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Best way to get debris out of fuel tank?


moroseduck

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Hey folks, 

 

Well, I'm so nearly there, after months of waiting I've finally got my bodywork (most of it...) back from the paint shop and have started putting the Veef back together. 

 

One holdup thought is the fuel tank. For one thing, sometime since I last saw it it's lost one of the rubber cushions from the front mounting. Luckily I've been able to source a replacement online for that. The other issue is it seems to have a fair amount of loose debris inside it - I don't know if this is pre existing junk, or crud from the paint shop, but I obviously need to get it out. 

 

Is water ok to use to rinse it, and given that it can't be fully drained even by tipping it upside down, any advice on how to get water and crud out? 

 

So near, yet still so far 😂😭

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yes shop vac if you have one.

take it to a garage and ask politely is they will blow it out with a compressor.

if you wet the crud inside the tank you may end up with sludge lining the inside of the tank and a whole sticky mess to deal with.

 

personal experience-HONDA Transalp 650

 

 I only put water in the tank once quick swill, it needed welding. l left it upside down to drain after stuffing it full of paper towel. I also "fogged" the tank with a water dispersant think it was fsf369 or sfs365. put it back on the bike ran it for a while 2 tanks worth then changed fuel line and filter. 

 

the tank rusted within a year but think that was to do with my poor welding rather than the exposure to water.

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Thanks gents, glad I thought to ask here before blundering on and making the situation worse! 

 

With any luck I'll have the bike together by the end of the week, once I've worked out the fairings jigsaw puzzle, complicated by a few broken bits and missing screws and bolts😂😬 

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Any reason to not use kerosene or diesel as a solvent / flushing agent vs using water?

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Had a go at vacuuming it out today, and did a lot of turning it upside down and shaking. Quite a lot came out but still sounds like there's quite a lot left in - I began to feel like the shaking and vacuuming was making more 😂

 

Might try taking it to my local garage and seeing if they will have a go with an air compressor. 

 

Could definitely give diesel a go, it's just making sure it's completely drained and avoiding sludge which concerns me. 

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You can't force debris out because of complicated 40-50cm z-shaped path needed to move it out filler opening. That's trouble you've been having. Shaking moves it in straight line, into folds around filler neck. Only lucky few happening to travel in perfect path gets out opening.

 

Other thing you can do is attach section of garden hose to vacuum nozzle to get into corners easier. Debris only has to travel 1cm into hose.

 

Also much easier if you consolidate debris into centre rather than having it spread out along tight crevices around edge. Flip tank over and remove fuel-level sender. Shake/tap upside-down tank to move all pieces to centre of tank in hump above sensor opening. Vacuum out pile.

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Water will rust... stuff will cling... Dump a about 1/2 quart of gas inside the tank and add 20

or 30 good size ball bearing... seal if off and vigorously agitate... flush with gas and repeat until clean...

Remove bearings with a stick magnet...

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