Cleaning Motorcycle Gas tank
Hello, I just bought a 1975 Suzuki GT750 Motorcycle. This bike has been sitting in a barn for the last 22 years. I am going to tear it down and clean it up. How do I clean the gas tank out? Looks to be empty but tons of sludge etc etc. Do they make a cleaner for this? Any help would be great. Thanks I've used solvents such as MEK or Laquer Thinner, but never on sludge/varnish 22 years old. They used to make a liquid liner for this. You just pour the stuff in the tank and slosh it around until you think it's coated the entire interior surface. It dries into a hard coating. I'll bet your friendly motorcycle dealership has just what you need. Hello: ZR600 The suggestions offered are correct. Check with the local motorcycle dealer and possibly an auto part stores too. Once cleaned out, use the tank liner sealant suggested by slider. Worked for me may years ago on another old motorcycle I once had....many years ago. Excuse me, must admit. Also interested in the model of motorcycle... 2 cycle or 4 cycle engine? Air cooled or water cooled? Maybe the 2 cycle 750 Water Buffalo.... Sharp Advice Web Host Forums Monitor You can also clean the inside of the tank by mechanical means. Drain the tank. Remove the tank. Remove the pet****. Remove the cross-over tube - you had to remove one side when you removed the tank. Seal the pet**** with duct tape. Place a number of small ball bearings in the tank and some lacquer. thinner. Close the filler cap. Shake the tank. Flush the crude. Repeat as necessary. Remove the ball bearings. Flush the tank again with lacquer thinner. Apply the liner as slider suggests (available at bike shops). Re-install the pet**** after cleaning it out. Luck. If the tank just has sludge in it, you can use something as simple as oven cleaner (bearing in mind that it is an acid.....take appropriate precautions for yourself and your paint job). If it is rust, the mechanical method already mentioned works well. If you have rusting to the point of needing to re-line it, be careful. I have read several posts on liners complaining bitterly about the stuff peeling back off and getting everywhere (ie-carbs). I'm not saying don't use them, just do a little research and get a reputable product. Good luck! FYI.....Honda 1979 CX500 was the first liquid cooled bike Originally Posted by Sharp Advice Hello: ZR600 The suggestions offered are correct. Check with the local motorcycle dealer and possibly an auto part stores too. Once cleaned out, use the tank liner sealant suggested by slider. Worked for me may years ago on another old motorcycle I once had....many years ago. Excuse me, must admit. Also interested in the model of motorcycle... 2 cycle or 4 cycle engine? Air cooled or water cooled? Maybe the 2 cycle 750 Water Buffalo.... Sharp Advice Web Host Forums Monitor The product you are looking for is called Kreem, available at any motorcycle shop for about $35. Then, hop over to wal mart and buy a big box of STEEL bb's and a magnet-on-a-stick (for fishing them out with). Something worth mentioning! I have used the liner before with good results. I use(d) 1/4 inch nuts with the star washers attached. Or you could just use a couple small packets of those type washers. They do a much better job of breaking up the rust and scale that gets trapped in the corners. Good Luck, Billy Today I cleaned out a cruddy fuel tank from a riding mower with a handfull of fine crushed rock and a pressure washer to stir it around. It literally sandblasted the inside. There was no rust in my tank but you would have to be carefull doing this to a badly rusted one. . I just bought a 1979 KZ 1300A1 and the tank had 1/8 of varnish in it, I used 100 1/4 nuts and a gallon of Bahr concrete floor etcher/cleaner and in about an hour on and off of shaking it was perfectly clean. I removed the lid and the pet**** and ducktaped them closed. when done, wash it out with alot of water then put it back on the bike and fill it to the top with gas and add a couple ozs. of motor oil to coat the tank, If you dont put gas in it by morning it will have a coat of rust on it. please use rubber gloves the stuff is nasty. I hopr this mite help somebody. Thanks Kevin get some kerosene and a cup of BB`S .put a quart of kero and the cup of bb`s in the tank put fuel cap on and shake.may have to do this a couple of times but this works and it is cheap. I have used a .05N solution of Muratic Acid to clean some fairly heavy sludge/rust buildup. CAREFUL!! It is an acid. Mixed up some baking soda in hot water for rinse and neutralizing the acid. The tank liners recommended have worked well for me. Have done many old VW Bettle tanks with good results. See Ya! Tony I also have 74 Suzuki gt-750 (3 cyl,watecooled,2 stroke) and i used aquarium gravel and WD-40 to clean tank. worked fine !! Mostly rust !! You can buy a kit for around $30.00. It uses phosphoric acid to remove the rust and etch the tank. You can also buy the acid at a chemical supply store or maybe a drug store can get it for you. After the acid cleaning etch. You then flush the tank with soap and water. Then put in a pint of rubbing alcohol and shake it around. This helps remove any remaining water. Before you put in the sealer make sure that all the water is removes. I used an air hose to blow it out and the let it dry in the sun. Then they use a lacquer based sealer that you pour into the tank and shake it around. Then drain out the extra sealer and leave the tank dry. I think buying the kit is the best way to go. But you can buy the acid, alcohol, sealer seperately and maybe save some money. Be carefull with the acid. I hope this helps you. Headgrub, Thanks for the tips. This post is three years old and hopefully ZR600 can let us know how he/she made out. You bring up a very good suggestion with the use of phosphoric acid. Something I failed to point out is that although muriatic acid will do a good job of attacking the rust, it will also eat the base metal and will leave a coating that would need to be neutralized. Muriatic/sulphuric acid can be quite useful in how aggressive it is but not always the best choice for steel. I would try this one soulution cleans the tank one preps the tank and one re coats the tank good stuff...22yr old sludge is nothing compared to some stuff that ive gotten http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gas-T...WDVWQQtcZphoto Originally Posted by Miffery FYI.....Honda 1979 CX500 was the first liquid cooled bike What makes you say that bike was the first liquid cooled bike? Didn't Honda make a goldwing before that? Wasn't there a 1978 CX500? Andy, check the dates on the thread. It started over 5 years ago. Hopefully he got his tank cleaned by now. And yes, Honda did make a 1978 liquid cooled CX500.
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