Slant Six Forum :: New gas tank install questions

At this point I m thinking of putting a coating of wheel bearing grease on the entire outer shell of the tank. It feels like there is already a thin coat of wheel bearing grease on it, so I will just keep up with that idea. Next I need to find an old inner tube. I forgot to get a new fill pipe seal, but I should be able to find that somewhere in town, or re-use the original.

As everyone is aware of, I had a new tank from Spectra and sealed it with Bill Hirsch ethanol resistant sealer. Yesterday I
started to set the new tank under the car and a tiny white particle drifted out of the sending unit hole.The sealer had all come
loose from the inside and was nothing but bits and pieces about the thickness of toilet paper. I talked to Hirsch and they hadn't had this problem. So I called Spectra(1-800-565-5524), told them my problem and they informed me that new tanks
are manufactured with a corrision resistant type oil right in the metal and they say NOT to use any type of fuel tank sealer
(no matter how good a product) in their tanks. The sealer will not adhere to the inside of the tank with anticorrision material in the metal . This anticorrision material is not just a coating on the metal, but is impregnated into the metal when the new
tanks are stamped out.
To make a short story or tale even longer. If you get any Spectra fuel tank, do not seal it period.
Incidently all Spectra tanks are warranted up to 20 years using ethanol E20 or less. The company spent over 10 minutes on
the phone explaining all this to me and it was nice to talk to a company that actually gives a damn!
The only bright spot here is that I "discovered " all the sealer loose in the tank before I installed it and put gas in!

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 2:59 pm ]
Post subject:	New gas tank install questions
The new gas tank for my brother's 74 Duster arrived today. I have several questions about installing it. 1- it is currently bare steel with some kind of light grease coating. Should I clean the inside of the tank before installation? 2- it is currently bare steel. Should I paint it or apply some other corrosion resistant treatment? Thanks.

Author:	Joshie225 [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 3:57 pm ]
Post subject:
It better be galvanized. If not, it's a poor excuse for a fuel tank.

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:12 pm ]
Post subject:
It appears it might be galvanized, but I am honestly not familiar enough with how to tell if it is to know for sure. Top of tank: Inside of tank: I am not too happy about no baffles, either, but is that stock? When did baffles come into use, anyway? Thanks. P.S.- if it IS galvanized, would it still be a good idea to coat it with anything like undercoating?

Author:	DusterIdiot [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:21 pm ]
Post subject:	Yep...
It looks like galvanizing (got little silver flecks or snowflakes in the finish? If it's medium gray and dull it could be annealed... Quote: P.S.- if it IS galvanized, would it still be a good idea to coat it with anything like undercoating? Either way I'd still clear coat it or protect it from road salt and other crud. -D.Idiot

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:27 pm ]
Post subject:
Thanks Rob. It does look like there are faint little snowflakes in the metal, but I will probably coat the whole thing with the rubberized undercoating. Washington doesn't salt its roads, but I am paranoid about rust.

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Author:	Greg Ondayko [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:35 pm ]
Post subject:
Here's what I do with my tanks... http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36560 I used to use undercoating, but I find that when it breaks down it can hold water against the metal.. Also I ditch the factory style Gastank pad (especially if it's on a driver and not going for 100 point Resto) and Replace the Gast tank Pad with Old Bits of Cut up innertube. Again the Innertube will not hold moisture like a factory or repop Gas tank Pad will.. Greg

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:40 pm ]
Post subject:
Interesting. It feels like this tank has already had a light greasing. I will try and find a used tire innertube and make a new pad for the top of the old tank. I haven't dropped the original tank yet, so I don;t know what I will find.

Author:	DusterIdiot [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 8:08 pm ]
Post subject:	Protectant...
Quote: It feels like this tank has already had a light greasing All galvanized material is coated with a protectant similar to WD-40 in most cases (galvanized iron imported from Korea used to be covered in fish oil and really smells great in the hot summer working in a sheet metal shop....) Galvanizing isn't perfect for inhibiting rust so if the material (the tank) is going to be stored for more than a week or two in a non-controlled environment, the manufacturer or vendor may spray it down to keep moisture from causing the galvanizing to go "white" with corrosion (in fact due to the nature of zinc you can tell how long the base metal has been around if in a good environment, the zinc flakes will stop looking like a grey fog, and start to show snowflake patterns, in a matter of years some of the flake patterns will be as large as your thumb). -D.Idiot "Sheet Metal Worker for 21 years...boy it sure feels like longer...."

