Turpentine Dual Tanks

[Boone83K10]

Ok everyone. I need help with getting my dual tanks back up and running. My driver side tank is the only one that works. It has been replaced as noted by PO.

What I have discovered so far.

The dash switch is fine. Contacts are clean. I used test light to verify polarity and power when hitting both switches.

Fuel gauge does NOT acknowledge when I press the dash switch. It stays at the same reading regardless of which tank is selected.

Selector valve is getting power at least to pink wire. Have not tested other wires for power when pressing switch because I am lacking help. I suspect this is the culprit for not being able to use both tanks.

I finally got the filler neck off last night on passenger tank which is the one that doesn't work. I am at this point as I type. I THOUGHT the tank only had a few gallons in it since it barely sloshed when I would shake truck. Apparently I was wrong.

Today the truck spewed all over garage floor from the daytime heating. I got a mirror and light and looked into the open filler neck hole. It is completely full.... of what smells like turpentine. It smells and looks like it has been this way for YEARS. The filler neck was full of gunk as is the hole on the tank. This is not what I expected. It is a thick sludge, looking like it cannot be pumped out. I would assume this has kept the rust at bay on the inside.

Where should I go from here? Lower the tank and see if I can clean it all out? Forget about it and buy a new tank/sending unit/lines and what I think the culprit is... selector valve.

 

[bigcountryguy19]

I would ditch the tank, in my opinion, they are not that expensive, and if its all gummy with old gas it is a PITA to clean out, I have tried this several times and could not get it all out. I even tried the piece of chain in the tank and shook it for an hour, still didnt get all that crap out!

 

[bigcountryguy19]

They do sell some stuff called cream, it's supposed to seal the inside of the tank, I have never tried it though, maybe some other members have a better idea.

 

[jake wells]

buy a new tank or find a radiator shop to boil it and leak test it

 

[chengny]

Thats what wicked old gasoline smells like - most decribe it as smelling like varnish:

From sterndrive.com

Old fuel will go bad. Really old fuel will turn into "varnish". This varnish will coat the inside of your carburetor and fuel lines. It can also coat the inside of your fuel tank.

An easy way to detect for a varnished fuel system is to sniff with your nose. With the engine OFF, get close to your carburetor and sniff. If it smells like varnish, the carb will have to be rebuilt. Don't even waste your time spraying carb cleaner into the carb, it won't help.

Once a carb is varnished it has to be disassembled and physically scrubbed out. The varnished fuel is stubborn and it clogs the small passages and jets. Running an engine with a varnished carb is very bad. It will cause the engine to run lean and this can cause serious internal cylinder and piston damage.

All it takes for fuel to varnish is about 6 to 8 months of sitting. Temperature and other factors will have an effect on the level of varnishing. Fuel additives can help prevent varnishing but don't do the common mistake and add too much fuel conditioner. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

Once the inside of your fuel tank becomes varnished you have a big problem. The varnished areas along the upper sides and top of the tank can dry up. The dried varnish turns into flakes and these flakes will clog your fuel system. You can hire a Fuel Polishing Company to come out and try to clean out the tank with pressure but they usually charge a minimum of $500.00. Most customers end up replacing the tank.

 

[Boone83K10]

chengny

The truck runs fine. Everything from the left tank to the carb is clear. I believe what has happened is the selector valve quit long ago. The passenger tank was full at the time. They continued to use the left side and never bothered to try and fix the selector valve. Now many years later, the passenger side has become varnish which I imagine includes the lines/sender/tank and filler neck.

My question is, I don't believe I can pump out the passenger tank. It is literally sludge... like thinned out chocolate pudding. It still flows though so I don't think I can just lower the tank and nothing come out.


I may just put the filler neck back on and forget about it since it probably means all new hard fuel lines too..

 

[Boone83K10]

Well guys.. new update.

I took FOUR 5 gallon buckets from my work today. Got my siphon pump and boom.. drained the entire tank. Talk about some dark, dark gasoline. It stinks to high heaven but it is a liquid. The neck is so clogged that it was almost completely closed which explains the "chocolate pudding" look.

There was no flakes in the gas either, so I am thinking I can clean out the tank... also I am too chicken sh*t to put it in a mixture with clean gas for my vehicles, and it will take me YEARS to use it in the lawnmower ( it takes me literally 4 minutes to do the grass, mountains equal no yard). I think I will take it to work, we have a golf course on site at the resort I work at, so maybe they can dump it in the equipment.

I will snap a pic in the morning for your viewing pleasure.

 

[bigcountryguy19]

i would get rid of it, i wouldnt put it in any internal combustion engine, no matter what the size, if it does run it will gum the hell out of the carbuerator or injectors, if it runs at all. I dont know if you have fire ants up there, but it works great pouring it on thier mount and killing them lol.

