What is a cleaned and resealed tank???

[gtzero]

Hi All,

I need your opinion on this. I sent my tank out to have it cleaned and resealed. I also asked them to remove the fuel sock. The shop I spoke with said that they do 4 steps:

Acid wash the tank
Chemical wash the tank
Pressure test the tank
Reseal the tank

I dropped the tank off on Thursday morning. They called me Thursday late afternoon saying it was finished. I went to pick it up this morning, Saturday.
When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised that they had repainted the exterior of the tank. I inspected the inside of the tank and saw that the fuel sock was still there. They said they would remove it today. So it means another trip.

But more than this, the inside of the tank didn't look much different from when I gave it to them. There was still a bit of rust around the fuel sock outlet. I asked about this and he said it has been exposed to the air and that it was nothing to worry about.

Also, the inside was not resealed. I don't know what it should look like when it is resealed but there was definitely nothing on the inside of the tank. And when I asked about the resealing, they said it was on the outside of the tank. They also argued that if you reseal the interior, the resealant could get into the gas. I wasn't very happy with this.

And then I noticed that the top of my tank, which if I remember correctly should be flat, is now puffed out! I asked is this a result of the pressure testing. And they said they use very little pressure when testing for leaks. So how does my tank end up being puffed out as if someone tried to inflate it?

I'm going to the Eastwood site to read up on resealing now. But I'd like your take on what I've just described above. I'm not very happy. I was planning on having my car back together this weekend.

Thanks,

Manny

[nobody]

I'm sorry Manny but it seems you already answered alot of your own questions. The reason you took it to them was internal rust not a leak. Since alot of gas you buy has some degree of water in it the rust will come right back. All the professional grade rust killers and sealers go inside the tank. I think I'd be getting it back for not doing what was asked and looking for a POR 15 dealer in the area.

[soybean]

I resealed the tank for the Red one the other week using POR 15s sealer. Worked very well and didn't take but a little while. The fuel sock was a tough little bugger even with the tool that has been described here. Check your gasket from the fuel tank sender to the tank, you will probally need a new one. Mine disintegrated when I took the sender out. You may as well do an Ohm check on the sender while it's out, using Destecs notes on the sender. HTH, Jarrell

[gtzero]

I resealed the tank for the Red one the other week using POR 15s sealer. Worked very well and didn't take but a little while. The fuel sock was a tough little bugger even with the tool that has been described here. Check your gasket from the fuel tank sender to the tank, you will probally need a new one. Mine disintegrated when I took the sender out. You may as well do an Ohm check on the sender while it's out, using Destecs notes on the sender. HTH, Jarrell

Hi Jarrell,

How much POR-15 did you use? Is a pint enough? Did you also use their cleaner and Metal Etcher? And about how much time should I put aside from start to end?

Thanks,

Manny

[soybean]

I used their standard gas tank sealer and had a gracious plenty of it left over. It comes with everything needed to do the job with. Here's the link to it. http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=357 The only thing I used that wasn't listed was the Marine clean, but your tank has already been cleaned, so I don't think you'd need it. The inside of the tank after it was relined was a silver color, as was their product coming out of the can. If you get it follow their instructions to the letter. I was very pleased with the results. HTH, Jarrell

[gtzero]

I used their standard gas tank sealer and had a gracious plenty of it left over. It comes with everything needed to do the job with. Here's the link to it. http://www.por15.com/product.asp?productid=357 The only thing I used that wasn't listed was the Marine clean, but your tank has already been cleaned, so I don't think you'd need it. The inside of the tank after it was relined was a silver color, as was their product coming out of the can. If you get it follow their instructions to the letter. I was very pleased with the results. HTH, Jarrell

Hi Jarrell,

One last question. How smelly is this stuff? The reason I ask is my fiancee is extremely sensitive to smells. A bloodhound would be envious of her nose. If it's really smelly stuff, I'll need to do the work at the far back of my yard. If not, then I'd rather do it in an open garage.

Thanks,

Manny

[soybean]

It didn't seem to be potent to me, but I have very bad sinuses. The only thing that will bother you is your arms, as I was constantly turning the tank to get it lined completely. Took about an hour to do it, taking breaks ocassionally. I let it sit a couple of times on the bottom of the tank, as I noticed a brazed part where it had had a leak before. After it was done, and the leftover poured out, I let the tank air out and cure for about 3 days before I taped up all the openings to store it until winter. Jarrell

[gtzero]

It didn't seem to be potent to me, but I have very bad sinuses. The only thing that will bother you is your arms, as I was constantly turning the tank to get it lined completely. Took about an hour to do it, taking breaks ocassionally. I let it sit a couple of times on the bottom of the tank, as I noticed a brazed part where it had had a leak before. After it was done, and the leftover poured out, I let the tank air out and cure for about 3 days before I taped up all the openings to store it until winter. Jarrell

Hi Jarrell (or anyone else),

I'm about to seal my tank and was wondering what method is best for plugging up all the outlets of the tank. How did you plug up the outlets while you were sloshing stuff around inside?

