Finally got a chance to work on the M again today. Put the carb back on and discovered that I have weak spark so need new distributor and rotor. Pulled her around the place with the Oliver 550 and managed to make her run a few times, which makes today the first time the M has run in close to a decade which was awesome to finally hear her run again.

But, the fresh gas that I put in the tank quickly turned cloudy from all the rust inside the tank and it started pulling so much junk into the carb that the progress we made was quickly halted. So I need to remove the tank and clean it.

I have never done this before. My buddy said that I can put some sort of solvent in along with some chain or steel shot to loosen up the rust? Anyone have any experiences to share on the topic? Would love all the advice y'all have to give.

Thanks,
Jake

take tank off wash out with hotttttt water and put a coffee can ful of rock in it and shake it around till clean

I have heard to remove the gas tank, put in a few gallons of kerosene along with several large nuts. Put the tank in the back of your pickup and drive around (going about your normal routine for about a week) the mixture is said to scour the inside of the tank. After a few days drain the kerosene out and use a magnet to catch the nuts used as an aggregate, rinse afew times with gasoline and you are good to go!

search the archives for gas tank. Question gets asked every other day and there are a thousand different answers. Good luck.

I leave the tank on the tractor, remove the sediment bowl, then use a pressure washer and thoroughly clean the inside best as you can through the filler neck. Check the water coming out the bottom of the 3/8" opening and you can stop when you have little or no sediment coming out and clear water. Let the tank dry out. Generally takes just a day or two here in south Texas. If your in a hurry fill it with gas and add a can of Heet or isopropal alchohol to displace any water. I then intall 3/8" brass nipple,T,nipple,and cap vertically. Horizontally out the other side of the T I install a nipple, 3/8" valve and 3/8" IP x 3/8" barbed adapter then an inline filter to carb. The nipple and cap act as a dirt leg to catch any sediment before it gets to the filter. I left my tractor like that. However after what little sediment is left works it's way out of the system you could install the sediment bowl. I've done this multiple times on different tanks and had good luck with it. I did one with nuts and diesal fuel in the tank and strapped it to another tractor wheel and drove around. It worked great but was a pain in the butt. I also pd the have a shop boil one out and coat it. That's the best way but also expensive.

On my Farmall H, I thoroughly washed the tank out with water and installed an inline filter to hold back the rust. Everything worked pretty well for a few months until the remaining rust particles clogged everything up again. I finally decided to repair it right, once and for all, with a professional cleaning at the local radiator shop and a coating of Red Kote tank sealer. That was over a year ago and I have had no more problems with the gas tank. It is now, for all practical purposes, a plastic gas tank -- no more rust = no more problems.

I'm going through the same thing with my M right now, as it has sat for the last few years.

A friend of mine told me to run to our local Harbor Freight and buy a couple gallons of a product called Evaporust. He said to pour it in, and let it sit on each of the sides for around 12-24 hours. It's a timely process, but he said it ate every bit of rust out of his tank.

(quoted from post at 20:13:42 01/24/10) take tank off wash out with hotttttt water and put a coffee can ful of rock in it and shake it around till clean

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As I say everyday...ROCKS ARE DIRT...not the best media to use. Choose chain or larger bolts. They are much cleaner and don't have a chance of getting stuck in the gunk of your tank.

(quoted from post at 19:41:40 01/24/10) Finally got a chance to work on the M again today. Put the carb back on and discovered that I have weak spark so need new distributor and rotor. Pulled her around the place with the Oliver 550 and managed to make her run a few times, which makes today the first time the M has run in close to a decade which was awesome to finally hear her run again.

But, the fresh gas that I put in the tank quickly turned cloudy from all the rust inside the tank and it started pulling so much junk into the carb that the progress we made was quickly halted. So I need to remove the tank and clean it.

I have never done this before. My buddy said that I can put some sort of solvent in along with some chain or steel shot to loosen up the rust? Anyone have any experiences to share on the topic? Would love all the advice y'all have to give.

Thanks,
Jake

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DO NOT put rocks, steel shot, or anything else in the tank. Any of those objects can and WILL become lodged behind the baffle and you will NOT be able to get them out.

Hi Deano, what part of South Texas are you located? I'm just east of San Antonio.
Chuck

i cleaned and installed liners on some fuel tanks, its a lot easier just to tank the tank to your local radiator shop, have them boil it out and install the tank liner. cost is about 125 dollars. then its done and over. you will spend 3-4 days cleaning, drying and installing the liner yourself, and if not done right or you hurry along, you have to re-do it. just my opinion.

(quoted from post at 06:55:00 01/25/10) i cleaned and installed liners on some fuel tanks, its a lot easier just to tank the tank to your local radiator shop, have them boil it out and install the tank liner. cost is about 125 dollars. then its done and over. you will spend 3-4 days cleaning, drying and installing the liner yourself, and if not done right or you hurry along, you have to re-do it. just my opinion.

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That isn't a bad price at all! If you get the tank liner stuff it is around $25. Then take into account all the other screwing around you do. I hear that the stuff will drive you nuts with your bungs bc it will fill the holes. I did hear a trick about how to clean them back out, but I forgot. I bet the radiator shop would take a bright, crisp $100 bill and call it good. Walk in there with the cash in hand and be sure to ask for the cash discount!!!

I can't believe all of the ideas???? If you want to clean the tank, just put in some miriatic acid in it. It's cheap, cleans the rust out completely, I guarante it!!! Most radiator shops sand blast the inside, and then put in some sort of sealer. If you have any pin holes that rust through, they solder them shut. After you clean it yourself you can also solder the tank, it's not hard at all. Seal it with POR15, they even have a cleaner you can buy. The POR15 will seal any small pin holes also. Once you seal it, I don't think even sandblasting will take it out. One can did my 18gal tank. Just follow the inst. use a hair blow dryer to remove any moisture. I did it all in a few hours, not days. Let the POR15 cure. It takes several days for that. Once you have done this as they say on the can of sealer, you won't be disappointed. Hope this helps..........

(quoted from post at 08:27:03 01/25/10) I can't believe all of the ideas???? If you want to clean the tank, just put in some miriatic acid in it. It's cheap, cleans the rust out completely, I guarante it!!! Most radiator shops sand blast the inside, and then put in some sort of sealer. If you have any pin holes that rust through, they solder them shut. After you clean it yourself you can also solder the tank, it's not hard at all. Seal it with POR15, they even have a cleaner you can buy. The POR15 will seal any small pin holes also. Once you seal it, I don't think even sandblasting will take it out. One can did my 18gal tank. Just follow the inst. use a hair blow dryer to remove any moisture. I did it all in a few hours, not days. Let the POR15 cure. It takes several days for that. Once you have done this as they say on the can of sealer, you won't be disappointed. Hope this helps..........

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I am a great fan of the muriatic acid myself, but if you go that route, make sure you are OUTDOORS, and have a garden hose with fresh water within easy reach.

as stated, get the kit from por15, it is great stuff. kreem and likewise is crap

Richmond TX just outside Houston
281-831-5331

Don't bother with anything that you put in the tank to shake around. Nothing will be able to get behind the baffle anyway. Too tight of a fit. Go with the muriatic. Plug the filter hole and pour a gallon of acid in then top off with water and let sit for several days. Agitate by rocking tank occasionally if possible. Do it outside. Flush with plenty of water. Put either gas or E-85 in right away to soak up the water to prevent flash rusting.

I did a real bad tank this fall and it turned out perfect inside. I was surprised that it looks like new in there now.