There's rust on dust on a frog on a log in the hole at the bottom of my tank

[MrAtom]

There's not really a hole in my tank

So, as much as I'm confident I can do this, I still don't know everything, and it'd suck a lot if my bike suddenly died in the middle of a sharp turn or when I'm playing in the outskirts of town. If someone picks up on something I'm doing wrong, or something I should know, please let me know. I ran my bike on reserve, and there was some crap at the bottom of the tank and now my bike runs funny and dies at intersections and doesn't like to start. Probably time to clean those carbs. So I pulled the tank, put the gas in my car, and the crap at the bottom of the tank was mostly rust. Also, I noticed the little filter on the reserve filter was just loosely in the tank, not on the petcock itself.

But my main question is, should I clean the petcock? I mean, I figure since crap got into the carbs, it's surely in there too, right? Also, I'm doing a ton of maintenance while my bike is taken apart and I've gotta wait for some parts to get here, any preferred methods to really cleaning out the tank? I was just gonna spray it out with a hose, let it dry out for a couple days and call it good, but I'm sure that'd make at least somebody cringe.

Thanks, guys!

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

........... I ran my bike on reserve, and there was some crap at the bottom of the tank and now my bike runs funny and dies at intersections and doesn't like to start. Probably time to clean those carbs. So I pulled the tank, put the gas in my car, and the crap at the bottom of the tank was mostly rust. Also, I noticed the little filter on the reserve filter was just loosely in the tank, not on the petcock itself.........

If you had rust in the bottom of your tank, then some waters was there as well.

The simplest things that you can do are draining each bowl and cleaning the little filter at the end of the supply hose.

There is no filter inside the tank, only on the pick up tubes of the petcock.

Please, read these:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_far..._%22reserve%22

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_doe...e_tank_work%3F

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Draining_the_carbs

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Rebuild...tcock/fuel_tap

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_...e_fuel_tank%3F

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by Motofool

If you had rust in the bottom of your tank, then some waters was there as well.

So, maybe replace the rubber seal on the top of the tank? I been doing some rain riding.

Originally Posted by Motofool

The simplest things that you can do are draining each bowl and cleaning the little filter at the end of the supply hose.

Yeah, but I've already got the carbs off. Today I went to get some cleaner and I'm just about to go clean 'em out.

Originally Posted by Motofool

There is no filter inside the tank, only on the pick up tubes of the petcock.

Yeah, that's what I meant. Sorry. I guess I'm a little drain bramaged

Oh, and by the by, I already read every one of those links you sent me. That's a great site, man

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

So, maybe replace the rubber seal on the top of the tank? I been doing some rain riding........

I wouldn't replace anything.
There is a drain tube that crosses the interior of the tank and ends up at the rear of the tank, where that long hose going down connects.
Sometimes, that hose gets a kink that blocks the normal drain.

Besides rain intrusion, the air inside the tank produces internal condensation with changes in temperature.
That condensate water drips to the bottom of the tank and remains there.
Keeping the tank full reduces the amount of trapped air and condensation.

[alex.s]

i think they have rust electrolysis services that clean up the inside of the tank for you

[flitecontrol]

If you haven't already, cleaning the tank and installing an inline fuel filter would be wise moves. http://www.hondarebelforum.com/f39/t...ning-7168.html

http://www.hondarebelforum.com/f39/h...ter-13278.html

[MrAtom]

@Motofool man. That's an awesome picture. Thank you.

Originally Posted by alex.s

i think they have rust electrolysis services that clean up the inside of the tank for you

You've gotta consider this. How long is my bike going to last, anyway? Its a beater bike and I'm a new rider. I'm either going to total it or blow it up or something. Think I could get away with spraying a little rust converter in the tank?

[baxtc1]

Motofool, that is an excellent photo of a tank cut open, big thumbs up.
MrAtom, I think putting a hose in there (assuming you are talking water) would be a bad move, during the drying time, I think more surface rust would develop.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

You've gotta consider this. How long is my bike going to last, anyway? Its a beater bike and I'm a new rider. I'm either going to total it or blow it up or something. Think I could get away with spraying a little rust converter in the tank?

i don't know what kind of metal the tank is made of but maybe its possible to put something light but abrasive like maybe perlite in with some gas or oil or something and use that to remove the rust from the inside... i believe most tanks are bare on the inside unless you get into race tanks with bladders and crap.

[kxpower?]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

@Motofool man. That's an awesome picture. Thank you.



You've gotta consider this. How long is my bike going to last, anyway? Its a beater bike and I'm a new rider. I'm either going to total it or blow it up or something. Think I could get away with spraying a little rust converter in the tank?

I had rust, multiple leaks and some kind of epoxy sealer someone else put in years ago. Here's what you do (more or less what I did):

Use water and a few feet of light chain (like you'd use on a swingset) to get most of the old tank liner out. Just put the chain in the tank leaving holding the end of it and shake the sh!t outta the tank, rinse, and repeat till nothing else washes out with the water.

Then a good wash out with dish soap and water to get the last of the gas out of it. Go get a bottle of muriatic acid ($15 dollars I think?), sealed off the hole for the petcock (I used a spare petcock with the tubes removed and some gasket material). Put a gallon or so of water in the tank, then a half gallon of the muriatic acid, then filled it the rest of way with water. I let it sit about an hour, which is when I noticed the little leaks leaking more, then drained it and rinsed it really well with water. What little of the tank I could see very well was nice shiny metal. And remember if the acid eats metal like that just think what it'll do to your skin or eyes. Be careful!

I left it open in the sun a few hours then rinsed it out a couple times with acetone to get the last of the water out, then thinned a cup of red-kote ($30 for a quart) with a cup of acetone and coated the tank per the instructions, waited a few days then re-coated with thinned red-kote.

Since I did the red-kote there's not the slightest leak, and any crap left in the tank is safely sealed into the coating. The materials are about $50, and it's more than enough to do two tanks.

[MrAtom]

I used rust converter. The black coating will probably peel up eventually but I'm sure it'll peel up slower than the rust would crumble my tank.

[alex.s]

if its not leaking, you typically dont want to line it. kxpower gave a really good proceedure with the chain clean and an acid etch. also for pin hole leaks, a high tensile strength chemsafe epoxy would probably do the best job. no idea what redkote is. but high psi chem safe epoxy is awesome. that **** holds everything from seaships to spaceships together. i know and have seen tons of engine builders use it all over the place in engines as gap filler and bonder and the good stuff wont degrade from basically anything.

[flitecontrol]

Another vote for epoxy. Caswell makes a very good epoxy tank sealer http://www.caswellplating.com/restor...nk-sealer.html

I've heard, and experienced, too many failures with flexible liners such as Red Kote, Por-13, Kreem, etc. If the tank just has surface rust, and not large, loose flakes, the epoxy actually adheres to it better than to a smooth tank. As with all products, follow the preparation instructions to get a good result.