Question on petrol tank?

Question

got a gsx 250 petrol tank very rusty,none of it lose been stood a few years,

is the tank any good or should i replace it or can i clean it out

Answer 1

What you can do for rust, is put a few marbles in the tank with some kerosine. Plug it up and shake it like crazy for a while. That should loosen a lot of the rust off. If it is a deep rust, you probably don't want to put it on the bike for fear that the rust could get in your engine. You could also just put a good fuel filter on it to catch any rust that might come out after you knock most of the rust off. That would be your cheapest option. It sounds dumb but I know a lot of bikers who have used the marble trick.

Answer 2

Not a whole lot; as it turns out, this is a widespread urban legend. The story goes that this sweet revenge will dissolve in the gasoline (petrol), travel through the fuel lines into the engine, where the heat of combustion will cause it to convert to a cement-like glue and gum up all the works, especially after you shut off the engine and allow it to cool. The problem is that sugar doesn't dissolve in the gasoline, so 99.9% of it just sit at the bottom of the gas tank. A little might make its way up the fuel line, but would be screened out by the fuel filter. Eventual clogging of the fuel filter would prevent the car from running, but that's a cheap and easy fix. If someone poured a lot of sugar in your gas tank, you'd have to disconnect the gas tank and dump it out to remove all the sugar crystals that are clogging your fuel filter, which should take a competent mechanic all of fifteen minutes to accomplish (and about $200). There are much more effective ways to exact your revenge on your enemies than this.

Answer 3

DO NOT USE HAMMERITE it is a solvent based paint, petrol is a solvent and the metalic/ silica particles in the paint will be drawn into your engine
Worse than using the rusty tank.
PET-SEAL is your answer as it lines the tank with a plastic skin and is designed exactly for what you need.
You can weld small holes in petrol tanks but you do have to TOTALLY vent them of any residue, You will need to either fill the tank with an inert substance ( Sand) or an inert gas ( co2) or fluid ( water) before attempting to weld. Best is to use silver solder or brazing instead of fusion welding process., Small pin holes should be thouroughly cleaned and the area slightly dished using the ball of a ball pein hammer. Clean area with killed spirit before fluxing and soldering/brazing.
In the past I have used the hot exhaust fumes ( via a cat) and a hose to fill the inside of the tank with co2 this also makes the welding / soldering process so much safer.
DONOT attempt to carry out any repairs using heat on the tank unless you have completely neutralized the fumes inside no matter how old and empty you think it might be.

Answer 4

Use the tank sealer as mentioned above, it is designed to be used in petrol tanks and will seal up any pin holes. There are instructions on it but basically you need to get any internal loose rust (there will be some) out of it by putting some rough gravel or similar in the tank and shaking it to get the loose stuff off. Empty all of the rubbish out completely and flush the tank out - very important. You then make sure that all fuel tap holes are blocked off (remove the fuel tap first) and then put the sealer in, swirl it around thoroughly to coat all surfaces and empty out any excess. Don't leave the extra in there as it will set solid and will knacker everything up. Once the seal has gone off then you can re-assemble everything and the jobs a good un. I have used it on an old Yamaha tank that was leaking through pin holes on the seams like a sieve and it did the job or not just sealing but also keeping rust at bay.

I would disagree with our friend above about using Hammerite, it is not designed to be used submerged in petrol and I could not guarantee that it will not react, peel off and clog up carbs etc.

Answer 5

There is a product called pet-seal that is designed for sealing tanks, you could use this if you can't get another tank, after all a GSX 250 is old now so you might have the same problem with a second hand tank.

Answer 6

I have put builders sharp sand in one of my tanks with some petrol and gave it a shake for a minute or two, put it down for a while and repeated this every now and again.... 24 shakes later and poured out the mess, fresh sand and petrol and repeated it again, poured it out and flushed the tank with petrol a few times and it was as good as new

Answer 7

just get a in line petrol filter Kitti that will do the trick xxx

Answer 8

if the inside is still reasonably good,you could paint it with Hammerite,this is a rust paint and protects for up to five years

Answer 9

actually your tank is good compared to the ones that they have now... its thick and heavy..unlike the new ones , the metal is as thin as paper.. its best just to have it cleaned and repainted...

Answer 10

put an in line filter in they are cheep and takes out the risk