My XM211 Fuel Tank

[SturmTyger380]

This latest long weekend I decided to work on the XM211 a bit. So I started killing the rust on the passenger battery ledge. While my solution was doing its job I decided to drain the fuel tank.

The previous owner said it was totally full of real gas. Yeah right. So I used a shaker siphon hose and got it transferring to 5 gallon fuel cans. I think it was probably 80% water in there.

I made three trips with three gas cans to the local recycle place where they let me pour it in where the used gas and oil tank is. So that was about 45 gallons. Whew what a stinky job!

Then too much crud in the bottom for the siphon to work so I put a wash tub under the plug and opened the drain hole. I expected a flood but got only a trickle. Finally I got out as much as I could and put the plug back in. There must be two inches of crud in the bottom of that tank. So the next step is to take off the tank and clean it.

Any tips on cleaning it? Anyone else use the tank liner stuff that coats the insides?

Alan

 

[nattieleather]

Well steam cleaning or solvent tank is the best way to clean a tank. Otherwise take the fuel pump out to open the access to the tank and flush it and use bottle brushes to reach in there and clean the best you can. I haven't used the tank liners that are out there, but a web search will help you find which are good and which one to avoid.

 

[SturmTyger380]

I still have some lye left I might put in there with warm / hot water. Have to be careful with that stuff. Wear gloves, long sleeves and eye protection. I did a smaller tank like that years ago. Not a big monster tank like this. Oh and I do plan on taking the pump assembly out as I am sure it is a goner.

Alan

 

[SturmTyger380]

I have it off now and that is one heavy tank with the pump still in it and all that crud. I now see some rust on the outside that makes me wonder how thin it has become. I know folks have added an external 24 volt fuel pump that works well. If I can get an internal original fuel pump that works, how durable were the pumps? Will I be back in there is a year or so?

Alan

 

[hambone]

The baffle in the tank makes it tough to get all the crud out. There are a couple of acids you can use, available at your local hardware. You can also get something from the parts house but its a lot more expensive than the acid. I put a $45 airtex in-line pump in mine and is working well but alfa heaven has the good one for $125. Once you get your tanked cleaned the sealers work well. Hambone

 

[SturmTyger380]

Yesterday I worked on the tank some more. I had put 3 gallons of lacquer thinner in the tank and sealed it up, sloshed it around and let it sit for 24 hours. I got more rusty looking crud out and since the tank was turned up on the end where the filler cap is I can see a whole pile of crud in that corner. So I will have to scoop that out with something. I can see now there will need to be a number of cleaning runs until it is cleaned out enough to then work on killing the rust.

Blake has suggested simple green. So I will buy some of that and see how that works on the crud.

Alan

 

[hendersond]

After my experience I would spend the money on professionally cleaning and coating. Also the external 24v fuel pump. I cannot begin to guess how much I spent and the time with the original style pumps. I think I have several used and rebuilt pumps, probably even a kit left. I could do some digging if you need, just PM me.

I basically spent a year jacking around with fuel pumps and settled on one for a generator or something. I searched 24v fuel pump on ebay and found one with the correct psi and lift. Runs very reasonable right now. I started with a variety of aftermarket pumps and they did not last or hydro-locked or something. Of course I was running hundreds of miles. I purchased an Ingersoll pump that ran $170. I'm mostly happy with it. I say mostly because it operates at the OEM pressure. I ran a few pumps that were 8-11 psi and the truck was amazing! Power was drastically increased. That big yellow beast would travel at 62mph no problem. it got 3mpg. Now, maybe 6 mpg at low 50s mph. That is where it should be.

Oh yea, My cleaning loosened the rust and it started to leak 3 weeks later. That is why I would coat it.

 

[wdbtchr]

I've had good experiences with Kreem from JC Whitney. I did my first on my 580 Case backhoe, after pressure washing as best as I could, I put about 5 pounds of pea gravel in it and bungee corded it to the center of my Cub tractor and mowed the front field. It came out amazingly clean and I did two coats of Kreem, it's held up about 15 years now. Using basically the same procedure I did my four 5 gallon army cans including one that leaked around the bottom seam. Two coats same excellent life. I latter did the same thing with the Cub tank except I strapped it to one of the duals on my 5 ton due to it's length.

I have no idea what you could tumble clean a tank the size of one off a M211 but I'm sure it would work.opcorn:

 

[SturmTyger380]

Have to put the tank cleaning on hold as we have had so much rain its a quagmire around the work shop and I have to tote the tank around with a hand truck.

I did think about strapping the tank on the forks of the tractor and shaking it really good. I have what I think is an NOS fuel pump. A friend had it from someplace and did not need it. I need to test it with batteries.

What do you guys think of the Facet fuel pumps on the right of this page? The 24 volt ones. I might have to run a pressure regulator.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/pdf/2011Individual/Cat11260.pdf

 

[cmpman]

I just cleaned a tank that was left with fuel in it for 28 years. To look at it I thought it was hopeless. I used acetone (available at home depot) and by the time I finished it was as clean as a whistle inside. You will want to remove the fuel pump assembly first, or you will turn the rubber plug and the rubber mounts to goo (if the laquer thinner hasn't already done that).

I used a standard military external pump until I got my NOS pump and rubber mounts in. The internal pumps, once in properly, last decades. I got my NOS pump from Saturn for $75, and the little rubber mounts from Brian Asbury in Canada. If you do use an external pump, you will have to close off a little drain hole in the pickup tube near the top, or the electric pump will just suck air.

A friend did the tractor thing with bren carrier tanks years ago. He filled them with pea gravel, attached them to the wheel hubs, and drove the fields with them for a day. They came out very clean, but that will also damage the galvanizing inside a tank.

