Gas tank deposits

I'm working on a 525 Combine that was saved from salvage. The combine was sitting on a wood floor in a hayloft a long time, probably 25-30 years.

I drained the old gas from the fuel tank last summer and got the combine started. It would only run about 10 minutes then shut down, starving for gas.

Over this past winter, I put about two gallons of gas and a bottle of sea-foam in the tank and let it sit. My intention was to loosen and dissolve the crud.

Some crud has broken up, but most of it remains. The tank is baffled and holds 50 gallons, the bottom or floor of the tank is where the crud is.

How do I get this stuff out? Is there a product that dissolves the varnish and crud?

Removing the tank is quite a project and even if removed how would I get this stuff out, not seeing 2/3rds of the tank because of the baffles.
 
tough situation, whatever you put in there to dissolve the crud isn't going to be cheap but you could make it work
double duty. Lacquer thinner is a strong chemical that could dissolve the crud and drained off still be usable.
Probably take 10 gallons to soak enough of the tank.

I'd try and clean everything out from tank to carb and make sure everything from the tank is filtered well and let time
do the work cleaning the filters often.

Probably start at the neck the bowl screws into. Take that apart until it's just a hole and run a hose down the filler,
let it run poking and breaking out all the debris I could till it ran free. Let it dry reassemble and fill with gas. I
use lacquer thinner often, but a hundred bucks of it would be tough to justifie all at once.

I'd buy a new fuel pump and replace the old after a few tanks ran through. In the mean time take the old one apart and
clean it out. Another guy here found his full of debris suffering from the same problem.

I wouldn't touch the carb till nothing else worked. There's like a handful of parts in it and unless someone has
fooled with it not the problem. Thing is, people seldom left them alone and for good reason, they could always perform
better with just the right touch.
 
If you do take the tank off you can put some buckshot or a handful of smaller nuts or other small bits of scrap metal in the tank, be sure to use
pieces that are small enough to come out the drain hole. then strap it to a rear tractor wheel and go about your work on the tractor, this will break
up the crud and pulverize it small enough that it will run out the drain hole with a flow of water. it will get behind the baffle, you may need to
mount the tank on the wheel in a different direction to get all the surfaces.
 
Although I haven't tried it yet. Most have told me alcohol works best to dissolve tar and varnish in a fuel tank. I've got 5 gal of E85 I'm going to try first on my tractor.
 
try taking the tank off put in two or three gallons of white vinegar roll it around for a day or so then put in a couple handfulls of 1/2 in nuts roll it around for another couple days, flush flush flush works
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top