Cleaning out a fuel tank, suggestions?

ChrisinMO · Sep 9, 2009

My D17 has been acting kind of crazy recently. I tracked the problem down to obstruction(s) at the outlet for the fuel tank. There is flow out when I take off the sediment bowl, but not nearly as much as in the past. Never have had problems with this, but there it is. Assuming that it is just a little flaking or crud, any advice on the easiest way to proceed with cleaning this out?

Thank you for the help.

Christopher

rustyfarmall · Sep 10, 2009

Have you looked into the tank with a flashlight? Maybe there is some foreign object in there that can be fished out?

If it actually is rust, nothing short of removing the tank and doing a thorough cleaning will fix it.

ChrisinMO · Sep 10, 2009

Thanks for the idea. I'll have to drain the gas first. I guess there was no avoiding that in any case.

Christopher

Dave from Texas · Sep 10, 2009

I drained the gas then I took a magnet off of an old speaker. I had to cut in half so it would fit through the opening. Then I welded a two foot handle to it and used it to get all of the metal flakes out. Then I took a siphoning gun and used it like a vaccum cleaner with a large hose attached to get the last non metalic stuff out.

JMS/.MN · Sep 10, 2009

Simple thing is to take off the sediment bowl, get a short piece of plastic tubing that fits into the bowl opening, cut it long enough to stick up inside the tank about a half inch- keeps the bottom feeders, nnalert, sludge, etc, sliding around the bottom of the tank, from getting into the fuel line.

BillinCentralMO · Sep 10, 2009

In my humble opinion you'll need to clean it , acid wash it and seal it , if it is rust. Otherwise it will just rust again. You can get a kit and DIY or take it to a radiator shop. When finished it has a rubber like coating inside.

BillinCentralMO · Sep 10, 2009

In my humble opinion you'll need to clean it , acid wash it and seal it , if it is rust. Otherwise it will just rust again. You can get a kit and DIY or take it to a radiator shop. When finished it has a rubber like coating inside.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2009

Plain old vinegar, whatever is cheap, fill about 1/2 full, place small rocks(count them!), let sit about 4 days, shake daily, dump on weeds, account for rocks and you are ready. IF you want to coat it with a tank sealer then fill it up with vinegar. Done it several times!

tg in VA · Sep 10, 2009

I had a MF Industrial 20 with a simlar problem. After I called myself cleaning out the tank, I went to the local hardware store and bought a few pieces of 3/8" glavanized pipe and fittings and made a sump. I screwed a short piece into the tank, then made an el to the sediment bowl. At the junction where the el went to the sediment bowl, I continued a 4 or 5" piece of pipe straight down with a cap on the end.
Periodicaly I would remove the cap and purge the sediment from the sump.
I'm no mechanic but this was a simple fix.

Cleaning out a fuel tank, suggestions?

ChrisinMO

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rustyfarmall

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ChrisinMO

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Dave from Texas

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JMS/.MN

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BillinCentralMO

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BillinCentralMO

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Anonymous-0

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tg in VA

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