Boiling out gas tank

[nolefansjeep]

OK I bought a 1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief that had sit in a lot for 11 years and of those 11 I am not sure how long the gas cap was missing before I bought it. I have heard people on here talk about sending the tanks to a radiator shop where they couyld 'boil' it out. I have called all around the Cincinnati Ohio area where I am sfrom and all of them say they don't do it anymore and don't know anyone that does. New gas tanks for this thing are like $200 bucks so that is out of the question right now. Anyone have any other thoughts or know of anyone around here that does still boil out tanks? Thanks

[Tatsadasayago]

That is quite the problem.
What I've done in the past was pull the tank, drain completely then invert it over saw horses. I applied high air pressure to the filler tube which blew rust and junk out through the sending unit hole.
After a thorough purge I poured two gallons of muriatic acid (You can buy this at most swimming pool supply stores/warehouses) and sealed the tank. I shook and rolled it several times per hour for most of the day.

I then rented a steam cleaner/pressure washer and worked the emptied tank over. The trick to getting the moisture out is to do this in direct sunlight on a warm day. The steam will heat the tank which will allow it to drain and evaporate any moisture left from the steam cleaning.

Re-installed the tank and put 4 bottles of Malco FAF (Better than HEET) moisture remover along with a full fuel load.

I then added a clear NAPA inline filter before the fuel pump and checked it often for rust and dirt, cleaning as needed.
After a week I had no more particles in the clear filter and the world was A-OK for the fuel system.

[asphaltrockdweller]

This is great info!
Thanks Tatsadasayago:thumbsup:

[Metal Twister]

Ive always taken mine to the radiator shop. They boil it out for about $50.00. Its always worked fine for me? It might be worth a call to a local radiator repair shop...

[letank]

Is this a plastic or metal tank. Plastic is more resistant to water contamination aka rusting the gas tank from inside, as the water will settle at the bottom of the tank.
In any case, get one of those manual priming pump from a boat supply store and pump the gas out, at least most of the gas. BTW was does the gas smell like, varnish or not, if it is not varnishy smell, you can reuse at your own risk. I have a project with 5 year old gas and it still start... but I have added stabilizer.

Then remove the back seat, and the cargo area carpet to access the service flap (79 should have it, someone will chime in) that is probably rivetted, drill the rivets out, do not dig to far down, the gas tank sits less than 1" or so below the cargo floor.

Now all necessary warnings apply, do not smoke, nor do it in a confine area, gas vapors are flammable. Most of us have done it and survived.
Pull the sender/pick up unit, then remove using the pump drain the remaining part of the fluid from the tank, which is the most contaminated with water....

Remove and discard the sock from the pick up tube, if it was still present and install a fuel filter before the fuel pump, at an accessible area, the clear fuel filters from Fram like G2 are good.

It will be a good time to replace all those hard and dried up rubber hoses at the pick up unit.

[Tatsadasayago]

You are most welcome Sir!

This is assuming your tank is metal. My 78 had one.

If it's plastic, the muriatic really won't do any good.

Plastic tanks tend to act like moisture sponges and will 'give up' water long after being drained and dried.



OH, watch that muriatic as it's HARSH on the eyes and lungs.

It's such a good metal cleaner that I used to to do a 'RedNeck' hot tank job on a 340 I rebuilt in the garage. It will actually pull the oil out of cast iron and when it dries looks like orange felt.

It is neutralized and diluted with fresh water so instead of just pouring it out of the tank, you should flood the tank with water (Hot if possible) so you don't do any harm to yourself or the environment when you drain it.

Muriatic acid is used along with chlorine (TriChlor) to balance the Ph in swimming pools and diluted in water is not harmful to people, animals and plants.

[babywag]

Ive always taken mine to the radiator shop. They boil it out for about $50.00. Its always worked fine for me? It might be worth a call to a local radiator repair shop...

What shop? They want $150-$175 around here!!!:eek:

[mrs]

Sounds like my first tank, I bioled it using simple green. Just built a fire and let her burn. When finished turned it upside down and used air to clean it. Once dry replaced it and never had a problem. I did run two inline fuel filters for a while. good luck

[Metal Twister]

What shop? They want $150-$175 around here!!!:eek:

Wow, Guess I really am getting the good guy discount. Of course They build several radiators a year for my customers? maybe a quantity discount of some type? Im in San Diego, you?

[spankyway]

Two things. First there was a place here in Atlanta called Unpaint and they would do a metle tank by the pound. I had a motorcycle tank done for $30.00. It stripped all paint, bondo, grease, and rust off and out of the tank. When I got it back I "creamed" the insode and never had a problem. The other option is there is a salvage yard local that has two FSJ's in it, a 77 and a 79. If you want I could go by and look at the tank and let you know what I see. If you want to buy a used tank I could see what they want for it.

[PeaRat450]

A buddy of mine told me another little trick. Get a couple shorter lengths of lighter weight chain. Drop them in, close it all up, and get a buddy to help you shake and roll it. It knocks off alot of the scale. I haven't dropped my tank yet, but I'm definitely going to try this to see if it actually works.

[sidewinder]

CAUTION

Muriatic Acid (also called Hydrochloric Acid) will eat aluminum. We use it to clean cylinder walls in outboard motors when they have had an aluminum piston melt down. See video link below of how a pop can tab will completely dissappear in the acid in a couple of minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNiKX_7rNI

[mimmp]

I used purple degreaser, fairly stiff, about a quart to a couple of gallons, and put three 150 watt spotlamps under it, turning it occasionally, for a weekend.

[SnowShoe]

BTW 77-79 w/t cherokees do not have the flap under the rear seat...the tank has to be droped to service...I don't recommend trying to cut a hole in the floor to get access on these years unless you make a flap access once the tank has been removed for future use.

[nolefansjeep]

Thank you so much for your guys' advice and help. I decided after reading all of the posts and the costs of getting it boiled out and with the lack of some of the supplies needed I put a gas tank on layaway at BJ's. Thanks again and trust me I will be back for more advice and help. lol