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cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:05 am
by after oil
i am getting prepared to begin my WVO install on the space antelope. yesterday i looked inside the gas tank from a chevy tracker that will be one of my wvo tanks.(i hope to tie it in with the large stock tank ala BCdelica)
the tank has debris and a little rust inside.
suggestions for cleaning it will be appreciated!
i found
this page describing a cleanout for a VW tank. it looks like a very big job with some nasty chemis and i am feeling very lazy and green. also i wont be refilling the tank with gasoline obviously, but WVO.
thanks, after oil
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:58 am
by docsavage
I just took my old tank to a radiator shop and they cleaned it for $30.
James
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:52 am
by Adam
When I cleaned my Jeep YJ tank I drained all the gunk out into an container. It was mostly water and gas. Then I power washed the inside as much as I could and used some TSP to help remove as much of the gunk as I could. I was able to stick my arm inside mine and actually scrub the sides whihc helped a lot. In the end it came out squeaky clean.

Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:19 pm
by after oil
well now that i have gotten in there, it aint so bad after all! i washed it with the hose, and scrubbed it best i could with a scotch pad zapstrapped to a piece of ready-rod that was lying around. i think ill bring it to a neighbor for a power wash, and then ill be all set!
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:17 pm
by robinimpey
Is it scale or slime in your tank? If slime you should be able to find something that will cut waxes and clean things up, like maybe some engine degreaser. If it is scale and you're feeling energetic dump a bunch of nuts in the tank with some gas or varsol and roll them around to knock off the scale. This is a much easier process on a motorcycle gas tank, but works on bigger tanks too. Just make sure you rinse things out well when you're done and make sure they're good and dry before closing the system back up again.
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:27 am
by BCDelica
Did you dump nuts into the tank yet.
Jack Sing on Marine wouldn't charge you much too clean the inside of the tank for you. That's if he still does that. Might be a good idea to have that done to the existing, larger of the Delica tanks too. You could drive around for a few days on a 20 liter diesel.
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:19 am
by Adam
I used dish soap and let it soak in TSP to get rid of any greasy residue.
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:43 pm
by after oil
BCDelica wrote:Did you dump nuts into the tank yet.
Jack Sing on Marine wouldn't charge you much too clean the inside of the tank for you. That's if he still does that. Might be a good idea to have that done to the existing, larger of the Delica tanks too. You could drive around for a few days on a 20 liter diesel.
jackie said $40-$50
but its actually very clean
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:10 am
by BCDelica
It's plastic right, with a metal skid plate? Adam method would be fine if it is, but I'd take your Delica tank to Jackie though. But first a visit to pete's to ensure all the plumbing can be done for over flows in the room/space under there.
Get some wheels yet?
Re: cleaning old gas tank?
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:48 am
by after oil
BCDelica wrote:It's plastic right, with a metal skid plate? Adam method would be fine if it is, but I'd take your Delica tank to Jackie though. But first a visit to pete's to ensure all the plumbing can be done for over flows in the room/space under there.
Get some wheels yet?
its a metal gas tank.
and i did get those 31's after all