TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:23 am

Hello all,

I am hoping somebody out there could give me advice on a cruddy gas tank. I have a 72 westfalia and i am having to replace fuel filters left and right. I know my tank has rust and mystery meat in it. So i am wondering if i should replace the tank, clean it myself and recoat, have a professional clean it and recoat it, or something else??? Please help because summer is on its way an i would like to leave town without having to replace 5 fuel filters.

Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:15 pm

Having it professionally cleaned and sealed is the way to go. I've had a few tanks done over the years and it's the way to go. If you do it yourself, you might not do the greatest job. They boil the tank and acid wash it before coating the inside. Your local radiator shop should be able to help you. It will be worth the expence in the long run.

Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:06 pm

The por-15 guys make a do-it-yerself kit. I think it is rather lenghty in procedure and very messy. But if you like to give things a try it may be worth doing. It sure beats having a rusty tank.

Tue Mar 04, 2003 3:40 pm

Thanks guys,

I was leaning twards having it done professionally. I am sure that i am going to have a good time pulling the tank!!!

cheers

Tue Mar 04, 2003 10:18 pm

You can purchase a gallon of muriatic (?spelling?) at a hardware store for about $4. Bricklayers use this stuff to clean morar off bricks after they have finished the job. This will take the crud out of the tank, but it is EXTREMELY corrosive so be careful. The stuff will eat through anything including concrete, but it works great to clean out gas tanks. Cheap, effective, and dangerously exciting. What more could you ask for?

Tue Mar 04, 2003 10:20 pm

That should be mortar, not morar. I don't know what would you could use to remove morar. :)

Wed Mar 05, 2003 10:24 am

Thanks gokayaking,

I have actually had a problem with
morar and i had to go to a doctor
to get it removed. :,) Have any of
you guys removed a tank before??
What am i in for??

Wed Mar 05, 2003 11:42 am

For all practical purposes you will need to remove the engine to remove the firewall and get the tank out. Technically you could unhook each axle and the engine support bar/crossmember which allows the engine and transmission to be lowered enough get the firewall and tank out. Others claim to have done it this way, but it sounds like as much work as removing the engine to me. Once the engine is out there a couple of screws in the firewall that point down that need to be removed from underneath the bus. These are hard to see unless you are actually looking for them. Remove the firewall and the tank is right there in front of you. Everything else is fairly straight foward from there. I would suggest replacing the rubber filler neck since they tank is going to be out anyway. These tend to leak when they get old. Good luck.

Wed Mar 05, 2003 1:48 pm

I checked out a site were a guy explains
how he pulled his tank by just dropping the engine and not pulling it out. I am going to check into this. Thanks for all the info.

Wed Mar 05, 2003 5:08 pm

I just had to replace mine in my '78. It is a pain to get the old hard rubber filler pipe off, luckily I had another so I just used a hacksaw blade to cut the rubber in half. Be sure to drain the tank first and watch for any flame sources (it goes without saying, but disconnect the battery)! When you pull the fuel sender unit out, you should be able to get a good idea of the tanks condition. If you pull the sender and it looks like the bottom of a ship, you might as well start looking for a another tank. Mine looked like a sciece project run amock!

Wed Mar 05, 2003 5:58 pm

Do you mean that i have to put out my cig
when i am working on my bus???
Well i guess i will keep changing filters!!
Thanks for the info, i will buy a new neck
before i start the project. Where did you find a new tank??

Wed Mar 05, 2003 6:46 pm

Ask on the this board and I'm sure someone will have a good used one if you need it. I was able to pull the tank from a '76 I also have and use it.

Wed Mar 05, 2003 6:50 pm

I know it sounds anal, but it amazes me how many "professional" mechanics you see leaning over to adjust a carb with a cig dangling from their mouth. Of course it amazes me when people lean over a carb too... I work as a paramedic so it never fails to amaze me the things people manage to do to themselves.

Thu Mar 06, 2003 9:14 am

Sorry if i came off sarcastic,
i was just kidding. My father was
one of those guys that you speak of,
its a wonder he is still alive.

Thu Mar 06, 2003 9:24 am

Never trust a mechanic with no eyebrows. LOL!!!

Thu Mar 06, 2003 9:25 am

If the tank is really bad I would scrounge around the salvage yards for a good used one. Almost every bus I see in a yard has the fuel tank,and it would be cheaper than repairing yours. Good luck.

Sat Mar 08, 2003 6:51 am

Sorry but I'll stick to what I said in the first place. Get it professionally done. Muriatic acid and POR 15 all sounds great but if there is ANY rust left in that tank, your home job was a waste. POR will not stick to rust. It would be like putting bondo over a rusty part of your bus and expecting it to last.
Getting the gas tank out is a real pain in the A#$. Why not spend the extra nickle and have it done right. Even a good used one will have rust in it and where will you be in 6 months from now? Right back where you started.

Sat Mar 08, 2003 7:48 am

I've used the POR-15 US Standard Fuel Tank Repair Kit to fix 3 VW tanks recently and am soon going to repair a 4th. I have never had a professional job so I can't comment on which is better, but I've been doing bike and small engine tanks for years and so far I love the POR-15. It has exact directions that must be followed involving the removal of gum, varnish and water but all supplies are included and easy to use. So far, so good as far as quality, but only time will tell. Dave

Mon Mar 10, 2003 9:11 am

I think that i am going to take
a look at the tank first and then make a
judgement. If it is really bad i am having it done professionally or just replacing the tank, i found a company on line that says they have new tanks for around $170.00. Otherwise i will try to do it myself, i only plan on keeping this bus for 2-years and then i plan on upgrading to one in better condition asthetically.

Thu Mar 13, 2003 5:34 pm

For the few dollars involved, I can't see pulling a Bus tank without putting a new fuel gauge sender in at the same time.....lot of work to do again down the road!

Gordi