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Fuel tank cleaning

L

Lake County Tractor

Member
What is the best way to clean and test a fuel tank. I have a 52 8N I'm working on and want to make sure the fuel tank is safe and clean but not sure where to start. Looking for suggestions.
 
There are a couple ways to clean one up.

If it's got old gas in it, or just accumulated dirt and debris, take it off the tractor, dump it out, put
some E85 gas in, if you can find some, or just some E10, slosh it around, dump it. You can blow it out,
stuff some rags in and swab them around. But NEVER try to vacuum it out with a shop vac!

If rust is the problem, put a handfull of nuts and bolts in with some diesel or kerosene, tumble it, shake
it, anything to remove the loose rust.

But there is a real good possibility it will start leaking once the rust is disturbed. I have never tried
it, but have heard a product called RedKote works well as a sealer/liner.

And there are aftermarket tanks available. Again, haven't tried one for an N, but replaced the one on the
TO35, it had serious fitment problems!
 
Anything in the tank will be on the bottom. If your tank you can remove a sending unit where you can access the inside of the tank well I would pour some lacquer thinner in it and slosh it around as much as possible, dump it and rinse it with a power washer. Then dry the water out with some alcohol. If the inside is rusted you might dump some nuts and bolts in it with some kerosene or diesel and carry the tank around in the bed of your truck for a couple days and tumble the rust out. Then wash it out again and coat the inside of the tank with Red Kote fuel tank liner.
 
Thank you for the valuable info I'll get working on that. I might look into this redkote product if the tank looks to bad maybe I'll consider a new one.
 
(quoted from post at 22:19:25 08/10/17) Thank you for the valuable info I'll get working on that. I might look into this redkote product if the tank looks to bad maybe I'll consider a new one.
Click to expand...
ast week I used bungie cords to strap my welder tank to the wheel of my tractor. Put a quart of acetone and about 2 cups of bolts, nuts, screws in it & mowed for 2 hours. Washed with water, blow dried with air, filled it with diesel to void all aor pockets. Will dump that into a clean white bucket & examine. If nice, will rinse with non-ethanol gasoline (not the e- crap that caused the problem) & fill & see if I can keep it full from now on.
 
Red Kote is good to use in any gas tank. The last time I bought a new gas tank I put the Red Kote in it to prevent it from ever rusting out.
 
My "slosher" or "cement mixer" substitute.

1826.jpg
1827.jpg
 

Most people prefer to put a lot more work into it than this, but I bought a diesel tractor some fifteen years ago that gave me problems due to all the crud sloshing around in the tank. I siphoned the stuff out, no more problems. Too easy I guess.
 
Mean green will clean up a tank but you need to rinse it well and use oil to coat it afterwards. Or you could just put a magnet on the bottom of the tank which will collect the rust as it is magnetic. Iron Oxide = rust= magnetic
 
I have 3 carb's in for repair in my shop and they are a mess the carbs are full of GAS TANK SEALER. The fuel tanks with baffles are the worst. I don't think the sealer is cured enough before they put fuel in them. When your sediment bowl starts to turn red or green it is starting to dissolve the sealer. Sure helps the carb repair business.
 
(quoted from post at 21:12:28 08/12/17)
Most people prefer to put a lot more work into it than this, but I bought a diesel tractor some fifteen years ago that gave me problems due to all the crud sloshing around in the tank. I siphoned the stuff out, no more problems. Too easy I guess.
Click to expand...
don't mind the 'slam', I can take it, but you need to come over an "siphon" the stuff out of this tank. The best vacuum in the world would not clean up this tank. It needed a major beating!
 
(quoted from post at 19:43:37 08/12/17)
(quoted from post at 21:12:28 08/12/17)
Most people prefer to put a lot more work into it than this, but I bought a diesel tractor some fifteen years ago that gave me problems due to all the crud sloshing around in the tank. I siphoned the stuff out, no more problems. Too easy I guess.
Click to expand...
don't mind the 'slam', I can take it, but you need to come over an "siphon" the stuff out of this tank. The best vacuum in the world would not clean up this tank. It needed a major beating!
Click to expand...

JMOR, honestly not meant as a slam. Just stop and think for a moment about how frequently this topic comes up, and I have posted about what worked very well for me at least 25 times but never any interest. Some tanks come off fairly easily but the tanks of the Fords like I have are a major project. Yes there are different degrees of cleaning needed, but mine had a lot of a slimy mess.
 
(quoted from post at 08:25:19 08/13/17)
(quoted from post at 19:43:37 08/12/17)
(quoted from post at 21:12:28 08/12/17)
Most people prefer to put a lot more work into it than this, but I bought a diesel tractor some fifteen years ago that gave me problems due to all the crud sloshing around in the tank. I siphoned the stuff out, no more problems. Too easy I guess.
Click to expand...
don't mind the 'slam', I can take it, but you need to come over an "siphon" the stuff out of this tank. The best vacuum in the world would not clean up this tank. It needed a major beating!
Click to expand...

JMOR, honestly not meant as a slam. Just stop and think for a moment about how frequently this topic comes up, and I have posted about what worked very well for me at least 25 times but never any interest. Some tanks come off fairly easily but the tanks of the Fords like I have are a major project. Yes there are different degrees.

OK. This was a lot worse than just slime....it was accompanied with dried/hardened slime & rust. Abrasion was about the only way I see to clean that up.
Click to expand...
 
I have used the "electrolysis rust removal" method several times...seems to work pretty good. Pretty cheap if you already have a battery charger...which I would think virtually anybody with a tractor probably does. Just one box of laundry soda ($3-4 at Walmart will do ALOT of rust removal) and a sacrificial piece of metal or long bolt as an electrode.

Just make sure you hook the battery cable leads up correctly.

I was amazed at how much rust made its way to the electrode when I did my JD 50 tank. This was after I used ATF with nuts and bolts on the cement mixer. Some red kote made it a like a new tank.
 
Depending on how much rust is in there you can sometimes use a 50% mix of vinegar and water to dissolve it. My diesel tank on my backhoe had rust in the bottom and the vinegar and water worked pretty well on it. I drained the tank and pressure washed before and after soaking over night then dried it out before refilling.

Here are before and after pics.

2267.jpg
2268.jpg
[/img]
 
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