I just bought a old International W4 tractor, and it not been run in about 10 years,I have got the gas tank off and there is some nasty crud in there,mostly some rusty gunk,any suggetions that would be the best way to clean it out,it does have a baffle welded tight in the middle,so putting nuts,bolts or a chain will not work,I have read where some guys will use apple cider vinegar amd let it sit for about a week and then rinse,any thoughts? What do you guys use?
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
The baffle will not go right up to the top of the tank.
You could try the nuts, bolts, gravel in there. Load it up, turn it upside down
to get the junk over the baffle. Turn it back over and do the shake thing.
How would POR-15 work in take this goop out of the tank?
I've had good results with liquid drain cleaner for rust solvent ..don't buy anything specifically labeled as eco friendly and it should work.. as long as you don't use it on spring steel as it makes it brittle..acid also removes hardening from steel so don't use it on spindles or bearing hubs
easy enough to put in tank & slosh it around a couple of times a day as it sits for a while but mind the metal tank may get warm or hot due to the chemical action of the drain cleaner
and , don't dilute it much.. you don't really want to add much water to the mix - at least not until it's time to rinse it out..
and I would not coat the inside with anything except the stuff they used to spray in old gas tanks at the "mr gas tank" franchises they had at the "ring rad" shops back in the eighties..
anything else may clog your fuel system up if unproven
if you want , test the idea with a rusty bit of something and some drain cleaner in a jar
-- Edited by DJD on Wednesday 4th of August 2021 08:15:11 AM
-- Edited by DJD on Wednesday 4th of August 2021 08:17:20 AM
The baffle will not go right up to the top of the tank. You could try the nuts, bolts, gravel in there. Load it up, turn it upside down to get the junk over the baffle. Turn it back over and do the shake thing. How would POR-15 work in take this goop out of the tank?
The baffle does go to the top there are only 2 3/8 holes in each lower corners of the tank,i am going to give the vinegar a try,my neighbour said he mixes CLR and the vinegar and lets it sit for a couple of days then drains it out then add more and lay tank at a different angle and so on,I will reprt back to see if this works?
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
Geoff
Why not just take the tank over to Rapid Rad Service, 742 Old Highway 2, Trenton, and have them clean and coat it. They did my 60 year old tank on the Studebaker and it turned out great, was reasonable and done right.
Warren
Well i put 3 gallons of vinegar in the tank and it looks like it is working,I also put the steel carb in a bucket of vinegar and it is really cleaning it up,I am surprised how well this works,when I am done,I will strain it and give it to the wife to do some pickling,lol
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
HI GEOFF : Like several of the others , I used gravel to clean my tank . It is large so , I strapped it to the mouth of a cement mixer barrel , and put in 24 pieces of fresh gravel . Ran it for about 20 minutes , then flushed it with my used ( filtered ) parts washer fluid . Clean as new . Then coated it with one of the tank sealer products ( forgot which brand ) -- CAUTION : keep turning the tank over and over to coat all surfaces and continue to blow the orifices and breather lines to prevent accidently sealing them over . Hope this helps -- LATER -- DON/ Fleet 51
My neighbor is into motorcycle's. He uses my small cement mixer to shake around what ever he puts inside the tanks as like Don said. I think he uses some kind of a rust remover liquid along with the abrasives. Other then the noise it works well.
Update, I put in the vinegar,let it sit,sorta cleaned it a bit,so I took everyones advice and put a 2' piece of chain in there with about half a gallon of vinegar,cleaned it pretty good,the problem is the baffle,you cannot get anything past the baffle,so I did some searching around,and going to try some muratic acid,put in 1 gallon and swish it around and rinse with backing soda and water,I might ratchet strap it to the rear wheel of my other tractor and do a couple of laps around the yard.I have been sick the past week with Ashmatic Bronchitas, I get it once and a while,so havent been able to leave the house,can't even get to the garage,so when I get better,I will report back to see if this works,sucks getting old,lol.
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
Geoff Why not just take the tank over to Rapid Rad Service, 742 Old Highway 2, Trenton, and have them clean and coat it. They did my 60 year old tank on the Studebaker and it turned out great, was reasonable and done right. Warren
I will give the acid a try if that doesnt work it is off to Rapid Rad.When the do a tank when they clean it,do they dip it in some chemical,just wondering if the paint and decals will com off,or do they just fillit it amd rinse?
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
did this with a 1950 merc gas tank that was leaking at its seams, I cleaned it with extremely hot soapy water then flushed with extremely hot clean water, (hot water makes a hot tank allowing the remaining drops of water to totally evaporate). then find your local aircraft supplier, and buy a litre container of aircraft fuel tank inside sealer, it looks like black liquid rubber, make sure all tank openings are sealed shut, pour entire contents of sealer in tank and roll around the yard for the next 20 minuets (do not use the cement mixer), make sure you coat all welded seams, when your sure the inside is coated then pour the excess liquid sealer into its original can, and let the tank dry and cure in the sun and rotate the tank.
THE FUMES IN THE TANK ARE FLAMMABLE be safe.
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1928 Ford AR body found in an out house in the middle of a cow pasture, every thing else was bought at swap meets, frame, body, wiring, paint, upholstery, done by yours truly, 2000hrs labour, 283 ci. powerglide, corvair front end, MG rack and pinion,ATL FIA fuel cell, no body modifications.
Well I was well enough this morning, so I gave the acid a try,worked fantastic,I put in about 1/2 a gallon of the acid in the 16 gallon fuel tank,let it sit,then moved it around so each area would sit for a bit,cleaned up real good,when I was done with the acid I put in some water to dilute it,the poured into a container,gave it a rinse, pour in some baking soda and some water to neautrilize it,swished it around and poured that out,another quick water rinse,then blew in the air and drained all the water,then I poured in some 10W fork oil I had laying around,and another swish,and tilted the tank and dropped in a rag and got all the water out,put tank back on the tractor,put some gas in it, and with a inline fuel filter,totally clean,fired up the tractor and ran super,so if you are going to do this,wear a really good resperator filter mask and gloves and work slowly,
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If it has Tits,Tires or a Track,your gonna have a problem with it.
