Fuel Tank Flush In Vehicle

[wngrog]

What are some good methods of flushing out the fuel tank without removing it from the vehicle?

I removed the tank from my parts Pig and it was anything but easy. In theory it is a simple job but it's not.

So, I really don't want to have to pull the tank out of my current pig to "do it correctly"

I hooked it up and ran it a bit off the tank and I was getting lots of crap in the filter.

I went back to using my 5 gallon can so the gas can slosh around in the factory tank and break loose more junk. Then I can drain it.

Questions.

1) is there a better option than gasoline in the tank sloshing around to "clean" the tank?

2) should I fill it up?

3) has anyone had any luck doing this?


I took the sending unit off and it doesn't look terrible in there but it's not great either.

 

[J Mack]

FYI, the PO filled my pig tank with some sort of tank sealer to try to encapsulate the debris in the tank and it caused an intermittent gas starvation issue by partially plugging one of the lines with a flap of rubber tank sealer, ultimately the tank needed to be removed to have the metal lines cleaned and would have been faster to just do it right the first time.

YMMV.

 

[wngrog]

I think I would rather just buy a new fuel cell from summit than deal with this rusted crossmember and such. Add $200 to clean it and I can have a generic Jegs cell.

 

[J Mack]

This is the exact reason I ultimately built a 50 Gal fuel tank for mine..

 

[wngrog]

Wonder if a full tank of gas in there would eventually clean itself out.

 

[wngrog]

Something like this in the back (farm truck) and drain and fill tank a couple times.

Dunno.

 

[NikP]

Wonder if a full tank of gas in there would eventually clean itself out.

Nope. You will alway be chasing fuel problems if it's dirty. My vote it drop it and do a proper cleaning.

 

[Vernon]

You can try to fill up the tank with vinegar and baking soda and drive it while it sloshes around. Drain it after a day of driving. Rinse thouroughly and dry it out. Worked great for my tank with 8 year old dried fuel in it. I did remove the tank first but should not make a difference if you leave it mounted.

 

[wngrog]

That's a s*** ton of vinegar

 

[Vernon]

Hahaha! Yep it would be! I only put in 5 gallons though.

 

[Megadoomer]

Throw a chain in there too knock stuff loose.

 

[wngrog]

With the baffles in there you think the chain would work?

 

[wngrog]

So here is the plan. Y'all probably think I'm being lazy here not taking out the tank but that's not it. I'm scared I'll be tapping bolts and cutting hoses. This way I'm just pouring and draining.

$100 for all this stuff.

Question.

Should I do all 24 gallons of vinegar at once or do it twice?

 

[wngrog]

I'm also going to plumb in a real fuel filter.

 

[Vernon]

I think doing the vinegar twice would be best. Dont forget baking soda and water together after you drain the vinegar in attempt to neutralize any residual vinegar that may be left.

 

[wngrog]

How long should I leave it in there you think?

 

[Vernon]

I left it in there for 12 hours.

 

[PabloCruise]

How about if you got an electric fuel pump and clear filter and made a closed loop so the pump pulled fuel out of the outlet, filtered the vinegar before hitting the pump, and then put the filtered vinegar back in the fuel return port?

That should create some movement in the tank...

 

[wngrog]

Gonna drain and filter the gas in the tank just to see what's there.

Pour 1/2 soda in. Fill with vinegar.

Let sit till tomorrow.

Drain.

filtered gas to flush (skipping water

Gas and go with monster filter.

Thoughts?

 

[J Mack]

Pour 1/2 soda in. Fill with vinegar.

Not sure if I’m reading this right but you don’t want to add them at the same time.

Vinegar has a low pH of around 2.4, you would want to pour it into your tank straight or diluted with water to slightly raise the pH. Baking soda has a high pH and you would pre-dilute it with water to naturalize the vinegar once you’re satisfied with the rust removal. One cup of soda per 5 gallons of water should be plenty, the soda will leave a residue that will need to be rinsed a few times with clean water.