Rust in fuel tank.

[Jim Clark]

I may have rust particles in my fuel tank (twin carb engine).
I will remove sender and have a look with torch.
If so do I drain all fuel and remove tank from car?

Cheers
Jim

[blankmange]

[Jim Clark]

Hi

Yes we call a flash light a torch.

Tank is now out, is there any other way to clean the inside, it doesn't look to bad and I dont know of any rad shops to boil it.

I think I saw on here someone had used a pressure washer or a chain?

Cheers
Jim

[Russ Wolfe]

A piece of chain like used with swing sets. Needs some kinda sharp edges.
Put it in the tank, and shake it around. Rinse with water and repeat.
When you think it is clean, rinse with a little diesel fuel. That will keep it from rusting until you get it back in the car.
_________________
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you end up with a lot of scum on the top!--Edward Abbey

Gary: OK. Ima poop.

[rustyinms]

Hello Jim,

I just bought some Master Series products for rust-proofing and protection. No experience with their products yet, but they do say that their rust-proofer can seal a gas tank:

http://www.masterseriescoatings.com/index/primer/how-to-repair-a-gas-tank-with-masterseries/

May be worth a look if you can get it where you are.

HTH,
Russell
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1963 Beetle

[Bobnotch]

[Russ Wolfe]

[rustyinms]

[Jim Clark]

Hi Russ

I must have a F I tank as there is a return pipe next to the outlet that has been blocked off. The return pipe had a piece of hose attached with a bolt bunging the end, the pipe was solid with rust! I will bung it up properly, clean and re-install.

Cheers
Jim

[Aaron M265]

I am doing this exact same thing this weekend with my Plymouth fuel tank- it's got rusty crap etc in it and has blocked up 4 x fuel filters.

Bastard thing but I got it out of the car and I will throw a chain etc inside and shake it all about (and do the hokey pokey).

I will also pressure clean it of course.

Although it's not a VW tank, similar principles apply. I will give you an update in a few days. If it still looks bad, I will discuss the problem with a friend that runs a chemical cleaning company (chemicaly dips whole cars- and in fact dipped my black panel van many years ago).
_________________
Aaron

http://1500notchback.blogspot.com/

Need to contact me? Email is faster than a PM - [email protected]

For T3 Panel Van information:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=389465

[71'Squareback]

Whats up guys,

Im in the middle of cleaning up my fuel tank and ive read most of the posts on Fuel tanks on here. I know that you shouldnt use tank sealers in Fuel Injected type 3s because of th baffles that would get sealed. But has anyone ever used Ospho to convert the rust inside? It wouldnt seal the tank just convert the iron oxide into iron phosphate. So it will not continue to rust. I dont think this would have any ill effects on the baffle inside the FI fuel tank.... I tried doing a search for ospho to see if anyone has tried but not to many search results came out. My tank isnt too rusty. I was thinking of just throwing some in there, sloshing it around and rinsing it out with water after the chemical reaction has finished

[68vwfasty]

I used Muriatic Acid to clean and then Ospho to convert the residual surface rust.
I read many threads prior to doing mine and this was at least one of the methods described.
It has been a year and half since I did mine and no issues. Fuel filter looks brand new. I just looked in the tank today because I was replacing my sender and it looked good.

[71'Squareback]

Awesome thanks 68vwfasty ive had my tank sitting with acid to get most of the rust off and im going to clean it all out tomorrow and finish it up with some ospho I just finished picking up

[Chino_UK]

I bought a bulk load of white vinegar off Ebay when I did mine, left it standing with the occasional swill around, then emptied after a week, jet washed through the holes to help any remaining gunk along then used a treatment to kill of any rust. It came up pretty clean after all that.

_________________
1971 Iberian Red UK Type 3 Fastback
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584656

[71'Squareback]

Thats what I'm using to marinade the tank when i referred to "acid", gallons of vinegar picked up at BJs in bulk . Gunna use the pressure washer at my girls job after sanding down the outside to clean both the outside and inside real good before using osphos, master series silver, and black paint on it.

[joshivore]

What were the symptoms that led you to think you have rust in the tank?

[71'Squareback]

Joshivore if your asking me, my car had been sitting for 2 to 3 years. I replaced the fuel filter before i got it running again. I guess the fuel filter got clogged because it was dripping out orange colored gas. So i took off the fuel sender and saw little patches of rusty areas and debries so i decided to pull out the tank to do a little cleaning.

[joshivore]

thanks 71'Squareback. i've got some strange issues with chattery, chuggy driving intermittantly, which i (probably wrongly) think is water or crud in the bottom of my gas tank. i think it's this because it seems to happen when i'm low on gas, which makes me think it's stuff down low in there. i'm going to use your tip about vinegar to clean mine out, change the filter, and hope for the best.

[Chino_UK]