How can I "look inside" my gas tank to see whether there is rust or not and if so, how much. Just had this situation occur with my motorcycle and now it's coming up again with my SE.

Read all kinds of posts with all kinds of suggestions but I'm still waiting to find the "AHAHHH" post where I go: That was simple, straightforward and obvious. Why didn't I think of that!.

Anybody got some really good ways to do this?

 

on an empty tank you can go in from the rear hatch, undo the carpet back there to access the panel on the drivers side that gives access to the fuel pump... four screws holding a plate. Pull the pump straight up carefully and take a peek. I've heard you can remove the tank, and "shake it" clean using regular marbles *not ball bearings* but haven't done so myself.

 

Thanks for that.

Marbles are good and some people swear by nuts. And I read somewhere that some rust removal specialists use CO2. Lemon juice will do away with the rust too although lemon juice works best if you keep it boiling for 20 minutes or so... not so easy to do with a tank this size!!!

The pump on my car sits outside so I don't see that I'll be able to do as you suggest.

In any event, I'm pulling the tank and I'll take it from there. Turns out the tank was almost full (I thought it was near empty because one of the wires on the gauge had come loose giving me a false "empty" reading). So there's a pretty good chance rust wasn't able to get at it in a big way.

Maybe I'll borrow my dentists teeny little cam (that he use the poke around inside my mouth) to look inside my tank... lol (joke!). Fact is though that such a cam would be perfect.

 

if your tank is rusting i'd recommend the POR-15 tank sealer kit. you can get it at more paint/autobody supply shops. i've used once on an old chevy c-10 i had, and also on a sportster tank, pretty easy to use and holds up good too.

 

For what it's worth folks...

Removed the tank. Underside was clean but can't say as much of the top side especially around the fill area. Major rust, in fact. Kind of strange considering how clean the bottom was.

In any event turns out that the hose connections are mounted on a plate which screws on to the tank. I removed the plate and presto got a clear view of the inside of the tank. very straightforward. Turns out the inside is spotless.

So the question that remains is whether the outside rust is acceptable or whether it's about to work it's way through to the inside. But, as I said, no sign of rust on the inside at this point.

BTW The inside is coated with something which obviously protects the surface from rust... Some kind of enamel!?!? Nice and useful touch.:-)

 

Mine rusted through at the metal plate where the lines exit. Interior was spotless, so was the bottom of the tank. I cleaned up the bad area and filled with JB Weld this past spring. Holding up well so far.

If yours has not rusted through yet, I'd clean it up as well as you can and then rust proof the living snot out of it. Maybe even throw on a thick layer of something like JB Weld to keep it solid.

Good luck...

 

http://www.por15.com/FUEL-TANK-REPAI...ductinfo/FTRK/

For anything rusted or in need of restore go here, no where but por15....

 

Kentetsu, I dig you cuz I use JB weld for all kinds of things and this is a great opportunity. BTW when i was bobbing my bike I discovered that someone had massacred the tubeless rims on the inside. I used JB to fix the nicks and scratches and it worked a charm. Then showed the rims to a motorcycle shop and they figured that using JB was just about the cleverest idea around. Now they use it too.

As for your idea Ryan, well I've just ordered a POR15 starter kit. Looking forward to using this stuff. Hope the 4 oz can will be enough! Thanks.