1985Rebel

My bike sat up a while prior to me buying it and therefor there is a little rust in the gas tank.

I was reading on a website various ways to get the rust out and I started on of the remedies and realized now I am in a mess.

I put some water in the tank to try to get some of the loose particles out of the tank but now I cannot get the water out of the tank. I drained a lot of it out of the little hole at the bottom of the tank. How in the world do I get this water out of there?

Also,
Alot of website recommended putting some nuts or bolts or other abrasive things in the tank and shake it to knock the loose rust off...if that procedure was done, how would you remove the gravel?

Thanks!

Joshua

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Guba

To get the nuts/bolts out, just buy one of those hand held magnetic pick up tools.

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Some days beer tastes good...other days beer tastes better!

'07 Rebel 250 26,000 miles

stubbysteve

I know I am new here but we do some things to tanks on my other boards. Once you get the nuts and bolts out, get some bathroom cleaner call 'The works" and put that in and leave the gas cap off.it will clean it real well. Also if you dont like that, get some feed grade molassas and dilute that with water. yes molassas will eat rust. and not harm the metal of the tank.

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Guba

Molasses is a new one on me. How much do you dillute it? Just enough to make it flow good?

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Some days beer tastes good...other days beer tastes better!

'07 Rebel 250 26,000 miles

flitecontrol

You can tie the nuts/screws/gravel in a rag and remove it with long needle nose pliers or mechanical "fingers". Just be sure it is tied well; you don't want loose gravel rolling around the tank. Metal is easier to remove if it gets loose. Count the number of pieces you put in so you'll know if you got all of them out.

WalMart sells The Works toilet bowl cleaner for about $1.25 per bottle. One bottle should do several tanks.

To dry the tank, you can use a hair dryer or connect a hose to the exhaust on a vacuum cleaner such as an Electrolux. Helps to remove the petcock so air doesn't have to go out the same hole it went in.

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I'm keepin' all the left over parts. I'm gonna use 'em to build another bike!

2001 Rebel 250, 1989 Vulcan 750
Putting your bike info in your signature helps others help you!

Fridgitator

Alcohol adsorbs water. A pint of rubbing alcohol should get all of it.

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'09 Rebel 250

Loud ties save lives.

1985Rebel

Thanks for the information! I will use that "The Works" for sure. How much of the works is enough for one tank and should I mix it with water?

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flitecontrol

I used the whole bottle, which was 16 ounces, IIRC. Remove the tank cap (I removed the petcock too). Put good quality duct tape over the holes, add The Works, swish it around the entire tank, repeat every 5-10 minutes or so until the rust is gone. Immediately wash off any that gets on the tank. I poured it out, ran it through a coffee filter to remove the rust/sediment, and put it back in the bottle. Can be used for other tanks or clean your toilet with it.

Then rinse the tank well with water. I had problems with flash rust forming before I could get it dry, but later read spraying a bunch of WD-40 in the tank will prevent rust, which makes sense since it dispels water. I used Os-Pho to kill the flash rust.

To keep the tank nice and shiny, periodically add Sea Foam to the gas and fill the tank after every ride. The Sea Foam removes moisture from the fuel and keeping the tank full minimizes condensation, which is what made the rust to begin with.

__________________
I'm keepin' all the left over parts. I'm gonna use 'em to build another bike!

2001 Rebel 250, 1989 Vulcan 750
Putting your bike info in your signature helps others help you!

stubbysteve

I dont know about the molassas in the small amounts but My buddy did 1 gal molassas to 7 gal of water. I dont know how to take that down a notch.

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Fridgitator

Google yields numerous hits on "molasses rust" This one is from a Ford auto forum. Several good points to consider.

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'09 Rebel 250

Loud ties save lives.