Fuel Tank Liner...The Home Version

[Bonzi Lon]

My 73 has been sitting in the garage for the last 26 years with fuel in the tank. After reading on this site and others about fuel tank rust problems, I knew I had to know what shape mine was in before trying to get it running.

I drained about a gallon of dark brown nasty smelling liquid that had bits of rust flakes in the bottom of the can. The tank came out and a peek inside showed me there was a ball of rust for a sending unit and the bottom was covered in a quarter to half an inch of varnish, laquer, shellac, goo, goop, gunk, or whatever you want to call it. The upper part of the tank is where the flake rust was, where the moisture condensed. The sending unit was removed and a new one ordered for $40, so much cheaper in the long run.

The way I got the gunk out was I made a long scraper made out of tubing, bent in a hook at the end to go over the baffel and still reach the bottom. Put in some fuel and scrape, shake, rest, scrape, and empty. I did this process 3 or four times then off to the car wash. Rinsed out, there was still some gunk. Repeted the prosess at least 4 times. When this was done I had captured about 4 cups of solids from the tank! The bottom was clean but the sides and top were rusty.

A friend told me he got tank liner for his bike tank at the local Harley-Davidson dealership. Off I went and got it, a product by the name of "KREEM", three part do-it-yourself fuel tank liner. Two kits for a tank this large was $82.

I sealed ALL vent tubes with hoses and plugged the ends with rusty bolts, (to check progress) clamps were used if leaking. Sealing the sending unit and the filler neck was ingenious. I used the fuel flap and made 2 round patch gaskets just slightly larger than the sending unit O ring. Put the O ring back in place, then the 2 round pieces, then the locking nut. Sealed. The remainder of the flap was placed over the fill neck and hose clamped. A new flap has been ordered.

The two bottles of acid went in with 5 gallons of hot water and sealed, leaving at least one hose unplugged for venting. The tank was turned often and the liquid was in for about 20 hours total. Directions do say about 24 hours for heavy rust. I saved the acid mixture for future rust projects. Removed all hoses and off to the car wash for a good rinse. Very nice, clean and rust free interior.

The second bottle is a solvent to remove the water and prep the surface for the lining material. It is very flamable and has dangerous fumes. Hoses back in place, this was put in and the tank turned until all surfaces were coated and the remainder poured out.

The 2 bottles of lining material went in and was sealed and turned for about 5 to 6 minutes and I had a peek inside. It was starting to gel and I removed all seals and hoses and turned it so it would no longer get near the pick-up tube. Compressed air was ran through each tube many times, notably the pick-up tube. Inside, the stuff had done its job, everything coated in a white plastic that was starting to set. Now that it is white in there I will be able to get a mirror and look at the pick up tube and screen.

24 hours later it is a hard slick coating that has covered the entire interior of a once rusty fuel tank. Overall, I am pleased at the results I got from this easy to use product, however, this should be done outdoors and no smoking or flames anywhere near. Safety first.

For those of you that would like to try this product or get more information, their address is: KREEM PRODUCTS PO Box 399 Somis, CA 93066 (805) 386-4470. Like I said, I found mine at a Harley-Davidson dealership, but maybe any bike shop would have it.

Bonzi Lon

[agemeansnothing]

Mine wasnt nearly that bad but I am just going to hot tank mine.

[kenz240z]

Thanks for the great info Bonzi. I plan to clean and seal the tank on my '73, good to know you found it rather simple to do. The Kreem product sounds like it might be a good one to try.

[TomoHawk]

Don't forget to replace all the hoses on the fuel tank since you have it out, and it's easy to get to.

[cremmenga]

Bonzi you should have said something. I have a couple of gas tanks you could have gotten from me. I have a fuel cell so i no longer need any of them. And hell you only life 355 miles away.

[TomoHawk]

Everybody send him your gas tanks...

(kidding)

[cremmenga]

Everybody send him your gas tanks...

(kidding)

fedex shows up with 107 packages this week!!! I like that idea!!

[Bonzi Lon]

Thank you for your offer cremmenga, but mine was not really that bad. I just figured it had to be done or be plagued with rust particles at the most embarasing moment. (car show, impressing the ladies) It has sat indoors for over a quarter century. I thought this was an inexpensive fix that any home do-it-your-selfer could accomplish and save the original part. Mine has a date code stamp on top that I'm pretty proud of. Now that a few days have passed it has cured hard and I shouldn't have to worry about rust going through the SU's. If the UPS man delivers anything, a box of cash would be nice. Even a small box.

[TomoHawk]

One of the problems with something like a tank liner product is that it leeches into the gasoline after being put back into use. Let us know how you think things go.

thx

[Bonzi Lon]

The guy behind the counter and the bottle says the longer it air dries the harder it gets and can be used with any fuel (except aircraft) and any tank (except aircraft and fiberglass) One guy said he did his motorcycle tank 3 years ago and it is still rock hard under the fuel line. Just passing on what I was told. I will keep everyone posted.

Bonzi Lon

[TomoHawk]

Maybe that's why there were reports of the stuff leeching- because it hadn't hardened enough. A few extra days to harden isn't such a price to pay for another 30+ years of excellant service.

If you give it a few more treatments, maybe the steel shell could rust away and leave the plastic liner? ROFL

[xray]

I have had my tank professionally lined with a product from Damon Industries called "Red Kote." It is confirmed in their literature to withstand ethanol concentrations up to 35%, but will NOT survive exposure to race fuel, E85 etc. It also dissolves in ketone/MEK solutions as well.

One word of warning: you must be sure not to occlude the relief gaps in the baffle of your tank. If you do, you have effectively created two smaller tanks--one for the fuel sender unit and one for the pick up tube. So when your gas gauge reads 1/4 full, your pick up tube will be dry....Some have advocated predrilling 1-2 small 1/4" holes along the bottom of the baffle--to me this seems technically difficult because of length and angle of access (fuel filler hole or sending unit hole) but I don't know of a much better way.....