How would you clean out a rusty fuel tank? How to clean a rusty fuel tank on an antique tractor. How to ensure the fuel in you tractor stays clean. #farmallfanatic #farmall #antiquetractors
I shoulda took a video of how I cleaned the tank on one of my Hs. It was full of flakey rust and really bad gas. And some kind of tar crap. I cleaned all the big stuff out and rinsed it out a bunch of times with some zep degreaser. Then I put probably 8 pounds of nuts and bolts in it, strapped it to a tire on another tractor and went for few hour ride. Rinsed it out a bunch of times after that and now it’s good to go.
Keep up the good videos. It's good to learn how others do things and I know you are going to get the Super C straightened out. Handy little tractors. Especially with the fast hitch when you want to move equipment around.
I can't wait to watch the governor rebuild! My Farmall Cub gov has a sort of lag in the initial take of pulling. Been to nervous to tear into the gov. I'm glad I get to watch thanks FF.
Something we did to help our Super A when it started surging was to put a zip tie around the intake manifold to the throttle linkage. It adds a little bit of resistance to prevent fast movements of the linkage. It's definitely not a permanent fix, but it made the tractor behave until we had time to do a proper fix.
If you go through all the effort to take a tank off to give it that level of deep clean, they also make a couple of epoxy products specifically for gas tanks you can paint the interior with and you'll never have to worry about rust in the tank ever again.
That's a great idea to use vinegar to clean it out ! I like RU-vid as well to document our garden . I can't count the times I went back to see when I planted or harvested something . I hope you have a great evening !
That one, I would use a half gallon of Muratic acid, top up with water, soak overnight, drain, rinse! Good video.fill completly with gas to avoid a flash rust!
I've seen guys take powdered citric acid and dilute it in water, a handful of bolts and give er the shimmy shake. Then, they come back with water and baking soda to neutralize the acid. Rinse it out and your good to go. Just a thought. Any kind of acid would work if the tank isn't too bad. If it's really bad, I'd go with muriatic acid and water.
I watched so many videos on cleaning motorcycle gas tanks. Your video is very good. I think I will use the Vinegar. Have a great day. Awesome tractors.
The garden hose vs. pressure washer debate. Sometimes volume trumps pressure Thank you for explaining the process of cleaning a tank. Probably would have never known how to do it
Your older vid on the M carb really helped me with our 300U carb. The only diff is the darn choke arm is on the other side (awkward). The float kept sticking bc the new one was fatter! I had to adjust many times (no gas, pouring gas...) before realizing you can *hear* if its free through the air intake before putting it on by tipping it.
The last time I had to clean a fuel tank it was on my H. Even with a stand pipe I couldn't keep it running. I took it off and power washed it. I figured it would probably reveal any bad spots. It cleaned up good and I had no more problems.
As a motorcyclist I have gotten hold of some old bikes with trashy tanks.There is a product called Kreem that seals the tank once cleaned with a coating that prevents further rust. Is very easy to use and seals the tank once cleaned for life. It will also seal small pin holes and fractures along weld lines in a tank.
"Fill it to the rim with Brim".....I always said I wanted to get to be old enough I could tell the young people "ah you don't know nothing about that, that was before your time." I'm there!😂
Great question. If you choose to remove it, I add clean gravel inside, (we have a lot of flint around here, it works the best for me). Then raising one side of another tractor and strapping it to the rear tire. Let it tumble for a fifteen minutes or more if needed.
Yeah...the vinegar overnight and flush with kerosene. Leave it in the sun to left it all evaporate out and it should be good. I've also heard people use BB's instead of bolts. They say bolts might ding the tank too much. I don't know.
@@FarmallFanatic the 140 came from up your way, was an old pendot tractor, it's never been red, all yellow. Came from my grandparents dairy farm in conneuatville.
@@FarmallFanatic I get it 😎 I think it is great you video document all this, keep it basic. Like you say not only for your own records, but many just starting out with first tractor (a Farmall of course😎) can easily understand and learn to do maintenance themselves 🍻🍻👍
Good evening! My fathers Super H with T/A had not run in about 5-6 years and had about 2" of sludge on the bottom of the tank. Took it to a radiator repair shop to have it cleaned out. The owner/manager there said he could do that and coat it also. Work still in progress, Not sure what the bill is going to be.
Use a motor cycle tank repair system. This has 3 stages. 1st is a solvent, 2nd is an acid wash & 3rd is an epoxy sealer. End of problems with your tank even if it has leaks before you start. Seal the leak on the outside with tape. You may require 2 kits as the tank is larger than a motor cycle tank
I am trying the Vinegar rout. So far its doing its job on my 544 tank. I have been using the 5% store brand for $3.50 a gallon for just cleaning the bottom until the 45% Vinegar arrived from Amazon.. I bought 3 gallons for $58 and made 27 gallons so that only $2.15 a gallon (Farmer savings). I filled it to the "Brim" which is 25 gallons today (first time that tank has been filed in years) so we will see how that does. Then I plan to remove the tank and put a chain in it to get the loose residue out. After that I am using OPSHO to convert any remaining rust. No more Alcohol fuel in any gas equipment unless its used allot. My fuel bowl assembly and carburetor were completely plugged with that white crappy residue.
I cleaned the fuel tank as described and all the rust was removed, which was allot. I kept draining and filtering the 5% Vinegar which took about 5 days of work. Then after rinsing it with water I dried it (it does flash rust) then I rinsed it with about 1/2 gallon of OPSHO which I drained out then I let it site 24 hours before rinsing it out with water. Note: If you let OSPHO sit 24 hours like they recommend and if it pools in the bottom of the tank (it does not all drain out) the volume will cake up and leave a black residue which needs to be removed which can be hard to remove. Therefore if its used I would just let it site a few hours then rinse it with water. I then sprayed the entire interior with fogging oil. Its as good as it was new (or close to it).
