MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG TD TF 1500 - Fuel tank cleaning

Okay, I finally broke down; after my fuel pump problem I saw lots of gunk in the line so I told myself it was finally time to tackle the fuel tank. It's off the car and airing out (for several days). I'll be using the labor intensive DIY cleaning method that was posted here a while back of endless agitation ...
But before I get started on it, I took off the fuel warning light sending unit and lo and behold, I discovered why the light didn't work... it was full of fuel. The float is full of gas!
But the best thing... perhaps for the first time in quite a while, not a single bolt broke or had to be cut off because of rust... it all came apart pretty well!
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
A quick inspection inside the tank shows lots of gunk and patches where my dad's repair attempt didn't work... bare rusty metal.
Geoffrey M Baker

Geoffrey, you do know the sender is supposed to be full of fuel, right? The float, no. The sender, yes. Regards, Tom
tm peterson

Tom, I meant the float, not the sender. Thanks for that info, though; I did not know that the sender was open to the gas...
Geoffrey M Baker

OK, after letting it air out, I set up a washing system. Here's a picture. A 100 gallon stock tank is full of clean water, a pump pumps it up into the tank hanging overhead, and two socks are being used as a filter to catch the gunk.


Geoffrey M Baker

I hung an orbital sander onto the back of the tank to provide extra agitation. Yes, I removed the sandpaper.


Geoffrey M Baker

And here is what came out of the tank in the first ten minutes. About a pounds worth, I reckon.


Geoffrey M Baker

Here's how much after three hours...


Geoffrey M Baker

Which leads me to the next question: there is tons of that stuff in the tank; maybe only 1/10 of it has come loose. You can see large sheets of it have come loose from the walls but haven't broken free or broken up enough to flush out. And most of it is still adhering to the walls. So how do I dissolve this stuff out of the tank without dissolving the tank as well?
Suggestions welcome.
Geoffrey M Baker

Try something like this.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-From-A-Motorcycle-Gas-Ta/step4/Hook-It-All-Up/
G D

Geoffrey, 1 cup salt for each gallon of vinegar. Environmentally friendly..no disposal issues. Will leave bright shiny metal. Rinse thoroughly after draining and apply whatever you plan on using on the inside soon after draining to prevent flash rust on the clean metal. Regards, Tom
tm peterson

Take some of the residue that you have removed and do some tests to determine what solvent will dissolve it.

Providing the identified solvent does not cost an arm and a leg you could then circulate it through the tank after allowing it to remain in the tank for a period of time.

Any flammable solvent will require special pumping apparatus to avoid another "Hiroshima".
G Evans

electrolytic rust removal will only work good with cathodes and anodes in a line of sight with each other . http://mechdb.com/index.php/Electrolysis_rust_removal


Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

A member of our local MG'T' register rigged his tank up to suspend it between a couple of saw horses such that it could be rotated, then filled it about a quarter to a third of the way with pea gravel and then started rotating it. He would spend up to an hour a day rotating it, plus any time he or his son in law walked past it each day they would give it several turns. After about 3 months, they emptied the tank and what they could see, was all bright and shiny. Cheep but effective. Cheers - Dave
D W DuBois

like this ?

Gerard


Gerard Hengeveld

Put some gravel in it and strap it to a cement mixer and let the mixer run for a few hours.
Regards
Declan
D Burns

Geoff,
All of the "stuff" would be in the bottom of the tank, which in your rig, is now the top... How do you regulate the flow to wash out the complete inside of the tank? It seems like the water would just go right to the outlet socks, with out flushing out the complete inside???

Steve
Steve Wincze

Steve, I changed the setup so that the water pumped through every hole, and turned the tank on every side. Still probably have tons of crud in sheets in each baffle... But it's a start...
Geoffrey M Baker

Here's the MK II agitator which lets me spin the tank in every axis.


Geoffrey M Baker

I cleaned my model A Ford gas tank once . By filling it with nuts and small bolts. closed the filler cap.
I then went to my neighbour who is a hay farmer. Tied the tank on the back of his tractor and left it there for two day's while he was mowing his fields .

Tank was clean after that.


Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Geoffrey, It looks like from your pics that you are dealing with a tank that has had a pour-in sealer applied at some time. That gives you double trouble in trying to create a useable tank. A strong solvent like lacquer thinner may dissolve the sealer eventually - but then the rust issue still remains. Sealer was probably used in a effort to stop leaks so the original issue will probably become apparent as you progress. Obviously going to be quite a job to get that thing clean again. All of the above methods can yield results but frankly I would bet on having the bottom removed and abrasive methods employed as the only final answer in such an extreme case. I fought mine for months in a effort to get it really clean and sealed - lasted about a year before it popped a pinhole in a new location. Hang in there
Dan Craig

Dan, I've got a science experiment going. I've got some of the sealer pieces in two jars, one with pure acetone, one with stripper (methylene chloride) and denatured alcohol mixed. We'll see if either dissolves the stuff. Because I definitely need it dissolved; otherwise large strips of this gunk will NEVER come out of the baffled sections...
Geoffrey M Baker

Good plan Geoffrey. Varying concentrations of muratic acid will clean the rust, but I'll bet it won't touch that sealer. Be careful
Dan Craig

This thread was discussed between 30/11/2014 and 02/12/2014

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.