Gas tank issue

[Lt.Mike]

First I'd like to wish everyone here a very happy and healthy New Year!
Ok, the weather is nice and I've started working on my neighbors Lo-Boy Cub. I made a weld repair to a front rim,repainted and replaced its tube so its rolling again. This tractor hasn't run in 3 years so I figured the tank was filled with bad gas. went to remove the cap, its a new type but someone drilled through the top opening the vent diameter and going through the baffles. This sat out in the rain so water had to get in. Damn. looking inside there no hint of gas though its damp. There's sludge, rust and a pile of white crust where the sediment bowl pickup is, (pics below).
I guess I've been fortunate in that the tractors I've bought have all been running to some degree so I haven't dealt with having to correct a mess like this. Thing I'm going to remove the hood and the rinse the tank with something, maybe muriatic acid?
You guys have rescued Cubs from years in a field so I'm sure you've got a fix for this. What would you do?
Thanks, Mike

[Lt.Mike]

First I'd like to wish everyone here a very happy and healthy New Year!
Ok, the weather is nice and I've started working on my neighbors Lo-Boy Cub. I made a weld repair to a front rim,repainted and replaced its tube so its rolling again. This tractor hasn't run in 3 years so I figured the tank was filled with bad gas. went to remove the cap, its a new type but someone drilled through the top opening the vent diameter and going through the baffles. This sat out in the rain so water had to get in. Damn. looking inside there no hint of gas though its damp. There's sludge, rust and a pile of white crust where the sediment bowl pickup is, (pics below).
I guess I've been fortunate in that the tractors I've bought have all been running to some degree so I haven't dealt with having to correct a mess like this. Thing I'm going to remove the hood and the rinse the tank with something, maybe muriatic acid?
You guys have rescued Cubs from years in a field so I'm sure you've got a fix for this. What would you do?
Thanks, Mike



Looking at the upper right corner of the photo I see what appears to pin holes.

[Dale Finch]

I'd be worried about pinholes.

I'm sure there is someone who has resurrected a similar tank who will offer suggestions. Good luck.

[IHCFan1950]

That looks very bad. In fact, even worse than the one I brought back. And mine had been through fire, and sat out for eight years in the rain and snow. My suggestion is to find a local radiator shop and see if they can't flush it with acid and give it a good clean out. Of course like Dale said, it could be littered with pin holes. Other than that if you want to do something yourself, the POR-15 treatment has worked good in the past. You can find it for cheaper than the price in the link I have, and from past experience it works fairly well. I just don't know how effective it would be on something this bad.

https://www.por15.com/POR-15-Fuel-Tank-Repair-Kit

[Lt.Mike]

Another difficult thing is that the hood was repainted before storage and is really nice, too nice to bugger up.
the por15 looks good but pricey. It'd be fine for my tractor but I hate spending other peoples money.
The top corner of the second photo has what appears to be pin holes. I hope I'm wrong.
Either way this tractor is bound to provide me an education.
Mike.

[Jim Becker]

I can't really tell from the picture, but it looks to me like the suspected pin holes are up on the side of the tank. It seems more likely that pin holes would be in the bottom. That makes me suspect the "holes" are actually discolored spots. Try testing them with a thin wire. If any holes are small, a POR-15 style coating (several options exist) will seal them once the tank is clean.

I would probably try cleaning it then inspect it to decide what to do next.

[Stanton]

Springing off what Jim just said, try going from lesser to greater. You might try some of the tips others have suggested in these (and other) threads:

http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=90367&p=715681&hilit=tank+cleaning+nuts#p715681
http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60637&p=498394&hilit=tank+cleaning+nuts#p498394

Do a search on here (search box in upper right corner of screen) and seeing what others have done. It may not take much to get to a point to see if there are pin holes or weak areas.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you do and the results.

[Eugene]

Investigate the price of a solid hood and good gas tank. Thinking that another hood/tank will be cheaper in the long run.

[inairam]

I just had a tank done not too far from you.

fixed 6 pin holes sliver solder cleaned & coated inside pick up and delivery ( in PA) $300

GT radiator repair
(215) 628-3729
161 S. Main St. Ambler PA 19002

[tst]

just did a tank that looked worse, took several soakings of the muriatic acid and it came out great, make sure to flush it with baking soda right after washing out the acid or it will rust again, then I put some penetrating oil in it and swish it around to coat it

[Papa's Cub]

Lt. Mike, that tank looks bad,but I just cleaned and sealed one a couple of months ago that was worse than this one. I soaked it a few days with a combination of white and red vinegar diluted with water. First I washed it out with dawn detergent and hot water making sure all residue of the detergent was rinsed out of the tank. Next I added 3 gal of white and 2 gal of red vinegar and topped it off with water. I'd take a light and daily check the tank and after a couple of days could see the chemical reaction of the vinegar and rust. There were spots in the tank that looked like new metal and the bottom was covered with rust flakes. Even the new style gas cap was cleaned of rust. After 4 or 5 days of soaking in the vinegar solution I drained and rinsed it well with water and baking soda. I had a bag of small landscaping pebbles so I strapped the tank to the rear tire of another tractor and let it slowly spin for about 30 minutes then used a vacuum cleaner to remove the pebbles before rinsing again with dish detergent and hot water. I used the exhaust of the vacuum and the sun to dry the tank. I used Red Kote to seal my tank only because I discovered it at a good price on ebay. I suppose acid would be faster but vinegar seemed to be safer to me. Be sure you rotate the tank well after adding the sealant so all of the inside gets coated. I had to purchase another can of sealant to cover a spot I discovered that didn't get covered the first time. Now it looks good as new. Have fun, Tom.

[Lt.Mike]

Fun? Ha!
Ok thank you, I’ve got some options now. I’ve used the acid way back on other things and vinegar on fishing reels to remove salt corrosion very effectively.
I’ll try to fix this with labor instead of cash first as this isn’t my money I’m spending.
The tank has nice paint so I’m going to have to be careful with that.
In the meantime after I remove the hood I’ll squirt some WD40 and marvel mystery oil into the cylinders to soak the rings before I try to start it again.
Ya it’s gonna be fun for sure.
Mike

[toehead]

I am an avid motorcyle tinkerer, and what you want is evaporust.

Take a look at the before, during and after shots attached. Best of all this stuff isn't acidic or toxic. You do need to thoroughly degrease in hot water prior to using it. I then fill with evaporust and bb's and shake around.

[Lt.Mike]

That looks good!

[Underwood]

X2 on the evaporust. I had almost exactly the same situation, inside of the tank looked just like yours and too nice a paint job on the hood to risk messing it up. I waxed the hood, bought a 5 gallon pail of evaporust and let it sit in the tank for 3 days (instructions said 6 hours). Still had to rinse the tank with water several times to get out loose stuff but no issues since. Didn't hurt the paint either.