Gas tank nightmare

Please help me I have a 1983 xj900 and two tanks that are both nightmares. One is full of gunk from a botched tank liner and the other has holes in it like Swiss cheese. I have tried everything to clean the gunk out of the one except for mek. The other tank I was told by a fabricator is not worth fixing.

 

Check around to see if you have a radiator repair shop that can, will do it. It will not be cheap though. The last 1 I had done was about 3 years ago and $200 but it is nice! Red Kote lined.

 

That sucks. Removing the liner is never a fun job.

Any idea what kind of liner it is?

What exactly have you tried?

Has anything had any effect on the crud at all?

I've had to fill it with solvent (acetone in my case) and some abrasives (drywall screws) let it soak a day or two, shaking occasionally, then rotate it, let it soak some more, and so on for a couple weeks to get all the crap out.

If it happens to be a Caswell liner, you may have to get the "good stuff" (methylene chloride) from Caswell to remove it, but I'm not sure what sort of hoops you would have to jump through to get it.

 

Obviously the tank without perforations and the faulty liner is the best candidate, I have no recommendation to get that shit out of it.
If the perforated one is not too bad and the holes are at the bottom, you can grind to clean metal and repair it with fiberglass.
Probably get 2-3 years before it will eventually leak again. Buys time to fix the other one properly.

 

This thread is on kreem removal, so may not be applicable

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/removing-kreem-fuel-tank-liner.132081/#post-679988

 

I called one place and they said they won't do it. I'd pay double that if someone can just get this gunk out.

 

I think it's kreem, brown tan liner, I've tried vinigar, electrolysis, acetone, shoved in the tumble dryer full of screws, all of these have some effect but I've been working on this off and on for a year now. Next option is MEK I guess, but it's expensive when I buy enough to fill it.

 

Here is a nice write-up using one quart MEK substitute followed by acetone - this is what I did to remove Kreem that i personally put in 30 years ago minus the power washer

https://www.justbigreds.com/post/big-red-gas-tank-restoration-removing-a-gas-tank-coating-liner-kreem-redkote#:~:text=This is the process I,the bottom of the tank.

Availability for MEK might vary by state, but here in Florida ACE and Home Depot carry the one gallon size for about $40 and Amazon has listings for it

 

I'm also curious, just how bad is the swiss cheese tank, @Awitt?

If it's not too many small holes maybe it's salvageable. In any case, please don't throw it away - there may be someone who would try to fix it.

 

Getting that liner out of a tank is a PITA to say the least. I think @Rooster53 looks to have the best idea with the solvent. I have seen vids on people jacking up lawn mower rear ends and strapping a tank onto the outside of the wheel to turn the tank with what ever they chose to knock rust and stuff from the tank. Something I might try next time.

As far as those pin holes, we would need to see the tank to help decide what to use. If you don't care about looks then JB weld makes a tank seal epoxy I have used on a V65 Honda Sabre tank before. Worked well until the tank started leaking in other places.

I stay away from any process that will "eat away" the rust. If the tanks are that thin already you are just asking for trouble. Red line, Gold line and even the POR 15 I have used. Just have to follow directions and really make sure they dry and cure well. If you live in an area the uses a lot of corn fuel like I do, you really have to watch what you use. Some of the lines can't take long contact with ethanol.

Good luck on the project and get some pics of those tanks on here so we can see what you are dealing with.