I knew the tank needed attention because it had sat for a number of years and it had a pungent varasol smell when I was messing with the fuel pump. I bought one of the POR15 gas tank kits yesterday and started on the cleaning today. I drained close to 5 gallons of bad gas and the tank has a bunch of gunk in it. Lots of rust sediment and some bigger flakes.
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Gently tapping the tank with a rubber mallet continues to produce gunk.

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And more gunk. There's probably a pound or more in that plastic bag and I can still hear it in there.
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I plan to put some gravel in there with a gallon or so of diesel and shake it around and see if I can get some more of the rust loose. This seems like an extraordinary amount of gunk and I haven't even started with the POR 15 kit yet. Will the POR sealer kit properly applied return this tank to usable condition? Or is it too far gone?

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That's pretty bad. Don't count on the sealant to plug anything but pinholes. Any areas that are weak will eventually fail. New tanks are available at pretty reasonable prices, personally a tank that bad would scare me. Can you see if the chunks are coming off the baffles, or off the bottom of the tank?

 

I agree with Ross. Tanks are too easily replaced to mess with one that's that big of a mess. It's an integral part of having your truck operate properly and dependably. It's no fun being stranded over something so simple to totally eliminate.

 

It's a goner. Part of the problem - in addition to the obvious - is that the cleaner you get the tank, the more exposed the metal degradation will become. You'll clean your way to gas sieve.

Sorry chief, looks like a new / replacement tank is in your future.

DW

 

Mike,

My ebay source has new stock gas tanks for about $195. The POR would only be a bandache on the problem. Check out ebay and get a new tank. Good luck!

 

i had about the same thing on my 55 f-100 i did same thing you did with the gravel..could not afford a new tank at that time. after i put the tank back on .i got me 2 of the inline fuel filters the plastic see through ones an put it between the tank an the fuel pump. put the other one under the seat . thenn ever cpl weeks i would replace it.depends on how much you drive it when you need to replace the filter. it worked for me.

 

When I first got my truck, I couldn't drive it more than 1/2 a mile or so before it would just die. Turned out to be a plugged fuel filter. I replaced it, but it would fill up with gunk in less than a months time, requireing replacement. Finally getting sick of this, and looking out for the better health of my truck, I removed the tank for investigation. Turns out I had a tank containg as much gunk as yours looks to have. Mine did not leak, and the exterior was not bad, but the interrior was awful. I boiled mine out at a local radaitor shop, coated it inside and out, and re-installed. I also replaced most of the metal fuel lines with new flexiable rubber lines. No issues since. Now I replace the filter every season, just as a regular matinence item. It contains some traces of crud, but that's what it is there to catch!

 

I love this forum. there you go - no matter what you do you will be following top notch advice.

 

The fuel tank in my 78 F250 was in the same condition, and my tank is unavailable in the aftermarket, so I had to clean mine out.

Brought it to the local rad shop, had it tanked, and then lined it with the tank lining chemical. No problems since.

 

My problem was resolved when I put the diesel fuel in to rinse the tank and discovered a small hole/leak. It had not been there but I guess with all the rusted material that flaked off and came out it was ripe to spring a leak. I'm just glad it did before I invested anymore time in cleaning the tank. I had not even opened the POR15 cleaning kit so I will try and sell that to recoup a few $$ to put toward a new tank. Dennis Carpenter is local so I will drive up there tomorrow and get a new one. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Wow that's a lot of "gunk". I wouldn't try to repair it either. There are a lot of stock gas tanks sitting around/swap meets that hold fluid/have minimal damage, like the one in my garage lol.

 

Id replace it too if it had holes seeing how close u are to Dennis-Carpenter.

 

My old tank was full of brown fuel. I had it professionally cleaned and managed to salvage it, but I then replaced the entire line and pump right up to the carb on the 239 flathead. Made a world of difference. I also used a 5/16" line which helped a lot also. It is the one area I wanted to be sure that I wasn't screwing up!

 

Nothing worse than a marginal fuel system! My tank didn't appear too bad, but I was constantly getting stuck float needles, random fuel pump stoppage, etc. I couldn't trust it enough to drive more than a couple miles from home. Then I used the Eastwood kit for the tank and put in all new lines. When I got the old lines out, they were packed solid with very fine rust sludge. I haven't had a single problem since doing it all and doing it right.

 

In addition to a new sending unit, I am planning on replacing everything from the tank to the fuel pump.