Recommend method for cleaning fuel tank

[CheemsK1500]

My '84 K1500 sat dormant for several years before I bought it and made it run again. I siphoned the tank and removed the Pepsi colored gas from it. After driving it around some, it looks like some crud has broken loose from the bottom and it keeps jamming my fuel filter. I'm about to drop the tank and clean it properly. What method do ya'll recommend to give it a proper cleaning? Thanks.

 

[Vbb199]

Gas tank cleaning

OK, so wasn't sure where to post this, this seemed like the best place, but I'm looking to clean all the stuff out of my gas tank. 3 years of gas sitting in it exposed to the open air has done it some harm... There's like a gunk in the bottom, I'm NOT ok with sending that **** thru my 502...

www.gmsquarebody.com

I ended up throwing the tank away because they can be had so cheaply online

Nothing I tried helped the gunk in my case, it was thick

But that same motor is also now in my 79' which got a brand new 1 year only 87 c10 baffled saddle tank.

 

[CheemsK1500]

Gas tank cleaning

OK, so wasn't sure where to post this, this seemed like the best place, but I'm looking to clean all the stuff out of my gas tank. 3 years of gas sitting in it exposed to the open air has done it some harm... There's like a gunk in the bottom, I'm NOT ok with sending that **** thru my 502...

www.gmsquarebody.com

I ended up throwing the tank away because they can be had so cheaply online

Nothing I tried helped the gunk in my case, it was thick

But that same motor is also now in my 79' which got a brand new 1 year only 87 c10 baffled saddle tank.

Thanks, that's a very informative thread. I might bite the bullet and get another tank, depending on how severe the current one looks. This is a dual tank truck, so I get to do this twice.

 

[85K304SPD]

Its not as hard as you think it will be. The emptier the better.

 

[Bextreme04]

I've done it with a few tanks using just water and rocks or chains. If its really bad, put some diesel in there and drop a medium sized chain in. Shake the heck out of it and it should take just about everything off the inside. Don't be afraid to use water to clean it out, just turn it upside down and let dry outside for a day or so and it will be fine.

 

[CheemsK1500]

I've done it with a few tanks using just water and rocks or chains. If its really bad, put some diesel in there and drop a medium sized chain in. Shake the heck out of it and it should take just about everything off the inside. Don't be afraid to use water to clean it out, just turn it upside down and let dry outside for a day or so and it will be fine.

I might try and see what happens when I put a pressure washer wand in the tank.

 

[Grit dog]

If it's at all on it's way to rusting through (they're thin), just spend 10 minutes and $100 and have a new one shipped to your door.
If it's just varnish and crud. Eat the varnish out with some good solvent and then de-scale it with rocks or chain, rinse, dry, and reinstall.

Have heard mixed reviews about the spray in lining for fuel tanks that are rusted on the inside.. Don't think I'd do that.

 

[CheemsK1500]

If it's at all on it's way to rusting through (they're thin), just spend 10 minutes and $100 and have a new one shipped to your door.
If it's just varnish and crud. Eat the varnish out with some good solvent and then de-scale it with rocks or chain, rinse, dry, and reinstall.

Have heard mixed reviews about the spray in lining for fuel tanks that are rusted on the inside.. Don't think I'd do that.

I did not even know that was a thing. I can see why spraying any sort of coating into a tank filled with something known to eat through various kinds of paint can be a bad idea.

 

[CalSgt]

Drop the tank and take a look before you make up your mind, it might just be the filter sock on the sending unit disintegrating.

 

[Grit dog]

I did not even know that was a thing. I can see why spraying any sort of coating into a tank filled with something known to eat through various kinds of paint can be a bad idea.

And it's like $50-60/qt...so again, a new tank is a competitive option.

 

[bedwards]

I'd drop them and look first. Mine got to where it couldn't go 75 miles without stopping the filter up and stalling. I cleaned them with a brush on a flexible heavy wire and they were shiny. I also flushed the lines. It still took replacing the filters several times before i got it all out.

 

[SquareRoot]

My '84 K1500 sat dormant for several years before I bought it and made it run again. I siphoned the tank and removed the Pepsi colored gas from it. After driving it around some, it looks like some crud has broken loose from the bottom and it keeps jamming my fuel filter. I'm about to drop the tank and clean it properly. What method do ya'll recommend to give it a proper cleaning? Thanks.

Replacement. They're dirt cheap at rock auto.

 

[Camar068]

Compare to amazon and do the math with the same part # before you order.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

BBs, ball bearings, old nuts and bolts, clean pee stone, ect in the tank, with vinegar. Leave it for a day or 2, shake it around side to side every once and a while. Then if that doesnt do it, toilet bowl cleaner and same deal. Then clean with old gas and done. That's how I did my old jeep tank, worked well

 

[67ventwindow]

I have cleaned tanks out with rocks, marbles, chain and the like. It has always worked well. I usually run a cleanable glass tube filter to see if I still have issues. Then reinstall the standard filter after a month.