GTR R32 Fuel Tank Cleaning

[oktaytrz]

Hi All,

My car have been sitting for years with fuel in the tank and the fuel actually smells pretty bad..

Has anyone cleaned out their fuel tank before? or know of any places that can clean it? I got a quote from a place and they said $399 to get the tank cleaned lol

Any help/recommendation would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

[GTSBoy]

It's a plastic tank. Just syphon it out, put some fresh fuel in it, syphon that out. Rinse and repeat and burn the fuel in the lawn mower.

[BK]

Yep I have cleaned multiple fuel tanks as I have cracked a 32 GTR fuel tank more than once. You're talking about the molasses like shit left from unleaded fuel right ? No, unleaded will not move it like you would think. After much trial and error -

Bleach. Doesn't react with the HDPE the plastic tank is made out of. The bleach bottles are made out of the same material. Get about 8 - 10 litres, leave overnight. Swirl and agitate next day as required. It will bring it back to new.

[oktaytrz]

39 minutes ago, BK said:

Yep I have cleaned multiple fuel tanks as I have cracked a 32 GTR fuel tank more than once. You're talking about the molasses like shit left from unleaded fuel right ? No unleaded will not move it like you would think. After much trial and error -

Bleach. Doesn't react with the HDPE the plastic tank is made out of. The bleach bottles are made out of the same material. Get about 8 - 10 litres, leave overnight. Swirl and agitate next day as required. It will bring it back to new.

Set for it, thanks mate ??

[BK]

Fully serious. Test it on a gummy hose clamp or something else from your tank. It will strip the crap off everything. Obviously make sure your tank is pressure washed afterwards and left to dry, as the last thing you want in your fuel system is bleach. Results may vary depending on the crud in your tank, might need more but it's a good start with 8lt and will 100% work. Please post results for confirmation as I've seen no one recommend it before and has proven for me to be the only sure way that works. If you can seal the tank and invert it even better, as getting it off of the bulkhead area is the hardest part. Good round up weed killer substitute afterwards.

[oktaytrz]

On 11/10/2020 at 7:19 PM, BK said:

Fully serious. Test it on a gummy hose clamp or something else from your tank. It will strip the crap off everything. Obviously make sure your tank is pressure washed afterwards and left to dry, as the last thing you want in your fuel system is bleach. Results may vary depending on the crud in your tank, might need more but it's a good start with 8lt and will 100% work. Please post results for confirmation as I've seen no one recommend it before and has proven for me to be the only sure way that works. If you can seal the tank and invert it even better, as getting it off of the bulkhead area is the hardest part. Good round up weed killer substitute afterwards.

Hi mate,

Here's the results and the process;

1) Empty the old fuel and dispose

2) Degrease the fuel tank inside out

3) Pressure wash is multiple times

4) I put in 12l of bleach and shake the fuel tank to make sure it reaches everywhere

5) Left it overnight and came back the next day and pressure washed it again, and again and again lol 

6) Air dryed

7) Cleaned the outside of the tank and give it a fresh coat of satin black paint

 

[BK]

Told ya, excellent result. Looks like new inside.

[oktaytrz]

6 minutes ago, BK said:

Told ya, excellent result. Looks like new inside.

Worked well, thank you for your recommendation mate!

[Zurlox]

On 10/11/2020 at 5:33 PM, BK said:

Yep I have cleaned multiple fuel tanks as I have cracked a 32 GTR fuel tank more than once. You're talking about the molasses like shit left from unleaded fuel right ? No, unleaded will not move it like you would think. After much trial and error -

Bleach. Doesn't react with the HDPE the plastic tank is made out of. The bleach bottles are made out of the same material. Get about 8 - 10 litres, leave overnight. Swirl and agitate next day as required. It will bring it back to new.

Many thanks @BK!

Put in 10L of bleach, sloshed it around every now and again over 24 hours. Pressure washed it after draining the bleach out. Not perfect, but massive improvement and happy with the results. Pics below, the tank was still wet when I took the before and after shots.

 

Before:

 

After:

[BK]

On 13/01/2023 at 1:19 PM, Zurlox said:

Many thanks @BK!

Put in 10L of bleach, sloshed it around every now and again over 24 hours. Pressure washed it after draining the bleach out. Not perfect, but massive improvement and happy with the results. Pics below, the tank was still wet when I took the before and after shots.

 

Before:

 

After:

No worries, good job. If you persisted for days you would've got that solid stuff off but it does look pretty caked on. Might have needed to use a solvent for that last bit then rebleach to get it 100%

Looks good anyway 👍