Fuel system cleaning tips&tricks anyone???

[MoparMower]

Hows it goin yall, i dont have any experience messing with old fuel systems so im just seeing if anyone out there has any tips or tricks i could do to save myself from having to buy a new fuel tank/lines. My 72 Duster sat in a storange unit for TWO YEARS with a full tank of gas before i bought it and has such wicked varnish that it will hardly crank or run and when it does its really lean... is there anything i could do to clean it out and flush the lines or am i just doomed to order new everything?.. #-o

 

[ArizonaKid]

When I cleaned out my gas tank, it was about half full for a couple years. I just dumped what was in there and used a pressure washer with it's steam mode, until it came out clear. The fuel lines, if you hadn't tried to run it, should have been pretty clear, so i wouldn't be sure how to proceed from there.

 

[67Dart273]

Pretty much agree with the above

2 years? I'd question that. I don't see gas "varnish" in two years. but regardless, if you think it's varnished, I'd pull the tank out. Not that big a job once you "get into" it. If you have to cut, cut the J bolts and not the straps. Pull the sender and wash it out with high pressure. If that doesn't look good, dump a gallon of carb cleaner in there and slosh it around for a couple of days.

Likewise you can "rig" acetone / paint thinner and inject it through the feedline tube, just make sure you are careful with it around painted surfaces, and your eyes

And get it well flushed / blown out.

Figure out a way to change the filter sock or get a repop sender. Bad part about them is the poor reputation for gas gauge accuracy.

Examine the feed tube carefully. Rusted bad? Replace it.

 

[MoparMower]

Sweet, sounds like i need to get my hamds on a pressure washer amd buy some acetone. thanks for the advice yall. I got the tank undone and nearly off last weekend before getting called into work so i should be able to finish all that this coming weekend!

 

[JamesM007]

i just did mine last week after letting it sit for a number of years. the car wouldn't run with the engine just put back in it. Gas had turned to varnish.

I dropped the tank and pulled it, i was glad i did, the sock was gone and was plugging up the pick up tube. A blast of compressed air cleaned it out.

Pressure washed he tank to get any crud out.

For the body hard fuel line, I disconnected it at the fuel pump and injected Marvel Mystery Oil filling it up using a syringe that i found in the kitchen (the kind used to feed a kid cough syrup). I let that sit over night. Attached a plastic bottle to catch the oil and blasted it from front to back with compressed air.

Installed new rubber fuel lines, and a new sender rubber seal (tested it outside the vehicle first to make sure it did not leak) and put the tank back in. I decided to run a second fuel filter outside the tank at the rear of car in place of a replacement sock in the tank.

New napa fuel pump installed.

I primed the pump with the same plastic syringe to help the pump draw fuel from the tank. After a few cranks, she fired right up.

 

[nm9stheham]

The big problem these days is that the alcohol separates out, then absorbs water, and then becomes a gummy substance. That is not 'varnish' as in the old usage of the term, but it stops things dead regardless.

Let's hope the OP's carb is not full of this gum.