Fuel Tank liner(?) issues on new shiny '82 XJ750 Maxim

I'm the proud owner of a shiny new 82 XJ750 Maxim:

On imgur: BVRJZsm
(on her way home)

She's been treated remarkably well by the PO, and is running. Almost completely stock, not cut up at all, new plugs, wires, brake cables, fuse box, clutch, and more. I'm really happy, and can't wait to get riding. There's two problems, however.

First, the tank appears to have been lined with some wierd stuff, presumably to prevent corrosion/rust/whatever. I crammed my phone as best I could in there to get a pic, but my concern should be immediately obvious:

Imgur: G68CvEh
Imgur: TwRR2Gx

I dunno what it is, but whatever it is, it's peeling off inside the tank and waving around in the fuel. This will almost certainly eventually result in a clogged petcock, fuel line, or whatever else sooner or later.

Because of my second problem (I'll get to that in a bit) I can't ride right now, so I figured this would be a good time to fix it. Normally, I'd pop the tank off, toss in a bunch of nuts and bolts, and shake it like it owed me money. However, this is my first bike with a fuel gauge, I'm unsure where the sending unit is, and how to remove it.

I've a Haynes manual being shipped, but it's not here yet and I'm impatient

So, I was hoping the good folks here could toss me some advice regarding:

1) Is there a better way to go about this? Any solvents or such that might get that gunk out, but not damage the (surprisingly fantastic) paint on the tank?
2) How to remove the fuel level sending unit (or otherwise protect it?)
3) Anything particular to this bike I should be aware of when dealing with this?
4) Something I'm not smart enough to have thought about in this process?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, that second problem? Despite it being mid March, this is happening:

Imgur: yawgVLu

and it's -22C right now


PS: Hmm; apparently I can't embed images yet, being new here. Hopefully links will work?
PPS: Nope, no links, well, I'll remove the imgur address, and see if that works. Sadly, the forums seem to think I'm spamming, but I don't know what exactly I'm doing that's falling afoul of the filters.

 

Caswell has the best tank lining system (POR-15 is also as good). You'll need to use MEK to remove the old liner (the Caswell kit comes with instructions for this).
Preperaton is key, but once done you'll have a permanant liner that will never peel, and will not be damaged by ethanol.


In order to kill a bot problem the site owner made it so new users have to have posted 5 times before being able to link or embed.

 

Once you get to 5 posts, you'll be able to upload images. I like that your 35 year old bike is new. Does that mean that my 40 year old bod is young?

 

I don't care about relining it, really; I just want to get the stuff in the tank out. There's big chunks (if you append the codes to imgur dot com backslash then you can see them) of liner just peeling up and waving around in the tank.

MEK = Methyl Ethyl Keytone / Butanone? I'm looking around online, but not finding it for prices that aren't really intimidating (such as $100+ on Amazon dot ca). Know what sort of shop I can find some at that's less than $100?

Edit: Found some; Canadian Tire has cans for $12. Way more accessible.

I get the link restriction, but damn, that's frustrating >.<

 

Yes, my 35 year old bike is new, and my 40 year old bod is also young. It's all in perspective, and copious use of Advil.

 

In the U.S. most paint shops carry MEK in quart and 1/2 gallon cans. You don't need to fill the tank with it. The old liner can also be removed with phosphoric acid, but it might require more agitation and time to get the liner out. The tank was lined for a reason, and I'll bet that you'll find it leaks once the liner is removed.

 

Will MEK damage the paint? Obviously, I'd take care to avoid contact, but is it something I'm pretty much certainly going to kill the paint with?

 

That would be frustrating. I guess it's a "one problem at a time" thing, though; I clearly can't leave the liner there right now, as it's certainly going to cause fuel blockages.

 

I looked closer at the image of the liner. There is clearly rust behind it. It looks like the liner was Red Kote which is one of the older (and crappier) lining systems.
The upsode is that household vinegar will usually remove it, but it will take several days of soaking.
If you use the Caswell liner you don't need to clean any of the remaining surface rust, just get the chunks rinsed out of the tank.

 

Aha, 5 posts, I'll try those pics again:

The bike coming home:
Liner issues:

 

Aha! Well, I'll grab some MEK - at $12, I'll just go that route.

Assuming I have to re-seal it with the Caswell kit, I'll need to remove the petcock and the fuel level sending unit. Anything special i should know about the sending unit, or just take it off and plug the hole?

 

And, I assume I can just leave the sending unit and petcock attached while cleaning it out with MEK, right? Be a lot easier without extra holes!

 

You want to remove both. MEK is nasty, nasty stuff and will damage the rubber and plastic parts of both components. I highly reccomend waiting on cleaning out the old liner until you have the new lining material on hand.

 

If your bike doesn't already have one, you may want to install an aftermarket fuel filter in the fuel line. You can find information about them on this site. I got one from XJ4ever (Chacal) and installed it in like 5 minutes, only cost about a "loonie toonie."

 

Yeah, I actually have a spare old in-line fuel filter on hand I was planning to pop in there once I take the tank off. There'll undoubtedly be some random crap left once I'm done, and carb passages are small!

Yeah, I'd like to, but I'm not going to be able to afford a liner kit for a while; probably not a couple months. I've been waiting 5 years to get another bike, I need wheels on the road quickly or I'll go crazy =)

Will absolutely remove the petcock and sending unit, though. Thanks for the heads up there

 

In that case you had better treat the tank afer removing the liner. Phosphoric acid is cheap (it's a common treatment for swimming pools) will convert any remaining rust and prevent flash rusting. Let's hope that the tank doesn't have any holes. You'll need new gaskets for the sending unit and petcock. Chacal has them in stock; start a converstion.

 

Thanks! Pinged Chacal about the gaskets, and will look at grabbing some phosphoric acid while I'm getting the MEK.

 

Ok! So the plan as it is:

Tomorrow:
* Pull the tank
* Remove petcock, sending unit, and cap
* Install fuel filter in line after petcock before I forget about it.
* Block off holes as best as possible. Probably just several layers of duct tape reinforced with hope.
* Dump in the MEK, swirl it around as much as possible before my hole plugs inevitably fail. Here's hoping this breaks down the worst of the old liner (which was REALLY poorly applied). Allow it to sit till it works it's way out.
* Drain and THOROUGHLY rinse the tank.
* Re-seal tank petcock/sending unit holes
* Dump in bag of aquarium gravel and square nuts.
* block filler hole with bathtub plug, securely tape in place.
* Cram into dryer, supported by blankets and pillows so it can't move.
* Set to tumble with no heat for an hour or so.
* Hope I don't destroy the dryer. Need deniability, or wife will murder me in my sleep.
* Wash out tank again, fill with water, attempt to look for potential leaks.
* Dry, spraybomb with WD-40 till I can figure out if I can get some liner before my new gaskets arrive or not.

If they are leaks, well, I'll deal with that when I get there.

Pics and progress report to follow, unless I blow myself up, or worse, damage the dryer and the wife murders me.

 

What makes you think she will wait until you are asleep?

Good luck with that!

 

Agreed. If you destroy the dryer, she's going to want you to feel EVERYTHING!!