Hey as some of you know i have an 85 i just got took off old filter and oranger crap was coming out. still really solid tank. I want to flush it without dropping it, could i just remove the drain plug and spray water into it till water comes out clean and then just run couple gallons of gas through it, add water remover and fill up or does it REALLY need to be dropped to be done correctly?

Ron

 

Put in a new filter. Jump the pump realy and turn the pump on for a while. when you think it is ok, change the filter again.

 

yea i gues i hadn't thought about that, it definately seems like the easiest route to go. Thanks for the help.

Ron

 

My engine ran on one rotor today. I got a couple gallons of gas and it started running on two again. I think some water or other impurity was stirred up from the bottom of the tank when I took a hard corner. It sometimes does this when the fuel level gets low and has rained recently.

 

Should be dropped man. Think about it. You might flush out the junk thats in there. But how are you going to keep the rust from continuing? And the sock on the pickup is probably clogged up too.

 

also good point, i guess i need to search for the right way to clean/flush tank. The old saying holds true "do it right, do it once." Meh this is gonna suck but worth it in the long run.

Thanks for the tips everyone

 

I couldn't agree more. I used POR-15's Auto Fuel Tank Repair Kit. It came out beeeeeautiful.

 

get a magnet from a 12" sub and stick it on top of the tank

 

FWIW - it's hard (read: expensive) to clean these tanks. There's a baffle right in the middle of it, and any radiator shop worth a **** either won't clean it or wants a couple hundred to cut the tank open. Assuming we're talking about a racecar, you're getting close to fuel cell prices when you figure in your time and the cost to have them cut and clean.

If you want to try and clean it out, rig up a fuel line after the pump and stick it in the filler neck. Get yourself a jump battery, or put a charger on the battery in the car, and run it in a closed loop for a while. I recommend picking up one of the bigass filters (like, quart sized) from an auto parts store. The $.99 VW filters are great, but they clog up pretty quick. I tried this on one of my tanks until I gave up, dropped the tank, and found 3" of gum/tar/**** on the bottom of the tank.

 

I found it to be easy and cheap. Sure it's got a baffle, big deal/so what..... mine came out perfect using the POR-15 kit.

 

If you are getting rust particles in the filter, then the fuel sock is probably split. I had one that would ilde, but as soon as you gas it gas, the engine died. Turned out the picked tube was plugged, the sock was split and it would allow just enough fuel for ilde and that was it.

It won't get any better. Drop the tank and do it right. When i get the bridgeport built, I will be doing the same thing while the engine is out.

 

How long ago did you put that cat **** in your tank? I've never had it fix my problem, and on numerous occasions take out more equipment (engines....) and generally make situations worse. Of course, I'm probably dealing with tanks much worse off.

Like I said, any radiator shop worth the money you pay them will not clean the tank unless a hole is cut in it. I welcome anybody to bring a tank to the place near my shop... the reaction from the old fart is worth the trip, I swear.

 

A gas soaked rag and a lighter will clean out the tank, every time!