Had my car out last night. Ran into some driveabilitly problems at highway speeds ... was cruising along just fine, then it felt like someone just dropped a wet rag over the carb. No backfiring, stumbling or anything like that, it just lost power (but did not stall). Pulled of the highway and all was fine at "normal" speeds. Worked on it today hoping to find the problem ... and I found it. The gas tank sealer that I used (Caswell Inc. Epoxy Gas Tank Sealer) had failed (after 7 years). It did not end up like a big plastic bag in my tank, it basically got brittle and appears to have broken off in (obviously thin) chunks or wafers BUT not all of it has come off. I intend to load the tank up with nuts and bolts etc and run it in a cement mixer and "hope" I am able to break off/remove the remainder although my best bet might be a new tank (it's an Oldsmobile, so hopefully a repro Chev tank will work). The worst part of the story ... my tank was actually in really good condition, but I thought I would go the extra mile and seal the tank in hopes of preventing any rust (and reliability) issues down the road. I still have an unopened sealer kit that I had intended to use for another project ... that ain't gonna happen now.
I used Kream (brand name)in all the gas tanks I used to build for the bikes. Never had a problem with it and actually did some testing with the stuff to see what it was going to hold up to. I tried heat, beating on it, all kinds of chemical additives, nothing ate it or melted it as long as the metal was prepped correctly first. Kinda hard to artificially age it though, but I still have a tank in the garage that was coated with it about ten years ago and it still looks good inside. I have hears the horror stories of sealers breaking down and setting up in carbs though. My 2 cents.
I do agree with the "not all sealers are the same" idea. I did do a motorcycle gas tank years ago (the sealer, when cured looked white/or grey) and it worked out perfectly. This sealer looks basically just like fibergl*** resin and didn't last. I did do the prep work on the tank for my car ('38 Olds) as per the instructions but still had a failure. I guess I should add that this is not a "hate this manufacturer" post, I just wish I had left the damn tank alone and not bothered with the sealer at all.
borntoloze- When you tumble it, you might throw in a gallon of MEK or Methyl Ethyl Ketone (spelling?). I applied a Red-Kote (brand name) liner in my truck tank about a year ago, and according to the directions that was the only chemical that would remove the stuff supposedly. So far mine has held up OK (i think). I haven't gotten any bits coming loose, but my gas that comes throught the Gl*** bowl fuel filter is always a little pink, so i think that the color is leaching out of the liner (yes, it is red, helps you to see where you have coated, or if you have missed spots.
I just bought a brand new tank and sending unit/float/pick up for my 61 Dodge. $350.00 ?? something like that. I am both poor and a cheap ***, but I figure it was worth it. when I was young, slim and handsome breaking down on the side of the road in an old car was part of the adventure, now it's just a pain in the ***.
Have had the cream fail in motorcycle tanks, but have never had a problem with red-kote. My 2 cents worth.
I absolutely agree ... new IS best. My tank was in very good condition, I just thought I was helping "make it more reliable/less chance of issues" kinda thing. I am in the process of asking the manuf. what removes their product. The only issue I have with new is the fact that my car is an Oldsmobile (1938) and it appears that most (if not all) of the repro tanks are for Ford and Chev. I really want a new tank but I am going to try the tumble approach (with the Methyl Ethyl ... thanks for the tip boozer) and hope it does a good job just incase they aren't avail for my car. Thanks for all the input.
I had the cream in my Ranchero tank. It was "professionaally" done. The stuff peeled off of the tank and stopped up everything. Thankfully, someone started repopping the tank and I found a dented one on the Bay for a good price.
Would any of you seal a tank that was brand new, but just had a sump welded onto the bottom of it ? I have a KBS tank sealer kit, but havent used it yet....
Still had between 15 & 20 gallons of gas in my 55 Olds tank that had been sitting for at least 25 years. Once I drained what would come out, I pulled around 5 lbs. of what looked like thick roofing tar from the tank. Used a series of rubber cargo straps to create a flower basket contraption to fit the tank. Hung if from a tree branch, put a beefy chain inside and shook the **** out of it. (Literally!) Cleaned and dried it. Followed the directions (for once) for the Por-15 tank sealer with no problems for 10,000 miles so far.
anyone i know that has put a sealer in a tank and kept the vehicle had it cause trouble, what is the point of it, to seal the rust thats in there from coming loose? if you keep your tank full rust has no place to start.
OK, but if its already started...But a tank can rust from the outside in? A sealer will help some there also..I used Eastwood stuff probably 10 years ago and its doing fine, a ***** to use though, dried too quick and way too thick to be able to slosh it around..Used Hirsch [one of the first] almost 40 yrs ago and it is doing fine...Not sure, maybe some luck envolved...
Does anyone know if any of the tank sealers on the market state they are immune to ethanol . Being this is what we are offered for gas now.
Interestingly the Caswell site actually has a suggestion for removing "failed Kreem and POR15 sealer" (they actually name the companies). I am waiting on an answer from Caswell regarding "what removes YOUR failed sealer?" I built this car with the focus being reliability. The sad part is (as mentioned earlier) my tank really didn't need to be sealed I just thought it would help prevent problems. Cleaning **** out of a gas tank (in my case at least) is not something easily done at the side of the road. Based on my experience so far, my opinion is "if it really needs a sealer ... DON'T, just replace it". After running into this, I don't think I could trust (mentally) another gas tank sealing product anyhow, even if it does work.
I used red kote sealer in my tank almost 4 years ago, haven't had any problems yet, even with the 10% ethanol here.
Lots of good info here Guys.... Just dropped the tank on my '50 Sedan Delivery (which they make no replacement tank for) this weekend, cleaned it out by shaking stones around in it, put everything back together; filled with 5 gallons of gas... and NOW have a small hole pissin' gas out of the side :/ Thinkin' i should just get a racing fuel cell and adaptor for the neck to re-attach to the filler neck??? I'm alittle leary of the coating processe's also....
i have had gas tank sealer in my truck since "91, '39 gmc daily driver, don't know how many miles exactly, but i'm on my 3rd set of rear brakes, without a problem. that said i did have one in a '36 ford peel but i found when i cut it open that it had not been cleaned well enough.
I ended up cutting a 4" round hole in the top of my tank, just enough to squeeze my arm in ... peeled/s****ed tons of the failed Caswell sealer out of the tank. I then hand "tumbled" the tank using large gravel (to remove any remaining sealer), washed it out with fresh gas, made an aluminum plate to cover the 4" hole and am back on the road. Turns out the inside of the tank was still in fantastic condition so I am able to continue to use this tank without any sealer.
Hi, My issue is that I can't remove my gas tank to tumble it. It is a 1929 and the tank is in the completed car and all painted. Anything ideas what can be done with sealer pieces floating around. Thanks, Bruce
Does anyone know of the red fuel produced by the Red Kote can cause damage or cause the fuel to burn causing a strong smell?
man this thread is a lil old? I onced used it in a O/T car tank... I prepped the tank best I could after cutting, welding, etc. then used the sealant red kote actually heated the tank to help dry it. after many miles i found that it started peeling off looked like red window tint! I dont know if I didnt prep it well enough or what? I have something similar in a car now and seems to be doing o.k. but i had it sealed by roppels radiator repair this time! as for your smell 64caddy wish i could tell ta? try to do a test with a new temp fuel safe cell and see if it goes away?
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