Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

I am looking to get my fuel tank steam cleaned inside and out but am wondering how do you manage to dry the tank internally and thoroughly?

Can anyone offer up knowledge on this part of the process?

Thanks,
Ian

Only do this if you KNOW the tank is good and solid! Dry it out by blowing hot air through it - old hair dryer would do the job.

Thanks bmc, the tank certainly holds petrol and has a light pitting on the outside other than I think it is pretty sound.

There is a faction who are keen on coating the inside of petrol tanks with POR15 - do this at your own risk - I'm not recommending it all - just mentioning it!

Not heard of POR15 - is this some kind of sealant? I have to remove the tank and thought it the perfect opp' to get it cleaned up. As I will be draining the remaining fuel out I thought it might be worth getting it flushed - That was about as far as I thought i'd go.

That's all I did with my spare Minor tank - just Google for POR 15. The TR7 lads in USA do it - to seal up the notoriously rusty fuel tank! Spare tank in USA are v expensive - even here they are £160 - but I decided to bite the bullet and spend the cash.

can you still get methylated spirit over there ?thats what I would use just to flush and clean tank interior then chuck it out or just let evaporate and see the crud its fetched out .ceeyas

Wash it out with petrol...

beechford wrote:can you still get methylated spirit over there ?thats what I would use just to flush and clean tank interior then chuck it out or just let evaporate and see the crud its fetched out .ceeyas

We aren't allowed to do things like that in this Country for fear of being reported to the Global Warming Police! Anyway, sounds a bit unneccessary unless you have been suffering lots of rubbish in your fuel filter?

If I were worried about rusty internals, I would invest in a tin of "Petseal". Basically a clear resin and hardener, very similar to that used for glassfibre works. You get the worst of the cak out, dry the tank, then swill this stuff around inside. It evenly coats the sides etc and sets off hard as glass. Any loose rubbish left in the tank gets encased in it and is no longer a threat. Works a treat!

Just don't let it block the outlet! But what happens later - if the tank takes a knock, or even just twists as it's screwed into the floor of the car? Will this stuff not just start breaking away??

bmcecosse wrote:Just don't let it block the outlet! But what happens later - if the tank takes a knock, or even just twists as it's screwed into the floor of the car? Will this stuff not just start breaking away??

It still has a certain amount of plasticicty, just like fibreglass resin (unless you use too much hardener of course!), and is mighty strong. Combined with the laminate effect with the steel, it will take a hell of a beating to make it break up/away!

Well - sounds good - and is it fluid enough to 'swill around' - my memories of Gel coat etc (way back - making canoes with scouts) are that it is extremely thick and glutinous - like syrup!

bmcecosse wrote:Well - sounds good - and is it fluid enough to 'swill around' - my memories of Gel coat etc (way back - making canoes with scouts) are that it is extremely thick and glutinous - like syrup!

The only noticeable difference between this and gelcoat is the consistency, distinctly thinner.