Very fine rust in gas tank-what to do?

[oldmanandakid]

Here's a link to similar discussion: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81496.

I like a dirty leg below the shut-off to act as a sediment trap.

[Jerry Parr WI]

The stand pipe filter in the tank is almost useless with the fine powder type of rust. It stays in suspension and gets thru most mesh type filters.

[Fred K-OR]

I went to to the shop today and took along a small powerful magnet. Ran it up and down and around the outside of the glass bullb. No reaction from the fine rust dust in the bottom of the bulb. Looks like my rust or whatever this stuff is will not be attracted by a magnet. May just drop the magnet in the bulb an leave it there and see what happends.

[mstover]

I had the same problem except the "dust" was so heavy that it continually clogged the fuel line. Even though I had zero experience in such matters, I figured that it would never be trustworthy unless I removed the tank and cleaned it.

To clean it, I poured in 100 steel washers and nuts. Make sure you count how many you put in so that you can make sure you get the same number back out. I filled the tank with a couple gallons of water and sloshed it around for a few minutes, then emptied the brownish water. Repeat the process about a hundred times. After this was done, the inside of the tank was shiny! Used a magnet to retrieve the nuts and washers. Then poured in an acid etcher, then tank sealer... and the problem was solved. Only cost about $30 and a sore arm.

If I can do it... anyone can.

Mike

[Forddraggin]

I had the same problem and every once in awhile it would plug a carb jet.so i put 2 inline filters and would clean out sediment bowl.it seems to work fine for me.

[steve s]

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Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

steve s: The metal cannister filter, top right, do you have a p/n, application, manuf for it?? Looks like the one on mine. Thanks.
Paul in CT

Sorry, Paul, I dug it out of the box and there's no number on it. I don't recall exactly what its particular problem was for me.

Steve

[329s]

Fred,

Are you positive you did not get a BAD batch of gas somewhere?

Pluck

[barron]

Good source for low flow fuel filters are from lawnmowers, non injected. Lowes hardware had 4 different styles to choose from

[hugeal]

Hi,
to carry the magnet idea one stwp further, they sell dain plugs for oil pans, etc. That have magnets built in. This idea has been used in the aiecraft industry for years.



Al

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Fred K,
I run the stainless standpipe filter & a cast iron sediment bowl. Rust colored talcum powder like stuff accumulates in carb bowl, but it always runs well. When carb bowl is dry, the powder just falls out when I bang it on the bench. I think it is too fine to cause any "plug up" problem. Bill W.

[Cool Hand Lurker]

I had the fine rust powder and it settled in the passage junctions so not enough gas would go through. The flow in the float bowl is not fast enough to clean it out. When I disassembled the carb and squited carb cleaner through the passages a LOT of rust powder washed out and settled in the cleaning can. After cleaning, the GAV worked like it was supposed to work.

[30Ford]

How to clean rusty gas tank using electrolysis seen this on you tube...might be an idea

[700rpm]

Fred, I installed a 1" piece of 1/4" tubing in my RPU shutoff valve, the way those commercial screen standpipes are installed. That raised the level of the last of the gas above where the rust settled. I drove that truck for years like that.

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by 329s

Fred,

Are you positive you did not get a BAD batch of gas somewhere?

Pluck

Pluck, I am not sure if I did or did not get a bad batch of gas. If I did, it would have been in there for awhile. The other day I decided to clean the old carb that I had on the "old" engine I had in the coupe before I installed the present engine and carb. When blowing out the "old" carb with an air hose, I created a brown dust storm in my shop. So the rust had been in the gas tank for awhile.

[Fred K-OR]

I think what I may do is install a fitting in the outlet of my new glass sediment bowl and attach a plastic clear line on it long enough to reach a gas can on the floor. Then I think I will run a few gallons of gas through the tank and out through my sediment bowl and back in the gas can thouugh a filter of some kind. Shake the car while doing this process. Will repeat this process a few times and see what happends. What this will do (I hope) is: 1)make sure the gas is going from the tank through the line and bowl with a good stream of gas, 2) pick up additionl fine rust in the sediment bowl, 3) save having to drive it for months burning many gallons of gas to accomplish the same thing, 4) keep me out of my wife's hair for a number of hours. Will let you all know how it works out (if it does).

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Fred K-OR

I think what I may do is install a fitting in the outlet of my new glass sediment bowl and attach a plastic clear line on it long enough to reach a gas can on the floor. Then I think I will run a few gallons of gas through the tank and out through my sediment bowl and back in the gas can thouugh a filter of some kind. Shake the car while doing this process. Will repeat this process a few times and see what happends. What this will do (I hope) is: 1)make sure the gas is going from the tank through the line and bowl with a good stream of gas, 2) pick up additionl fine rust in the sediment bowl, 3) save having to drive it for months burning many gallons of gas to accomplish the same thing, 4) keep me out of my wife's hair for a number of hours. Will let you all know how it works out (if it does).

Yo, Fred K,
Boy, you been busy! A chamois, spread out in a large funnel is a great filter. Someone here posted that he filtered his airplane fuel with one. On flow, I found that at the carb end of the gas line, with 1/2 tank of gas, I had a 6" stream. (Looked like the Dog p**ing on my Wild Persimmon tree outside my orfice window. The seeds came from OOOOklahoma)
Fred, to pass the time while filtering, you can sing, "I can do the SHAMMY,like my sister, Kate." Bill W.
(Don't shake the car TOO much or your neighbors will "worry" about you! Nobody bothers me since I hung a snake on my grumble seat handle!)

[Chris Haynes]

Your tank will not rust further is you keep it full of oil. Gasoline is an oil derivative so keep you tank full to avoid further rusting.

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Yo, Fred K,
Boy, you been busy! A chamois, spread out in a large funnel is a great filter. Someone here posted that he filtered his airplane fuel with one. On flow, I found that at the carb end of the gas line, with 1/2 tank of gas, I had a 6" stream. (Looked like the Dog p**ing on my Wild Persimmon tree outside my orfice window. The seeds came from OOOOklahoma)
Fred, to pass the time while filtering, you can sing, "I can do the SHAMMY,like my sister, Kate." Bill W.
(Don't shake the car TOO much or your neighbors will "worry" about you! Nobody bothers me since I hung a snake on my grumble seat handle!)

Bill, think the "SHAMMY" is out. Have a hip acting up. But the chamois sounds like a good idea.

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by Chris Haynes

Your tank will not rust further is you keep it full of oil. Gasoline is an oil derivative so keep you tank full to avoid further rusting.

Chris, thanks this is a good idea. I have 10 gallons of non-crap gas that I can use to get it filled up after trying to get most of the rust out.

[Fred K-OR]

Just thought I would let you all know what I found this A.M. using my lazy man's way of cleaning fine rust out of my gas tank. The first picture is showing the setup I used. The next picture is showing some of the rust I found after running a couple of gallons of gas through the setup each time. Turns out it seemed like more rust came out the more times I did it. So after running the gas through 5 or 6 times and nothing seemed to get any better, I decided to take the gas shut off out. The last picture shows all the rust that was trying to get through this shut off. Then looking into the tank down around where the shut off came out of, there was a "landslide" of larger rust particles all around it. So my lazy man's way of cleaning a gas tank did not work! The tank has to come off. Thanks again for all the ideas.