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:24 pm ]
Post subject:
THe coating on the tank feels more like a thin layer of wheel bearing grease, not an oil spray, but I could very well be wrong. Should I worry about cleaning the interior of the tank before putting it into service?

Author:	DusterIdiot [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Naw...
Quote: Should I worry about cleaning the interior of the tank before putting it into service? Your fuel filter will take care of it especially if diluted by 16 gallons of unleaded sloshing around in there on your test drive...you can always swizzle it out with some gas if needed. -D.Idiot

Author:	Reed [ Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:30 pm ]
Post subject:
Cool, thanks again. My brother is coming for a long visit over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, so there is a slim chance that a bunch of wrenching might get done on this old Duster. Stay tuned for leaf spring and gas tank updates!

Author:	olafla [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:31 pm ]
Post subject:
Reed, take a look at this discription of the problems related to coating of galvanized items. http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeown ... zed-metal/ In my experience, a thick rust prevention coating that stay semi-soft, but with a non-sticky surface after drying, may be a good choice for a galvanized tank. Most of them are petroleum based, and if they 'merge' with the oily surface of the tank, they usually stay on for many years, and are easy to repair if necessary. The welds are usually the problem areas after some years on salted winter roads. Olaf

Author:	DusterIdiot [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Lol...
There is only one paint type that I would use that has been durable to the test of time on galvanized ductwork and that's Miller's DTM (direct to metal). Clean the protectant off the metal (TSP works really good, or solvent first then TSP), then you shoot it onto the metal, no primer needed it etches into the galv and so far on all the schools I project managed none of the painted duct has had peeling, oxydation, or other issues. The welds are the weak part as they burn away the galv coating, but you can spray with cold galv coating or red oxide paint then paint over the top of that without issue.... Regardless...I have 3 stock 30-40 year old duster tanks in "the shed" and they are just starting to show oxydation on the wear areas.... -D.Idiot

Author:	Reed [ Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:
At this point I m thinking of putting a coating of wheel bearing grease on the entire outer shell of the tank. It feels like there is already a thin coat of wheel bearing grease on it, so I will just keep up with that idea. Next I need to find an old inner tube. I forgot to get a new fill pipe seal, but I should be able to find that somewhere in town, or re-use the original.

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Author:	mattelderca [ Thu Jul 04, 2013 5:41 am ]
Post subject:
Quote: At this point I m thinking of putting a coating of wheel bearing grease on the entire outer shell of the tank. It feels like there is already a thin coat of wheel bearing grease on it, so I will just keep up with that idea. Next I need to find an old inner tube. I forgot to get a new fill pipe seal, but I should be able to find that somewhere in town, or re-use the original. We had a similar discussion recently on our NewYorker list. It was concerning the need to line a fresh tank but I would assume it applies to painting one. The following post was from the member installing the new tank. He contacted Spectra directly and this is the advise he recieved, take it for what it cost ya! Quote: As everyone is aware of, I had a new tank from Spectra and sealed it with Bill Hirsch ethanol resistant sealer. Yesterday I started to set the new tank under the car and a tiny white particle drifted out of the sending unit hole.The sealer had all come loose from the inside and was nothing but bits and pieces about the thickness of toilet paper. I talked to Hirsch and they hadn't had this problem. So I called Spectra(1-800-565-5524), told them my problem and they informed me that new tanks are manufactured with a corrision resistant type oil right in the metal and they say NOT to use any type of fuel tank sealer (no matter how good a product) in their tanks. The sealer will not adhere to the inside of the tank with anticorrision material in the metal . This anticorrision material is not just a coating on the metal, but is impregnated into the metal when the new tanks are stamped out. To make a short story or tale even longer. If you get any Spectra fuel tank, do not seal it period. Incidently all Spectra tanks are warranted up to 20 years using ethanol E20 or less. The company spent over 10 minutes on the phone explaining all this to me and it was nice to talk to a company that actually gives a damn! The only bright spot here is that I "discovered " all the sealer loose in the tank before I installed it and put gas in! Personally, I'd be looking for an aluminum rust paint and spraying that on. I've had good luck with it sticking to oily metal surfaces enough to inhibit rust.