3 fuel tank ?s

First on is, Whats the best way to clean out the tank? I ran seafoam through it the other day and noticed that the gas coming out is rusty colored. Also on the gas cap there was some "salty looking" built up So seeing that makes me want to clean out the tank completely. Anyone have an suggestions? Mineral spirts? just run out the existing seafoam?

Second ?, Im assuing the fuel filter isnt in the greatest shape after seeing the crap come out of my tank, Can i just take the in tank filter off and add a in-line filter in? I dont see it harming anything and would prolly be easier in the long run to change out.

What you guys think?

 

yes, inline good! I've heard of people using a battery charger and salt water to remove rust deposits inside the tank (electrolosys?) that might do the trick for you.

 

Keep the Filter in the gas tank. Its better for your gas in the long run. Nooo it wouldnt hurt it to just not have one, but thats twice the filtering! Thats why you put an inline filter on. The first one just wasnt doing a good enough job. And there are a couple posts on here on how to clean your gas tank. Some good stuff on here
-SLKid

 

interesting... maybe i'll use some gatorade! :lol: :lol: just kidding.

 

you can use to cheapo and lazy way, kind of, put some nuts on a string, drop them in the tank, when its dry, and shake the snot out of it, maybe with a little gas in it, idk, then fish the nuts out and rinse with gas

 

gatorade is nasty stuff....it will eat through stainless like you wouldn't believe.
Can't imagine what it would do to steel in a gas tank!

 

COKE was said to be a great rust eater. LOL

 

Yes, by all means add an in-line filter. It's considered a must around here. But, I don't think you want to remove the in tank filter. I think you'd loose your "res" circuit on the petcock if you remove it.

 

If you plan on using electolysis pm me. I have done it on about 16 tanks so far and I think I've learned all the tricks.

 

The first trick being, DON'T HOOK UP THE ELECTRODES BACKWARDS!!!

 

Good one Chacal! I hooked up the electrodes backwards and the 1/4" rod disapeared in less then 15 minutes!!! When I removed it from the tank, the bottom of the rod was completely gone (eaten away!!) So I knew then, it must be backwards. Lesson learned.

 

ouch maybe i'll just stick with emptying out the rest of the gas/seafoam thats in the tank already lol

 

Hooking up the electrodes backwards didn't hurt anything, just ate the steel rod off. It does clean the rust out of the tank when they're hooked up right.
I guess I likes the concrete acid idea because it works faster ( it's free for me!) and does a great job. The acid only seems to attach the rust and not the actual metal, so there's no problem with it eating thru the tank, unless it's left in too long. I swished the acid around inside the tank for about 5 minutes, dumped it out and did it again. That made the inside shine like new.
Both methods work equally well, the electrolosis method just takes longer.

 

do you know what kinda of acid it is? My dad works in masonary im sure he can get or have some.

 

Cly, there are as many ways of cleaning a bike tank as there are bike tanks. Some or more time consuming and hazardous than others. Forget caustic solutions and endless "sloshing " with junk in the tank.

If you plan on doing it right and keeping the bike, do this. It is safe (baking soda, du uh), will not harm the tank and is impossible to screw up. When you're done you can toss the solution on your lawn without harming anything. The same solution will clean rusty tools and parts if you wish.

If the tank is in good shape, not everyone even seals them and many come from the factory unsealed. Some guys air it out, toss in alcohol to absorb water, dump out and air dry again, and follow that with a little diesel slosh or just fill it with gas.

if you seal, I wouldn't seal the tank with Kreem since friends have had problems with that stuff. This stuff is supposedly the best and you'll find a comment about it here, as well as the # of a place that will seal your tank for you. Yamaha adn POR-15 apparently makes a decent sealer too and is worth checking out.

 

And once it was finished with your metal rod, it would start eating away at any other steel, too.....namely, your tank! Electrolysis works both ways, you know.........

But, when you hook it up correctly, it does a great job. Then just wash the tank out with Ospho (phosphoric acid) and you're good to go. If you aren't going to use the tank for a while, fog it with marine cylinder fogging oil.

Muriatic acid (concrete cleaner) works well, too, but boy is it nasty stuff, and if (and when) you get it on you, or breathe it into you, you've got problems.

But it gets rid of rust, no doubt!

The tank sealers will work well IF and ONLY IF they are:

a) applied to a PERFECTLY clean surface. This is a problematic for anyone who doesn't have the patience of Job and the steely determination of a 15th century monk.......

b) applied EXACTLY according to the directions. This can present a challenge to people who don't read, ignore, or otherwise try and rush things and feel that directions are just a "guideline" rather than an it's-your-eternal-soul-on-the-line type of situation. By the way, the "rotate your tank slowly and evenly to coat every nook and cranny evenly with the sealant for about 20 minutes" is a real challenge, and I hope your bicep and shoulder muscles are up to that task (or you've got a helper you can swap back-and-forth with). FAILURE to coat every nook and cranny evenly will lead to thin spots; thin spots (as opposed to the adjoining thicker spots) leads to stress in the dried sealant, which leads to cracks, which leads to fluid migration UNDER the sealer, which leads to the sealer coming off in small or big globs, and then that tank is toast, and your carbs possibly become so clogged up with sealant gunk that they're next to impossible to clean, too......

 

haha I remember using Muriatic acid before when i was cleaning our old pateo, I was stupid enough to wear shorts definatly didnt feel good on bare skin :lol: But i will look in to it this weekend and let u guys know what happens!

 

So i called one of the shops my company deals with and he said he clean it pressure test it and seal it for 85 bucks seems like a good deal what u guys think?

 

just my opinion but i wouldn't buy a bike with sealer in the tank, who knows what it's covering up
that rust in a tank won't hurt a thing as long as it stays in the tank
get a few handfuls of steel somethings, i use BB's and shake for a while with water, about 1/2 gallon, drain the water and do it again till the water comes out clean
use the garden hose, be creative, fish the BB's out with a magnet, blow a heat gun or hair drier in it while you take out the petcock and clean it up, fill with gas and some dry gas, go for a ride

 

Ya i did that, Had it sitting in my deep sink with a hose running through it for like a half hour :lol: its cleaned out now, just dont like the fact of seeing all that stuff come out 8O thats why i was thinking about getting it cleaned and sealed.

 

If it's reasonably clean now and not showing any signs of EXCESSIVE rust, dry it out, reassemble and run it.

However, I would:
A: Install an inline fuel filter immediately.
B: Add 1/2 cup (4 oz.) of SeaFoam to the first (full) tank of gas.
C: Replace your gas cap sealing washer (chacal stocks 'em, cheap) and while you have the cap apart clean everything and lube the latch sliders sparingly.

 

already installed a new inline filter, and put seafoam in it the cap seems fine i did take it part and cleaned it out. And its holding the pressure with out leaks soo i might hold off on the cap part right now

 

dont seal... you'll regret it ..... trying to see if i can post a pict of some sealer i pulled out of may tank that seafoam loosend up. PO did it all wrong. (sealed the tank with the petcock installed)
the piece you see is 1/4 in thick and approx 11in long 4 in wide. i had this stuff clogging up the petcock, screen, filters, jets etc when i first got my bike .... this piece and all the other junk on the ground took me 2 hrs with needle nose pliers to get out....... nasty stuff

 

thanks for the info!