In my own experience once a gas tank starts shedding rust flakes it's a downhill battle with reality. I've had 100% success rate using Caswell fuel tank sealer. It's the only one I'll recommend. Seals pinholes very well. Follow the enclosed tank cleaning and application directions. Ethanol does not bother it.
There is a process called "reverse osmosis". You mix washing soda and water and fill tank with solution. the find an anode to stick in the solution,without touching the tank. Then you hook up a small battery charger,one side to the tank,the other to the anode.the bat chrgr should be less than 10 amp max.There are articles in the Farm magazine that explain it in detail. Probably some youtube videos as well. good luck.
Hey farmall, I had a tank given to me for a C tried to clean, ended up with sand in it clamped in a cement mixer running over night, shiny the next morning,flushed & dried with leaf blower,
I restored a W-4 and the gas tank was terrible shape wound up taking it off and used meratic acid and followed up with 2lbs. Baking soda to neutralize the acid and it looks like a brand new tank.
They made cubs forever, easiest would be look for good used or rebuilt/new. I know, obvious answers, but cubs have huge following and lots of clubs out there, hopefully someone more linked into one will reply to you 👍 🙏
Brass??? Braze or solder carefully. Cast, JB Weld or mig weld carefully.. Don't want to burn the solder or gasket out, but need to keep enough heat to fix it.
@@TomA6788 thanks i just dont wanna spend money on a tractor unless thats my last option idk wht to do my favorite tractor grew up driving it first thing learned how to drive and manual
You can purchase a new aluminum Replacement radiator on Amazon For about 150.00 I installed one on my cub it works great It comes with a new gasket too
Muriatic acid is too strong it can eat a hole in a thin tank in a few hours. I don't know if there is a dilution table or not. I think after cleaning they make an epoxy coating for fuel tanks i think that you remove the tank and put the recommended amount in and slosh it around remove fuel cap and let cure the epoxy will prevent any water from contacting metal and protec from rust formation..... Also use Heet fuel additive to help remove water and keep fuel tank full Filltank completely before winter storage use a good fuel stabilizer, too
Since you're the farmall guru here on RU-vid, I've got a question for you to settle a friendly argument, is it required to remove the battery cables before welding on a tractor to avoid electrical damage
hi there i just got a M Farmall what size battery is in yours ? I have to figure out how to mount the battery as there is no battery box either, just a plate. I removed my tank and carb I plan on flushing the tank with muriatic acid and rebuild the carb. The gasket are all dried up. It might have been ok but i feel better knowing its all good.
no worries I went with a Walmart special cheapy it starts ok with it. I mounted the battery under the gas tank in a plastic battery box for now. @@FarmallFanatic
You will need a drive shaft about 3 ft long to the motor or more limiting how much the motor shakes. Only have an inch throw on the crank. Don't run it too long or bye bye tank.
To all, donot use a shop vac to remove gasoline, even gasoline that is too stale to run an engine. A man near me, this spring had a riding lawnmower that had stale gasoline in the tank. He got his shop vac out and started to suck the gasoline out. Well the vac exploded! Luckily the vac was on the other side of the lawnmower. He got some first degree burns. Lesson well learned!
Any thoughts on how you're going to winterize all that Big Red Iron yet? I believe my Super C manual recommends draining the coolant, if you don't plan to use the tractor over the winter. I don't think that applies these days. I plan to leave it in over the winter even though it won't see much action. Thoughts? Future videos?
That is interesting ...no I plan on using this tractor all Winter for snow removal in the driveway ...actually have about a 10th of a mile driveway and we get blizzards so I'm really going to put it to the test
I think back in the olden days many farmers typically ran water only. Some even in winter or an alcohol mixture. This was before antifreeze coolant was readily available.
@@zodszoo The neighbor's farm I grew up basically on told me before antifreeze some 'old boys' would put kerosene in their tractors, just hope you don't have any leaks 😳😳😳 He never did that and he always tested every fall and serviced as needed 👍😎
You've got more than a few batteries I would image too. Do you disconnect the leads on the ones that are going to leave sit all winter? What are your thoughts on trickle charges for the ones that you intend to use in the winter.
@@tomyoung8719 If I'm using the tractor on a semiregular basis I won't remove them for trickle charge, but like say the combine and those machines that don't get run often, those batteries get pulled and put on trickle
I don't think my 400 is gonna be so easy. Its got about 1/2" of crusty crap inside of it. Almost looks like someone tried to put a liner in it idk. But its going to be a decent project
See what you do is get about 100 lbs of pea gravel. You get a shake table. It runs off an electric motor off a small crank. Ya'll tie the tank down with straps. If you make your own use 4 wobble pins about 3 inches long into a hole on each corner with nuts jammed together tightly with play between them. Let it run about 1 minute on each side of the tank. Wash it out with acetone and dry it out. Look ma no rust.
You might water down the vinegar so it's a weaker acid and save punching holes through the tank. Vinegar will also corrode the bolts you throw in there. The old farm method I grew up with was water and cleaned pea-pebble stones. Shake it shake it shake it. Drain it all out and dry it. The modern issue is find a fuel source with no ethanol if the tractor will be stored more than six months. If you are using the tractor every day then no problems using whatever fuel is cheapest. But as you get into fall and possible storage track down a station that sells non-ethanol fuel. Ethanol is what gums up the fuel system over time plus causes the corrosion problems in the tank and carburetor.