Thanks,

Manny

[soybean]

On mine, I used Duct tape to seal the sender outlet. On the return lines, I used pieces of wire the appropriate diameter of the holes, inserted them, left a little hanging out and duct taped them as well. Do all the cleaning etc, outside where anything that spills won't get on benchs etc. HTH, Manny

On a similar note, I noticed when I sealed mine there appeared to be some sort of round tank? inside, looking from the back of the tank through the sending unit, to the left. 2 lines went to it. Does anyone know the purpose of this tank? Thanks, Jarrell

[namba209 (R.I.P.)]

Jarrell, I'm guessing it's an expansion chamber. I saw the same thing on Willit? but didn't see any lines going to it. RallyBob had a blurb on it when he rebuilt the tank on his EFI/Trubo thread some time ago. HTH.

[gtzero]

On mine, I used Duct tape to seal the sender outlet. On the return lines, I used pieces of wire the appropriate diameter of the holes, inserted them, left a little hanging out and duct taped them as well. Do all the cleaning etc, outside where anything that spills won't get on benchs etc. HTH, Manny

On a similar note, I noticed when I sealed mine there appeared to be some sort of round tank? inside, looking from the back of the tank through the sending unit, to the left. 2 lines went to it. Does anyone know the purpose of this tank? Thanks, Jarrell

Hi Jarrell,

I'm between stages right now waiting for the tank to dry a bit before putting in the Metal Ready. I ran out and got some duct tape and came home and saw your approach. Thanks.

The tank sure gets heavy after awhile!

Manny

[soybean]

Manny, after you do the Metal ready treatment, let it sit for a day or so to completely dry out. I left it out in the sun, (90 degree days) for two days before using the liner treatment. There will be about 3/4 of the liner stuff left over. It is useless after the treatment. While the tank dried, I let it sit up between 2 sawhorses for two days, so that any sealer left would settle on the bottom. You might have to run a tap through the bottom fitting, I haven't made it that far yet. Just taped and put it up until winter. If you thought your arms were tired, what until you roll the sealer around the tank for a 1/2 hr.

A question on my earlier one that Ron replied to, Why would there be an expansion tank needed in the gas tank? I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow. Jarrell

[namba209 (R.I.P.)]

Jarrell, it's a little thing called thermodynamics. Gas in an underground tank is relatively cool, you pump it in your gas tank and fill it up with the cool gas. The outside air temp is, depending on where you live substantially warmer than the gas. As the gas comes up to the ambient air temp it expands, taking up more space than it did originally when you filled the tank. It has to go somewhere, so the manufacturer puts an expansion chamber in the fuel tank, or plumbs in a remote overflow tank. With todays sealed gas tanks, it is needed or the tank will balloon or possibly leak because of hydraulic action. Hope that explains it for you.

[soybean]

Thanks Ron, I learned something new again. Jarrell

[gtzero]

Manny, after you do the Metal ready treatment, let it sit for a day or so to completely dry out. I left it out in the sun, (90 degree days) for two days before using the liner treatment. There will be about 3/4 of the liner stuff left over. It is useless after the treatment. While the tank dried, I let it sit up between 2 sawhorses for two days, so that any sealer left would settle on the bottom. You might have to run a tap through the bottom fitting, I haven't made it that far yet. Just taped and put it up until winter. If you thought your arms were tired, what until you roll the sealer around the tank for a 1/2 hr.

A question on my earlier one that Ron replied to, Why would there be an expansion tank needed in the gas tank? I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow. Jarrell

Hi Jarrell,

Thanks for the advice. I used a hair dryer and dried the tank in what seemed to be a half hour. You're not kidding about the arms being tired but let's not forget my back.

I let the tank drain last night and I had it at a slight angle because I was paranoid that I might not have covered every inch of the tank. When I removed the tape covering the sending unit's hole, the tape wasn't 100% covered with sealant. So I angled the tank slightly towards that opening. But it also sent stuff down to one of the smaller outlets and it's almost plugged up. I guess I'll have to tap that one.

Anyways, thanks for sharing. It was quite an experience.

Manny

[laddyopelgt]

Hi;
How does the tank screen come out. I can not seen to get it.??
Also the fuel sending unit/ how does that work/ All I got was a aluminum tube with a couple holes in mine. I something missing?
Just got this tank to replace a leaker.
Thanks Lad

[soybean]

Lad, check out these 2 threads. The first address' the fuel sock and the tool that Otto came up with. The 2nd maybe of some help about your sending unit and what's inside it.
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthr...ight=fuel+sock
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthr...t=sending+unit
There are many more threads about it, run a search in the fuel system section. HTH, Jarrell