 

[SturmTyger380]

Worrying about the rubber mount I took the pump assembly out. The rubber looks fine. There is a number of items rattling around inside the fuel pump housing. I will take that apart another day.

The fuel tank is in a shed. Right now its about 35 degrees, rainy and windy so that is all I got done today.

 

[cmpman]

Good to hear the thinners did not destroy the rubber. I used both laquer and acetone initially, and was not sure which cause the rubber to convert to goo.

What I would give to see temps above freezing again. We have been consistently around -15°F these days.

 

[SturmTyger380]

I decided to take the fuel pump assembly apart late this afternoon before the sun went down and it got cold.

I took the filter screens off and the pump was totally rusted, so much it was in two pieces.

Anyone cleaned the filter screens? What did you use?

Alan

 

[SturmTyger380]

I had time this weekend to work on the fuel pump and tank. I wanted to slide the inner part of the pump housing from the outer part so I could get to the pump. But it would not budge. So I decided to use the torch on it to heat the outside so it would expand. Well all that stuff that looks like rust actually catches fire. So the housing got nice an hot before I covered it with an old rug to snuff it out. A few minutes later it came right apart.

To work on the tank I made sure it was level and put some hot water in it and then added a bottle of drain cleaner that is real lye. Since this tank is so large I added more water and then another bottle of drain cleaner. After letting it sit full for 24 hours I emptied it and then used water to clean it out.

Now the bottom 3/4 of the tank is clean metal. The top 1/4 has a coating of rust. So now the plan is to get some small sharp stones to add and then try to shake the tank so the stones will try and knock some of the rust off. Then I will decide how to remove the rust.

 

[SturmTyger380]

Been too busy to work on the tank. I can get my arm inside the tank where the pump mounts. So now I am thinking of cutting holes in the baffle wall and using my re-bar and doing electrolysis on that end of the tank and then laying it down and doing the same on the open end of the tank.

 

[SturmTyger380]

Well it has been a long road working on this fuel tank. Sometime in Jan I bought some molasses and turned the tank on end with the pump and filler opening on the up end. I poured in the molasses and hot water. Then I added enough water to fill the tank so the water level was just at the pump opening. I figured the molasses would need time to work. I ended up giving it about two months due to other things taking my time. (It got kind of nasty looking too.)

Fast forward to last week. I drained the fuel tank of the molasses and rinsed it. Then I cleaned it with a cleaner. I borrowed one of those cameras on a long cable that allows you to see inside stuff. Well I can say the molasses did not do much.

Next I got muriatic acid and made a solution in water. Then rinsed the tank about 4 times. Then I used the camera again and can see that the acid worked well on the part of the tank that was not heavenly rusted. The top 1/4 of the tank is just too rusty for the acid to work.

So what's next? I think I will cut a rectangular hole in the end of the tank where the baffle is, large enough for me to reach in and sandblast.

So once I am done with the hole how easy is it to weld it shut again?

Alan

 

[cmpman]

I would suggest you solder it shut as opposed to welding.

A trick that a friend did on a Bren carrier tank was to add a bunch of pea gravel in to it, close it up, and he strapped it to the rim of the tractor he was using that day. End of day he washed out the gravel, and the inside was sparkling clean.

Not sure how rural you are, or if you have access to a tractor. I would not suggest doing this with a highway vehicle though.

 

[SturmTyger380]

I did use some sharp stones in the tank and strapped it to the forks of my tractor to shake it. Its a 60 gallon tank so its hard to strap to a wheel.

The gravel did get a lot of rust but there is just a lot there.

Alan

 

[SturmTyger380]

I had a thought on the drive home from work. I can get my arm inside the tank where the pump opening is. Instead of cutting a hole in the outside of the tank I could cut a hole in the baffle. Then I could get the sand blasting nozzle in there. Then when it gets nice and clean weld the baffle shut and who cares if it leaks or not. I will try some more muriatic acid full strength before I cut. But it sounds like a plan.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I wondered if I over-thought it when I pulled my fuel tank off and had a couple of different views given to me.

One camp said just rinse the loose stuff out of the tank, add an in-line filter, drive and do it again.

The other camp said take the fuel tank to a rad shop and let them deal with it. There's always a good, better and best scenario.

I've done it several different ways now and don't really see a difference in the after-market filters. I'm just happier knowing Goose has a spotless tank so I can see where you're going with this.

The cream liners didn't seem to have enough pro's to convince me to use them and I'm guessing your finish will just be cleaner and better. Always tough getting sand out of anything but it can be done with enough flushing. The sand challenge is one of the best reasons to use a 1/2" pebble but it all depends on what end result you're looking for. You should be able to bend the first baffle out of the way enough to reach into the corners so can't see why it wouldn't work. Safety first.

There's lots of ways to shake a tank and we used the girl friends hammock one time. Lay the tank on the hammock one side at a time. Tie it up and shake it so the side down feels the scrubbing of your chosen rock. Flip 4x and repeat. We used Crown Royal when we did it so make sure you're hydrated because the longer you do it, the better the result. Get soldier b on the other end of the hammock and shake er' back and forth. We were also singing, "In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight" by the end because the sound of the rocks will just set the beat. If you try this method please record it.

You can also bag it and hang it over your head standing underneath it shaking it back and forth for a 'one manner' but you should have a soldier b with you when you stand under something heavy so while he's there, ya don't need to stand under it.

I do know that welding any kind of tank is extremely dangerous so I farm that out to the experts and don't recommend I help you with that. Jersyhick had a tank with a step cut into it so if a guy knows what he's doing, anything is possible.

All tanks can be welded, some will only be welded once.

PICS please