Need suggestions for getting old gas out of tank

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Molto10

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Hi, my 67 Dart sat for 8 years after I drove it to PA from CA. I know I know....very bad.

Anyway, I am getting it going again and I need to get the 8 year old gas out of the tank.

Suggestions????
how to get it out? what to do with it? other options?


thanks much.

including a photo of my beloved Dart. once the gas thing is done, it will be all ready to go again!!!

dart.jpg
 
Molto10 said:
Hi, my 67 Dart sat for 8 years after I drove it to PA from CA. I know I know....very bad.

Anyway, I am getting it going again and I need to get the 8 year old gas out of the tank.

Suggestions????
how to get it out? what to do with it? other options?


thanks much.

including a photo of my beloved Dart. once the gas thing is done, it will be all ready to go again!!!

View attachment 1714949457
Click to expand...
Welcome! Hopefully the tank is not full. I am in the same situation. The plan here is to remove the tank, drain the "turpintine" into the tank of a vehicle I'm parting out. Then, the tank will be flushed with mineral spirits and/or lacquer thinner. Remove the sending unit when you do the cleaning, not sure but the chemicals may harm the sender. Probably a good idea to replace the pick-up filter and the gaskets/seals. Good luck and don't get any in your eyes.
 
disconnect the fuel line AFTER the fuel pump - run a rubber line from there into a container - now simply turn the key and turn engine over a few 1000 times.....

.....kidding! - you'll burn up the starter and kill the battery -

do you know how to siphon?
 
I used an Aeromotive A1000 that I had sitting around, with a couple chunks of hose and fittings. It was empty in "no-time".
 
yea, if you don't want to drop the tank (which by the way is the best route) - then there are a bunch of pumps you can buy, I put this into Google "pump fuel out of tank" and got quite a few options..
 
ScampMike said:
yea, if you don't want to drop the tank (which by the way is the best route) - then there are a bunch of pumps you can buy, I put this into Google "pump fuel out of tank" and got quite a few options..
Click to expand...
then again there is the hammer & spike method..........just kiddin:rofl:
 
Or the old fashion way put a hose in it and suck on it:lol::lol:
 
Hook up a cheap elect fuel pump under the hood, take off from the filter or whatever is handy and into a gas can, be sure all is grounded .....or start suck'in...no real easy way...
 
After 8 years, I'm surprised there would be any liquid in there at all. Do yourself a favor and buy a new tank. Trying to clean out the old one is a time losing exercise in WWIThinking. And replace the entire line to the front as well, cuz even if you manage to clean the tank out, the line will be partially restricted by the continuously evaporating lighter fuels, leaving the syrup behind.So your 5/16 line may be down to 1/4 or 1/8 or who knows what size. So maybe you get it running that way, but the pump may not keep up at heavy loads and so you buy a replacement, and when that one also fails to get the job done, you buy another, thinking the first one was defective.
Or the fresh incoming fuel, solvents the sludge right into your filter, plugging it solid on the way home from a carshow 6 hundred miles from home, or the in-tank sock gets gummed up from the same process.
Or you can just take your chances.......
Keep your AAA card current.
But I gotta tell ya, being stranded on the side of the road,with your son, in 100* heat, is not a pleasant experience. And Lord help you if you took a teenage daughter along. She might not ever let you forget it.And as to the wife, shoot, leave her at home! There's not a snowballs chance in the lake of fire, I would ever take her along.......Your results may vary.
 
AJ/FormS said:
After 8 years, I'm surprised there would be any liquid in there at all. Do yourself a favor and buy a new tank. Trying to clean out the old one is a time losing exercise in WWIThinking. And replace the entire line to the front as well, cuz even if you manage to clean the tank out, the line will be partially restricted by the continuously evaporating lighter fuels, leaving the syrup behind.So your 5/16 line may be down to 1/4 or 1/8 or who knows what size. So maybe you get it running that way, but the pump may not keep up at heavy loads and so you buy a replacement, and when that one also fails to get the job done, you buy another, thinking the first one was defective.
Or the fresh incoming fuel, solvents the sludge right into your filter, plugging it solid on the way home from a carshow 6 hundred miles from home, or the in-tank sock gets gummed up from the same process.
Or you can just take your chances.......
Keep your AAA card current.
But I gotta tell ya, being stranded on the side of the road,with your son, in 100* heat, is not a pleasant experience. And Lord help you if you took a teenage daughter along. She might not ever let you forget it.
Click to expand...
I get the odd sense you are speaking from experience...
 
No comment :(
Actually no, this did not happen to me....... On the carshow run to Minneapolis run in 2004; By that time I had had the system bugged out for several years already.
But the story is a collective of all the sad stories I have heard and experienced in 48 years of fixing cars.
I have never found a good chemical to remove that crud in the tank, except accetone. Accetone is far more dangerous than the labelling seems to indicate.
I know a new tank might be about $200Canadian, but for me it has been a no-brainer for quite some time. The liner epoxy coating is very difficult and time consuming to correctly bond to the tank.It is not cheap. And when it lets go, it comes off in sheets, and you are back to square one, and a tow-job broker for it. I use on motorcycle tanks, that are difficult or impossible to replace.And my bosses have charged a lot of money to install it cuz it takes several hours,over 3 or 4 days, to get it right.And I still say a prayer every time I send one out.
 
