Hey guys. I have bad gas sitting for 2 years. Decided to remove it before installing the rebuild. Cleaning out them hoses and replacing new fuel hoses.
Should I clean the bottom deposit or do a full on cleaning.



this was a brand new fuel pump 3years ago. Not sure to just clean in it up and test the pump.
or just replace it for good measure.

I think i should just drop it and figure what to do.
anyone know of a good radiator shop to clean this up in los angeles area?

 

Mine looked worse then that when I did it years ago.

Filled it up with vinegar and a bunch of bolts and nuts, and shaking/rotating it every few hours before emptying.

When done, cleaned it out with water and then let it dry and then coating the inside with gas tank sealer.

For the pump, clean the bracket, and get a new pump, would not trust that to ever be cleaned out properly.

 

Thank you for the reply. I actually have a little over a gallon of evapor rust. Maybe I should try that with the bolts.

I used compressor air to clean out the fuel hoses. Not sure if i should use rubbing alcohol in the hoses to make sure everything is cleaner out.

 

Mine also looked like yours. i used evaporust to clean it up. put a jug worth in the tank and a length of chain and shook it around. rotated it to sit on a new side everyday and gave it a shake. drained the evaporust, pressure washed the tank, dried with compressed air then oiled the inside to prevent flash rusting. if i had to do it again, id probably use nuts and bolts rather then a chain. theyll get into the baffled areas easier.

 

Don’t bother with evaporust. Go to Home Depot and get a cement etcher. It’s much stronger and will clean all the rust off in under an hour.

 

thanks doe the reply. Did you use two stroke oil to prevent flash rusting? Did you ever use a sealer like por15?

 

I never heard of cement etcher? Did you use a sealer after cleaning?
Im going to drop tank this weekend to start cleaning it.

 

You've got lots of gunk in your gas tank, but from what I can see it doesn't look like too much rust. Actually, I would first flush out all that crap with some solvent and then make a determination.

Actually, rust is a common problem with motorcycle steel gas tanks. Depending on the amount of rust, there are various methods used to clean the tank. Some people use white vinegar/water solution sometimes with a chain or nuts/bolts added while agitating the tank. Vinegar is a weak acid, so it might take days of soaking. Others have successfully used Evapo-Rust with long soak time.

Cement etcher or muriatic acid (which is essentially diluted hydrochloric acid) can be used to remove rust from a motorcycle gas tank, but it should be used with extreme caution as it is a strong acid that can damage the tank material if not handled properly; always dilute it with water and wear protective gear when using it. Dilution is crucial. Always dilute muriatic acid with water before using it on a gas tank, typically a 50/50 mixture.

I would suggest first cleaning out the gunk in you tank and starting with a mild cleaning solution like Evapo-Rust before using harsher cleaning solutions.

 

Cement etcher is muriatic acid. If you use it be careful and read all directions.

You can also use MEK, or methyl ethyl ketone.

I took a tank to a radiator shop and they used MEK to remove old gas that has turned to tar. It was so think I could hardly push welding wire into it. They let it site for a week. Cost over $300 but well worth it. They also sealed it. They had to cut the top just to get access and then brazed it back.

 

Using degreaser overnight worked. Now i used boiling water and going to let it sit over night. Then maybe use evapor r us after this.



I also decided to make new gaskets. The fuel pump gasket was swollen. Going to try my best to make one. Might have to trow it in rice to deflate the gasket. My first attempt was too big circumference.

The other gasket was easier.


Made the fuel pump gasket.
not perfect but it'll do.
you need to boil the old gasket to shrink it. Then dry it in the open or use a heat gun.

I was not able to find a aftermarket gasket so I bought the rubber gasket sheet. 3mm and traced it.

 

Here's it is after two days of hot degreaser and just agitating it every few hours. Looks way cleaner but it also looks like it started to develop some rest on the cleaned up areas.
i would let it sit overnight and turn it upside down the next.



mow im gonna use a gallon of evapor rust and just shake it every few hours

 

Once you get rid of the rust, you need to rinse it out, dry it and then do an interior protective coat same day, or you will get the flash rust and have to start over each time

 

These photos are horrible.

How can a fuel produce this mess?

I don't know about USA but here in Europe (Italy) we have 2 Fuel companies....IP and Esso that sell premium fuels.at the price of normal/plain fuels: IP Optimo and Esso Synergy.

These fuels (gasoline and diesel) have inside cleaning additives and chemical stabilizers.
I have personally stored the Rx7 for almost 2 years with the same fuel inside the tank (Ip Optimo). I extracted the fuel pump after 1 1/2 year and the fuel inside the tank Is pure and perfect without muds/debris

​​​​​​Also i have a funnel that Is able to separate the water inside the gasoline/diesel and i personally tested the gasoline from my fuel pump with this funnel..There is no water residual even the minimum.

