Rust in Gas Tank

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CS - 12 Sep 2007 00:21 GMT

I have rust in the gas tank of my '80 Yamaha XS1100LG. It's not easy to
see, but using the latest in rust sensing technology (swiping a portion of
the tank with my freakishly long finger) I received a highly detailed report
showing evidence of rust (slightly brownish/reddish tint to the portion of
my freak-finger that touched the metal).

A local mechanic suggested I use this special coating material inside the
gas tank. It's $39.99, comes in three parts, and each part takes 24 hours
to cure. He just happened to have several of these on hand. No word on how
I'm supposed to get this stuff deep inside the nether regions of the tank,
much less make sure everything's covered completely.

So, how does one fix a rusty gas tank? This thing is 27 years old, so I
can't get one at the dealer, nor can I know for certain anything I buy off
Ebay or Craigslist doesn't have the same problem.

Would fuel filters help? I plan on installing them between the petcocks and
carbs anyway, as well as all new fuel lines.

CS

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Fake Name - 12 Sep 2007 02:22 GMT

>Would fuel filters help? I plan on installing them between the petcocks and
>carbs anyway, as well as all new fuel lines.
>
>CS

If the rust is of the powdery type then a filter that doesn't restrict
the fuel flow volume will be fine.

If, however, the rust is of the flake type, you will need to have the
bottom of the tank gutted open like a fish and the rust blasted off
and the metal braised and the bottom welded back together.

The coatings from POR and Kream will both work IF and only IF the
preperations are performed perfectly. Before you begin with those see
if you can make yourself a rotiserie like you would find on a bbq
grill and you can even use the motor from one to spin the tank along
its long axis. You can then let the tank spin while full of
galvinized nails, chains, or stones to get all the rust loose. You
can also use the setup to make sure the product covers everything
evenly as it dries.

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Noble Wolf - 12 Sep 2007 04:57 GMT

> So, how does one fix a rusty gas tank?

Buy a Kreem kit or a POR-15 kit or try to find that guy in Burbank
that has his own
unique process for cleaning motorcycle tanks.

Phosporic acid is used in radiator flush, but that's only the
beginning if you're going to use an epoxy material to seal the inside
of the tank.

http://www.xs11.com/tips/repair/repair14.shtml

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someone@some.domain - 12 Sep 2007 15:56 GMT

>> So, how does one fix a rusty gas tank?
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>http://www.xs11.com/tips/repair/repair14.shtml

on light rust, i use dilute murietic acid. i fill the tank enough to cover the
bottom, then rotate the sides after an hour on each. i then rinse with water
that has baking soda dissolved to neutralise the acid. i dry it with air and
fill with gas.
works fine.

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Motorcycle Forum / General / Yamaha / September 2007

Rust in Gas Tank