 

[chengny]

I got a 5 gallon can of old gas from a friend a couple of years ago - the smell is unique to put it mildly. I used it as parts cleaner - even after it was gone the smell was still in my nose a week later.

But it did work okay as a solvent. Actually, on parts that were not too greasy, it worked better than fresh gas because it kind of stuck on vertical surfaces for awhile.

Apparently there is a considerable amount of addditives in todays gasoline formulations - what remains after the light ends evaporate is what smells:

I've just mentioned this to a petroleum engineer and this is his reply:

Gasoline does not "break down" in a human lifetime, however:

1. You may notice issues if you have a tank full of gas purchased in winter and you start your car up in the summer, or vice versa, as oil companies modify their formulations for a consant viscocity at seasonal temperatures.

2. The most volatile parts of the gasoline may evaporate over a period of months, increasing the "gumminess" of the tank contents, but this isn't likely to cause issues you'd notice unless you fed your car a steady diet of old gasoline.

3. If the tank is not full, you may get water condensing in the tank at night and getting trapped under the gasoline. Since the fuel line draws from the bottom of the tank, this may result in water in your fuel line, which will present a problem.

His recommendation was if the car has been through a lot of dewy mornings, you should add one of those ethanol gas-line additives to the tank, as it will allow the water to form a solution with the gas in your tank and you'll be able to get the water out of your tank, after which the gas, no matter how old, will run your engine acceptably well until you can fill up with some fresh dinosaur soup.

Other problems (like gasket shrinkage, battery charge, or fluid-levels dropping due to small leaks) are probably going to be bigger concerns.

 

[Boone83K10]

ok the turpentine gasoline is gone. What are the chances of just cleaning the tank I have and reusing it. It was completely full of "gas" so I assume the rust was held at bay. It did not leak at all so that is good as well.

I'd prefer to reuse it, put new soft lines on and maybe only have to buy a selector valve and sending unit.

 

[Stroked]

Can you take out the sending unit and look inside the tank? Seems like when I swapped out a tank years ago, I could kinda see inside it.


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[chengny]

How about this:

Fill it with fresh gas.

Let it sit for a week or so.

While it's full, bang the sides and bottom with a rubber mallet every day. This may simulate road vibration and bouncing.

After a week of soaking and vibration, pump the gas out into a clean container and inspect it. This should give you an idea of how much loose debris is clinging to the inside walls.


If it's fairly clean, the tank walls are probably in good condition. Also it will give you an idea of what you will be sending up to the engine when it is first put back into service.

You also might consider cropping out a section of the gas line (where it is rubber) and dropping in a clear fuel filter.

You must be registered for see images attach

That way, for the first few tank fulls you can easily how much crap is being removed from the tank along with the gas - and change the filter as needed. You don't want to be breaking the carburetor open to change that filter every couple of days.

Those are just a couple of homemade ideas - certainly not proven procedures.

I'm wicked cheap, so I can appreciate not junking a tank that is actually perfectly okay. Oh yeah, and I'm lazy as well. I try not to do any work that doesn't have to be done.

 

[Stroked]

How about this:

Fill it with fresh gas.

Let it sit for a week or so.

While it's full, bang the sides and bottom with a rubber mallet every day. This may simulate road vibration and bouncing.

After a week of soaking and vibration, pump the gas out into a clean container and inspect it. This should give you an idea of how much loose debris is clinging to the inside walls.


If it's fairly clean, the tank walls are probably in good condition. Also it will give you an idea of what you will be sending up to the engine when it is first put back into service.

You also might consider cropping out a section of the gas line (where it is rubber) and dropping in a clear fuel filter.

You must be registered for see images attach

That way, for the first few tank fulls you can easily how much crap is being removed from the tank along with the gas - and change the filter as needed. You don't want to be breaking the carburetor open to change that filter every couple of days.

Those are just a couple of homemade ideas - certainly not proven procedures.

I'm wicked cheap, so I can appreciate not junking a tank that is actually perfectly okay. Oh yeah, and I'm lazy as well. I try not to do any work that doesn't have to be done.

^Those are good ideas. I've been called a tightwad as well. I prefer "thrifty"

I'll go one further and say temporarily put a filter before the tank selector valve if you can. That way you can keep the crap in your tank from plugging up the valve.

 

[Boone83K10]

well the picture explains itself...

You must be registered for see images attach

not good. this goo was about 2 inches deep in the bottom... took a couple of good tugs to get the sending unit to pull out of it....ditching this tank and getting a new one... P.S.--- lines from sending unit were clear.

 

[bucket]

well the picture explains itself...

You must be registered for see images attach

not good. this goo was about 2 inches deep in the bottom... took a couple of good tugs to get the sending unit to pull out of it....ditching this tank and getting a new one... P.S.--- lines from sending unit were clear.

Gee ****, that's some nasty stuff!