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MG TD TF 1500 - Gas Tank

I have to refurbish my gas tank and was wondering if anyone has tried using the Eastwood gas tank cleaning kit with any luck.
Thanks,
Herb Strachman
Herb Strachman

With all the costs and time of buying the kit and doing it yourself, most rad shops will charge $100. to $150 for the job.
Had mine done for $125.00 Canadian.
gordon lawson - TD 27667

I think one of our radiator shops is a bit skitzy on doing the job now. He "used to" use a hair dryer or heat gun pointed down the filler to help flash off the coating on the inside, but actually blew one up and it broke his arm. He doesn't remember the actual explosion. Be careful.
Tom

I used a tank liner chemical of some sort I bought off Ebay. I think it was called "Line-A-Tank). It puts a nice coating on the inside of the tank. I first poured the fluid in a plastic container then into the tank. The next day, I found that the fluid had dried on the inside of the plastic container and lifted right out...sort of like making your own plastic bag.

Seems the hard part was cleaning the rust off the interior of the tank. I've used a similar process on motorcylcle tanks and put a handful of nuts and bolts in there with a cleaning solution and sloshed it around a while to loosen the rust and wash it away. Seems our T car tanks have baffles in there making it difficult to get nuts and bolts to slosh in all places.
Robert

Herb: This past winter I purchased the fuel tank repair kit from por-15 for about $55.

The problem I had was a large buildup of rust and sediment in the bottom of the tank of my MG TD.

It seems to have worked fine but it was time consuming and alot of work. If I could have had someone do it for $100-150 it would be worth it.

For each step you have to seal the filler and drains and rotate the tank so the liquid contacts all of the internal parts. I used plastic plumbing fittings to plug the bottom drains and a rubber bathtub stopper to plug the filler cap.

Warning: the filler cap on the TD is delicate and mine was damaged inadvertently during the process. Try to prevent this. Good luck!

Mark Sherman
mrkshrmn@hotmail.com
Mark Sherman

Herb, I have the Eastwood kit and intend to use it in the next week or so. You do have to purchase some muriatic acid as well as some acetone. I will post the results when I am done with it.
Steve Tobias

The shop that did mine has section of the Eastwood kit that he pulled out of tanks when he re-dose them for the customers who did them themselves. He uses an aircraft tank lining material. Of course we don't know if the customers that brought the tanks in did them right to start with. He has all the proper plugs and the fixture he uses to rotate the tank is a motor driven rotisserie. The last tank I brought in was so bad, how bad was it? I took out six gallons of gas from 1972, wouldn't even burn with a match. He had to cut holes in the tank to beadblast the inside. He then brazed patches, two at the top and two at the bottom, in the tank before coating the inside.

My Eastwood tank kit is still on the shelf, perhaps I'll use it someday on smaller tanks
Ron Boisvert

Ron,
What was the name of the shop that did your repair?
Thanks,
Herb
herb strachman

Herb
Go to this link: hirschauto.com There is a question and answer section, which will answer most of your questions. I’ve done three TD tanks with his products and can tell you if you follow the instructions you can too. He sells a slouch/ sealer/ etch kit. The biggest mistake I made was on the first tank. I used a tank slouch/sealer that was sold by one of our big MG suppliers. It turned out to be not alcohol resistant and you need to use aviation grade sealer.. After getting the car reassembled and started up, the tank sealer turned to mush in the tank. The fuel pump sucked it half way up the gas line to the pump. I ended up draining all the gas and cleaning the lines. What came out looked like Kraft Carmel candy. I thought I would never get all of it out. I never knowingly put gas with alcohol in to the TD, but here in the east the gas pumps don’t tell you that the gas is part alcohol. I sealed all the openings with soft pine plugs and house kitchen wrap, driven in snuggly. For the gas tank filler hole I used duct tape. Also to etch and clean I used a rope between two trees and suspended the tank from J hooks attached to the rubber pad mounting holes at the bottom of the tank where it connects to the frame. Hope this helps John
John C. Hambleton III

Herb,

Lowell Auto Radiator Service
134 Congress St.
Lowell, MA 01850
800-540-1710

He is right off the Lowell connector
Ron Boisvert

Herb,
I used the Eastwood kit when I did my MGA roadster in 1997 and I was very pleased with the result. So far it has worked very well. Have a good day!

John

John Progess

Herb, I, just yesterday, did the Eastwood treatment on my TD's tank. It was quite an ordeal, but I am quite pleased with the result. One thing that I'd mention is that the folks at Eastwood told me to dilute the muriatic acid (you supply) 20:1. I saw that it was going very slowly, so I increased the ratio to 10:1 and that did the trick. The key with the sealer is to rotate it in all axis very slowly, but to let the material collect in the top and bottom and then turn it on end (both ways) several times so the material gets onto the baffles. My tank wasn't an origional, but it was quite rusty. enough so that the lines would clog about every 300 miles or so. The treatment with the acid left it totally silver inside! The sealer seams to be very uniform in thickness, and appears to adhere quite nicely-time will tell.
Steve Tobias

Did the cleaning/coating process damage the paint on the TD's fuel tank? I need to know if I should plan on repainting the tank.

Steve
50 TD
Steve Markman

Not on mine....
gordon lawson - TD 27667

Steve, My tank was in primer. It did not remove the primer, but it did change the color. You are dealing with some very nasty stuff-muriatic acid and others...even the sealer is very messy and syrupy. I don't know how you could keep this stuff from the outside of the tank. You have to really manipulate it to get good coverage.
Steve Tobias

Steve,
When I did mine I plugged all the holes with tape or rubber plugs and did not get any unwanted liquids on the outside (it was bare metal). You will have to be carefull as you have to rotate the tank with the contents inside many times. Have a good day!

John
John Progess

This thread was discussed between 06/08/2005 and 23/08/2005

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