Presence of rust in the petrol tank of my car?

Question

My car's petrol tank's inner surface has got rusted, because I drove it rarely since past 4-5 months. From outside the tank seems prefectly okay. Now I use my car frequently & I have burned around 60 litres of gas, by refilling & driving, but everytime the car's fuel filter (beneath the oil tank) get blocked by some rust coming out from the tank. I have to change the filter repeatedly, otherwise my car starts missing. Whenever I remove the filter I see presence of rust particle in petrol. Even after one & half month & 5 - 6 filter exchanges, I wonder why the rust is still clogging the filter & from where its coming. By now 60 litres of petrol has been circulated from the tank. Moreover, I am getting fresh gas filled from relaible station. (There are also no traces of water in the tank)
PS: its my old car (around 8 yrs) & I dont want to spend money in replacing the oil tank. Therefore please suggest any alternative & economical remedy.
Thanks for lending your precious time.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the rust is still coming from the inside of the tank. It was caused from moisture condensation due to the long periods of sitting with only a partly filled tank. Temperature changes caused the condensation. Replacing the tank is the only way to keep this from continuing to occur. I will say that the more you drive it, the problem should diminish over time, but replacing the tank is the only sure way to stop it from happening, outside of dropping the original tank and cutting out the rusted metal, and welding in new metal...cheap in materials, but costly in labor, and potentially deadly if you tried to do it yourself without knowing proper procedures.

If you want to save money, you can contact salvage yards in your area that will find you a used tank, considerably cheaper than a new one. I suggest that option...but continuing to drive it as is will be risky for your engine. Hope this info helped.

Answer 2

there may have been enough water in the tank from codensation to rust quite a bit of it if it was sitting for awhile with a tank that was almost empty ... once the rust is on the inner surfaces it could take a long while to get to a point that all the loose stuff is out ... so like u said replacing is a good option if you can find a used one at a salvage yard even better ... ther are other options if its hard to find one ... one, you can take the tank out and empty it and run air through it until its dry ... then they make a coating system thats kinda like paint that you swish around in the tank and then run air through it some more to dry it ... that effectively seals the lining preventing the particles from getting in the gas ... the second solution is to do away with the stock filter and plumb in a large replacement like for a marine motor, thats easy to get to and can be cleaned instead of replaced ... and just make it part of ur weekly petrol stop routine to clean it and check the oil ... :)

Answer 3

Hi there... you may want to try another fuel filter someplace else on your fuel line, like right after the sending unit on your fuel tank. Here in the States we can buy them that are shaped like a cylinder with a barb coming out either side of the top, so that rust particles and debris are trapped in the bottom, and it lasts longer before plugging up. You can also get it boiled out or hot-tanked, which would be a little cheaper than replacing the old tank. Good luck!

Answer 4

That sounds more like residue that will form in old gas.It gener-
ally settles to the bottom of the tank but gets stirred up once you
begin driving the car again.
Also condensation that forms in a gas tank from sitting for long
periods will cause surface rust to form on all bare metal surfaces.Your tank may need to be flushed if,indeed,it is rust.
Other than that try running a couple of bottles of fuel condioner
thru it the next two times you fill up.Directions on the bottle.

Answer 5

If you can remove the tank from the car, you can clean it out, remove the rust and seal it with a rust prohibitive coating like KBS RustSeal. This would be much cheaper than buying a new tank. See the KBS Coatings website for different size repair kits and instructions. By the way, This stuff works great!

Answer 6

If you want to fix the problem you must replace the fuel tank. I had the same problem on my car . I kept replaceing the fuel filter also. Finally I broke down. Having been towed,carb overhauled,used gas tank and fuel filter, I would have been better off if I replaced the tank in the first place.Sorry for bad news.

Answer 7

i exploit new bbs. Shake like the devil. Works stable. Do it Out side, make beneficial no gasoline left in tank. Flush with alcohol to get final vestiges of water out. clean puppy **** nicely, it could have plenty in it. Use compressed air to do it this. look in tank with a Flash easy only, of direction, to be certain in case you acquire all of it. I certainly have wiped clean some automobile and motorcycle tanks this style. ultimate to additionally get that sealant, maximum m/c shops have it in inventory, I used it on my old '40 seven. EDIT: New sealers are risk-free with new gasoline or they might not sell them. Get what a broking recommends/makes use of, you would be risk-free. My old Harley I did in 1985, so it probable could now choose for a extra recent form of sealer. And, it would not have "rust" if no longer a metallic tank...

Answer 8

POSSIBLY means your car is trying to tell you something. Have you not been talking to it? And giving it gas? Or are you ignoring it? Cars realize these things and are trapped when their owners decide to walk with groceries, instead of driving. Try washing it with baby soap, and drying it with a blow dryer. You should see results.