Perhaps in Usa the fuel Is so bad quality?

 

@Malic the vapor rust is cleaning it nicely.


gonna give it a day or two with evapor rust.
Would a lil rust be okay. I cant get everything metal clean.
what could I use to stop flash rusting since i wont have the car running yet.
Could I use wd40 and ehen im ready just use acetone to clean it
or use two stroke oil

 

what kind of oul did you use? Two stroke or wd40

 

there is purpose made fuel tank sealer chemicals that you put in, then swirl the tank around to coat all the walls, then let it cure fully.

 

Okay guys. Did the beat and there was still little rust on the top of the tank but looka food enough.
I dont want to use any acids.
Degreaser. Pressure wash and heating up the degreaser to soak made it pretty easy.
evapor rust did a great job. I could have left it sit for another day but im going to get pretty busy once im back to work.
used some pb blaster light coat. Then used 2 stroke oil about 3 oz. I heates the inside with a heat gun to help the oil move around to coat then tank. Might add a gallon of has to also help not rust.


last pic with 2 stroke oil
Hope it doea not flash rust over night

 

@rotarynewb02 literally finishes this last night.
took many days

 

Wow! You are having way better results than I am, lol. I bought 5 gal of purple power and left it in overnight, it did pretty much nothing. I'm shocked by how well the degreaser worked for you. My tank looks quite a bit worse though. What was your process like? Here's a few pics of mine. https://www.imgur.com/a/qhc68KV

 

@rotarynewb02
Oh wow that super caked up. Well my tank was sealed up well so I got lucky that it only had some varnish in the bottom.
Get a pressure washer top blast it and break away a much rust. Then I used L.A. totally awesome degreaser straight.
I would plug everything up to make it easier to turn upside down. Turn it every few hours.
If you have a way of heating the degreaser then dumping it in really hot. That should help breaking the rust faster.
Its gonna take days. It took me maybe 6 days.
reuse the degreaser. Get yourself a metal filter to filter out the rest. Then heat the degreaser again and do the process again.
use a pressure washer again to break away as much as you can.
I then bought a gallon of evapor rust. I know its expensive but you could buy some cheap at harbor freight for 25 bux right now with a coupon. Its also reusable.
I let the evapor rust sit for two days. Shacking and rotating whenever I can. Wish I let it an extra day in. Pressure wash again. Immediately use a compressed air to dry it completely or use a leaf blower.
then use a heat gun to heat the inside for a couple minutes.
Gets nice and hot to evaporte all the water.
After that. Heres an extra step i did not do. After you get it nice and got with the heat gun. There will still be some rust speckles. Try to hit the tank with a rubber mallet and you will hear the rust fall. Just wack it a few times. Use a vacuum to suck up the rust. Now if you think theres still some rust then just dump the evapor rust back in for another day. If not then just go to the next step.
Then I used acetone. Get a big cheap can at Walmart. Swish it all around. It'll evaporate water and the acetone will evaporate slowly. Once its evaporated then use the heat gun again to dry it up. Make sire no more fumes from the acetone are in it before using heat gun.
then fogg it with two stroke oil or pb blaster. Only use a thin coat of wd40 or pb blaster.
I used both.
its been too day and my tank has not flash rusted.

 

I had put a bunch of bolts and nuts in when I did mine as added grit to knock crap off the sides, and just straight vinegar, followed by water, then fan with air until dry, then the fuel tank sealer (the red stuff in final picture), turned on all sides to coat the inside that dried to a soft rubberized plastic constancy before I put it back in the car.

Fuel pump and all hoses/clamp were replaced, the mount was put into a bead blaster and cleaned down to bare metal, and painted with the fuel tank sealer for rust prevention.

Spoiled cause big pics


 

Double post

 

It is because differences in the US climate and the hot summers that cause it to happen faster, and we have a lot more additives in the fuel then what is used in the EU.

EU, about 10% of the fuel are additives. We use 10% to start off with the Ethanol alone, and then the other additives, so the percentage is much higher and many of them are limited time before it breaks down into the images you see above. into that almost varnish coating

 

I am not try to be difficult here. What I see it rust..... Purple power or similar will not clean this.
If you want a cheap solution, fill the tank with cleaning vinegar..... wait......? and agitate with rocks or whatever is a available. It will flash rust afterwards so, plan accordingly.

Vinegar is an acid so, if the tank is close to shot, you will have weak spots. A replacement or some welding might be necessary.

 

im glad I did not use any acids. Evapor rust helped a lot. I know its expensive but its reusable. Right now im letting fuel pump assembly soak in evapor rust.