Gas Tank Rust

[loner84]

I have a Terramite T-7 very old I cannot seem to gwt all the rust out of the gas tank. I have tried vinegar and most of the store bought recommendations. The gas filters fill up with rust very quickly. Temporarely I have riged up a five gallon gas tank sitting on the left step. ANY HELP AT ALL WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

 

[mrmikey]

'Bout the only way to thoroughly clean it would be to remove it, fill it with a bunch of small bolts and nuts, shake it around and vacuum it out. I saw a video quite awhile ago where the fella took the tank off, strapped it to the center of a rear wheel, jacked the rear of his small tractor up and let it rotate for a bit .If it's real bad you might be better off lining it after cleaning. I believe muriatic acid can be used for surface rust but I don't think it would work that well on thick flaky rust.

 

[Roadworthy]

Shaking the tank with nuts and bolts (or even gravel) inside will indeed loosen the rust and break it loose. You can then even put in muriatic acid for fifteen minutes or so to clean it, just flush thoroughly with water to dilute it well so it doesn't keep acting. Let the tank dry thoroughly in the sun to be sure it's dry. You can then get a tank sealant from a good auto parts store and follow instructions to coat the inside of the tank. You must remove any connections as the sealant will stop them up.

 

[2manyrocks]

If the T7 tank is like the T5, it's a welded steel tank that is part of the metal hood assembly which is pretty heavy. So shaking won't be the easiest thing to do?

 

[Alan7s]

If in your cleanup, the tank develops some small holes where it rusts through, I can give a great recommendation to a product I have used on my Willys Jeep gas tanks. It's epoxy gas tank sealer strips by Zoro. Normally, I'm skeptical of these "quick fix" items . . .even more so when it said works fine on wet surfaces; even better if you wet it before use. Well I wet the tank, mixed the strips and pushed it into the holes. It set up like rock, and after many years is still 100%

 

[Argonne]

I have a Terramite T-7 very old I cannot seem to gwt all the rust out of the gas tank. I have tried vinegar and most of the store bought recommendations. The gas filters fill up with rust very quickly. Temporarely I have riged up a five gallon gas tank sitting on the left step. ANY HELP AT ALL WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

It so happens that I am here today to get information on how to convert my Kohler powered T7 from propane to gas. I will be removing all of the propane related parts and looking for a gas carburetor if necessary. I have 2 good forklift tanks as well.

It seems like we could achieve both of our goals here. Where are you located approximately? I am in east Texas/