I have a gas tank that has about a 1/4" worth of solidified fuel in the bottom of it, I have banged as much of the debris out as I can and have vacumed out all that I could. Does anyone know what works to get rid of this stuff? I have tried everything from brake clean to tar and bug remover nothing seems to phase it..Some ideas would be great..

Thanks!

 

Mine had junk in it and pinhole in the bottom so I took it to a radiator shop and they hot tanked it and it cleaned all the junk out then they soldered up the hole from the outside.
The hole was just one tiny rust spot looking inside, the rest was silver steel, even the guy at the shop thought it was weird.

 

I would try putting in fresh gas and stir it around to dissolve the accumulated gunk on the bottom. Let it sit in the tank overnight. If the stuff on the bottom CAME from gasoline, so new gasoline ought to dissolve it.

 

X2 That's what I did also

 

Denatured alcohol seems to be a better solvent of gasoline residue than gas itself (at least in my experience). Shaking it around with a few pounds of old nuts and bolts inside, and maybe a length of chain will help dislodge stuff.

If it's still crispy on the inside after cleaning, there are a number of coating kits out there, but I no longer recall which were "good," and which peel off from ethanol in fuel, etc.

If it's for an A-body tank, though, it may be cheaper and easier in the end to just buy a new one from the auto parts store.

- Eric

 

I agree with Eric I payed $112 for my new spectra tank saved me all the hassle of messing with my old tank ....

 

Thank you everyone for your help....

 

If you do decide to have a radiator shop hot tank it compare prices. I recently had a 1966 Toronado tank cleaned and the price quotes ran from $58 to $200+ The shop that did it for $58 soaked it in caustic lye for a week, then cleaned it with a high power washer and water. That price also included fixing small holes they found or in this case soldering one of the hose nipples that was loose. John