cleaning out rust inside M813A1 fuel tank

[03silverado]

Pulled the tank off the M813A1 today to sand and paint it figured I should pull the sending unit and the pickup tube to see what the inside of the tank looks like. Wasn't terribly rusted but way more than I feel comfortable leaving alone. Any suggestions on how to clean this rust?

 

[1z-bar]

I bribed my 10 year old daughter to clean my generators fuel tank {5.00} I think it might cost you more for that one though....

 

[03silverado]

I bet wish it was that easy

 

[rumplecat]

Pull all the brass off the tank, fill with water including a couple of gallons of muratic acid(Lowe's), let it sit for a couple of days and then rinse out the orange grit, oil immediately/reassemble.
James

 

[Gunnermac]

We have restored a number of vehicles with rusted tanks and I coat them all as a policy if they are rusted. Important !!! Use a quality coating, before coating you can clean the tank with a commercial etching solution or muratic acid as Rumplecat suggests, I have used a 50/50 acid/water mix, let it soak for a couple of hours, check it and do it again if necessary. Check closely for pin holes after you get all the crud out.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

I clean and sealed mine with a KBJ kit. It did a great job.

 

[03silverado]

Thanks alot everyone i appreciate the info so much, Im going to go with the muratic acid and water sounds pretty straight forward and easy to do, the rust is only on the top half of the inside of the tank. The only reason i pulled the tank off is because one of our soldiers had ran over something and drug the tank back into the forward fender. So when i tood the tank off to reposition it back to its normal spot and paint it before i did of course, I figured what the **** the big opening looked like the gasket was shot and I wanted to check the float condition on the sending unit anyway when i pulled the suction tube out i saw the rust and said oh **** how am i going to get that out with these baffels its not like i could roll a chain in there at least i didn't see how i could. Another question as to the gasket material for the two holes in the top of the tank? should i try and find O.E. gaskets or make them myself and i make them myself should i use rubber like the original or paper, or neither and silicone the pickup tube and sending unit?

 

[03silverado]

Also where would i get a fuel tank sealant kit and how hard is it to do to a 5 Ton tank it does have baffles, just saying because im not sure if the deuce tank has baffles

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Go online to KBS Coatings. They have everything you need. The deuce tank has baffles too and I just kept rotating it per their instructions. They also have a series of videos to aid you.

 

[03silverado]

Cool thanks for the info ill check them out

 

[03silverado]

@Rumblecat when you said coat it with oil your saying to just blast the rust out with the muratic acid then rinse and put oil in the tank to stop the rust also what kind of oil im guessing you mean 15/40 or something heavy like gear oil that stick to things for a long time