radiator located in Elizabeth PA,( near Pittsburgh,not far,for you)will boil out & coat the inside of your tank.Does a very fine job.Has done a tank on my antique Harley,about 10 years ago,still in perfect condition!www.elizabethradiator.com Phone # 412-384-5310
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From everything I read, I was expecting a real bear of a chore. The tank came out of my '76 in quick order. The only thing left behind the motor was the swing arm with final drive attached.

I had pulled the tank sender unit and siphoned the remainder of the gas through the hole. This also gave me a place to grab the tank. After removing the petcock, I simply pulled the tank rearward. That is after loosening the faux tank and lifting it to clear the filler tube.

The r and r wasn't nearly as difficult as I was expecting.

Terry
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You may want to consider this product as well. http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/epoxygas.htm

I recently used it (approx. one year ago) ina leakingValkyrie gas tank. This summer was atrue test with rapid tank expansion and contractions and so far it is holding up.
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The problem with coating a wing tank is the screen inside will get plugged by the coating. I didn't remove mine and used the Electro Static Rust Removal process and javen't had a problem with it since. Polyphosporic acid is also a good product. LOL!
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fgh wrote:
The problem with coating a wing tank is the screen inside will get plugged by the coating. I didn't remove mine and used the Electro Static Rust Removal process and javen't had a problem with it since. Polyphosporic acid is also a good product. LOL!
Very good point fgh... I wasn't sure if the screen was removable or not like on the Valkyrie which for me was a good opportunity to replace it since it was clogged with rust anyway.
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after cleaning and sealing mine useing por kit . i also had pluged screens. i ran a speedo inner cable through the tubes and put a hole in the screens for fuel pick up. so far so good.
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After much thought and careful consideration.... I decided to take Randakk's advice and run MMO in each tank of gas. I bought my "new" tank off Ebay and it is pristine inside... just like new. So far, so good with the MMO. If I were to go with the idea of coating the tank I think I would opt for nickel plating it like AZGL1500. I say this because my previous tank had a coating inside and it began peeling away from the inner tank wall.

http://www.randakks.com/TechTip57.htm
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If you use a little air back through the petcock. the screen will not plug up with sealer. :action:
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Thanks for the tips guys. I just got another 75 GL1000 that sat in a garage for 16 years. Boiling the tank out now with washing soda. I'm using a cup/ 5 gal. Is that a strong enough solution?
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Were it mine, I would dump in the full box of Arm & Hammer baking soda.

Or, plug the drain, pour in a big bottle of CLR and put the cap back on. Just keep turning it over and over for a while and look inside and see how it is doing.

Keep your nose away from the fumes.......
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Look guys......there is NO reason to pull a tank to remove rust. Let the magic of modern chemistry and physics do the work for you.



1. Unhook fuel line from pump, pull through to petcock side and use line to drain fuel tank into gas gan. Leave filter on to make sure gas is clean enough to reuse. Rinse tank with water to make sure as much fuel as possible is out.



2. Pick up a couple of big iron nails (your sacrificial iron), like the 8 inch 3/8 in diameter type. Or rail road ties.



3. Take a piece of rubber (old tire), shipping foam, old dry wood, or anything non conductive slight bigger around than your gas tank lid. Drive/push nail through. Nail MUST NOT TOUCH ANY METAL AT ALL, INCLUDING BOTTOM OR SIDES OF TANK. Your end goal is to be able to set the rubber on top of gas tank opening with nail hanging down into tank.



4. Close fuel petcock. Mix up a solution of arm and hammer, about 1/4 standard box per 5 gallon jug of water. Shake well, pour into tank.



5. Place rubber with big nail in cap. Hook UNPLUGGED positive side of battery charger to nail. Hook negative to fuel petcock. Plug in, turn to 2 amp. If you see sparks, you screwed up.....turn it off and sort it out.



6. Let sit for 12 hours. Turn off charger and check system. Pull out nail and clean it off, put it back. Drain some mixture out, if it's turned brown, replace it with fresh. Always ad to keep level at top of tank......this process will "burn" off the water/soda mix



7. Repeat until gas tank is pristine and rust free.





Note: This is for light surface rust. If your tank is so bad it's flaking and severly rusted, you need to fill it with BB's and shake first.........then perform the above.



If your tank has a lot of metal left, and isn't rusted through.........no need to coat it after the process above, just run some stabilizer or MMO in the gas periodically and it won't rust again. Mostly, just keep the tank full.
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Iused evaporust, you can get a gallon for $20 at harbor freight, it works great on rust. (it is not an acid and can be diposed of easily and won't harm you if you come in contact with it).I removed the tank and rolled it every 12 hours for 3 days with 2 gallons. But you could leave the tankin and buy 5-6 gallonsto fill it then pump it out after 24 hours, wash it out with water thencheck it if it still had rust you can reuse it for another12 hours.



Then dry it with hot air, like a hair dryermounted in the hole. The evaporust will leave a coating that will prevent an immediate flash rust for several weeks, but i coated mine with mmo after it dried. that was a year ago and tank is still perfectly clean.
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rhughes wrote:
Iused evaporust, you can get a gallon for $20 at harbor freight, it works great on rust. (it is not an acid and can be diposed of easily and won't harm you if you come in contact with it).I removed the tank and rolled it every 12 hours for 3 days with 2 gallons. But you could leave the tankin and buy 5-6 gallonsto fill it then pump it out after 24 hours, wash it out with water thencheck it if it still had rust you can reuse it for another12 hours.



Then dry it with hot air, like a hair dryermounted in the hole. The evaporust will leave a coating that will prevent an immediate flash rust for several weeks, but i coated mine with mmo after it dried. that was a year ago and tank is still perfectly clean.

I've had good results from evaporust.

The only problem is 5 gals. is a 100.00 bucks if you leave the tank on the bike.

but it is worth it in labor saving.
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cyclewizard wrote:
rhughes wrote:
Iused evaporust, you can get a gallon for $20 at harbor freight, it works great on rust. (it is not an acid and can be diposed of easily and won't harm you if you come in contact with it).I removed the tank and rolled it every 12 hours for 3 days with 2 gallons. But you could leave the tankin and buy 5-6 gallonsto fill it then pump it out after 24 hours, wash it out with water thencheck it if it still had rust you can reuse it for another12 hours.



Then dry it with hot air, like a hair dryermounted in the hole. The evaporust will leave a coating that will prevent an immediate flash rust for several weeks, but i coated mine with mmo after it dried. that was a year ago and tank is still perfectly clean.

I've had good results from evaporust.

The only problem is 5 gals. is a 100.00 bucks if you leave the tank on the bike.

but it is worth it in labor saving.
Wow. That is expensive!



My method costs about 5 bucks, if you''ve already got a battery charger.
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