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Well after you get done reading the “one liners”, remove the tank and drain the old gas into a container. Remove the gas tank sending unit and grab a flashlight and look into the tank and or just look at the sending unit to inspect for rust. Any rust on the sending unit and or in the gas tank... just save yourself a lot of grief and expect to buy a gas tank and sending unit, you will be happy you did. Next remove the hose from the gas line to the fuel pump, discard the rubber gas hose, take a white rag or paper towels and wrap it around the gas line and take compressed air and blow into the gas line where it once was connected to the gas tank. If you see rust in the towel there is a good then better chance you have rust in the gas line. I will encourage using an line filter to trap this rust before it enters the pump and carb. I have tried several methods, nuts and BB's in the tank with diesel fuel, tried gas tank sealant, doesn't work with some fuels at the pump, several inline filters, etc, etc...

Rust if any in the tank or line will break down into the very fine media, there is not a fuel filter that I am a know that will not plug up eventually, not unless you have a fuel pump with a sediment bowel attachment. Hope this helps.
 
Removing the tank is one of the very first things I do when I get an old car. Why in the hell people argue, fuss and fight over doing it, I have no clue. It's VERY easy to do and if you do not do it, you will be forever chasing your tail with fuel problems. These things have been together for 50 years. The amount of crud and rust buildup is unacceptable for any level pf performance, but morons still buck people when they recommend removing the tank. Stupidest thing ever. Do yourself a huge favor. LISTEN to those of us recommending removing, cleaning and inspecting the tank. What I would do is take it to a local radiator shop and let them inspect it. If it passes their inspection, let them professionally clean it and coat in on the inside. It will never rust again. If you do not get it cleaned, you can expect trouble in the fuel system from then on because the tank is the source. Good luck.
 
Simple method I used to use to get a little fuel out of a tank (for filling diesel fuel filters) is to stick a decent sized hose into the tank with a few feet sticking out... something garden hose size works well... and then pressurize the tank by sticking a blow gun into the filler hole while using a rag to seal the opening around the blow gun. Once the tank gets a little bit of pressure it will force the contents out through the hose. Won't get every drop but might get ya pretty far down. At least lighten the tank for removal. AND obviously you don't want to get carried away adding pressure to the tank... regulate your air into it. It doesn't take much to get a result
 
Buy a tank, you can clean/replace the sock if
the sender is still good.
The fuel line will clean up, blow lines front to back,
replace all rubber lines and filter.
 
Mine sat 25 years.

"Bad" to say was the least, new tank and lines and all is well except the folks that always chime in to tell you your aftermarket tank looks like ****! I suggest pumping out by way of any electric pump you can find! Clean it with the available solutions and move forward. If you do not care then replace it and have piece of mind! Whatever you decide don't continually crank the engine over to push it out!

I kept my original tank and a couple years outside it evaporated the rest the crap in it. Guess I own some global warming if you subscribe to that! A good washing and it may be fine to put back in.
 
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I put my car in the backyard next to the water heater shed.

Ran a hose from the water heater drain to and down the filler neck and

flushed the tank ..............


Had a dead spot in the backyard grass for about a year.
 
Wow. Thanks everyone for your replies to my message. Initially I was excited about the "change the tank" option, since my mechanic would do that for me...:) But then it was mentioned that the new ones look crappy and I do not want that so I guess I will take a stab at siphoning. I bought a siphon setup. :) What to do with it later is an issue...I have a few ideas I guess for that. Oh I see someone mentions a dead spot in the grass..lol...........

I'm not sure how much is in it but I think it is over half. Maybe even almost fulll. Which sucks. lol.

Someone mentioned Minnesota. I lived there for awhile and drove my dart there from CA. I remember my drive shaft broke in town somewhere and I found these two dudes who were mechanics...I think I found them at a car parts store. They fixed it for $200 and on my way.
 
ScampMike said:
disconnect the fuel line AFTER the fuel pump - run a rubber line from there into a container - now simply turn the key and turn engine over a few 1000 times.....

.....kidding! - you'll burn up the starter and kill the battery -

do you know how to siphon?
Click to expand...
Cool Scamp.
 
abdywgn said:
Welcome! Hopefully the tank is not full. I am in the same situation. The plan here is to remove the tank, drain the "turpintine" into the tank of a vehicle I'm parting out. Then, the tank will be flushed with mineral spirits and/or lacquer thinner. Remove the sending unit when you do the cleaning, not sure but the chemicals may harm the sender. Probably a good idea to replace the pick-up filter and the gaskets/seals. Good luck and don't get any in your eyes.
Click to expand...

yeah, it does not smell anything like gas. Is it still flammable like fresh gas?
 
I poured mine through a paint filter, mixed about 50/50 with fresh and ran it in the lawn mower
 
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