It depends on the type of tank you have. I don't know how a 911 tank is assembled nor if it has a drain plug. The best way is to remove the tank. Take out the sending/outlet unit and see how much of the tank you can see to check for condition. If you have rust you will need to cut it open and clean it up. The only to get it fully cleaned is to cut it open and clean it by hand and then reweld it. Like I said it all depends on what you see when you look inside. Good luck
If there is a bottom drain I have had some success using 2 gas cans and a funnel with a paint filter or coffee filter. Raise the car up high enough to get one can with the funnel underneath and pour gas in the top. When it stops draining, switch cans and repeat. It's amazing what will come out and be trapped by the filter. Obviously this should be done in the proverbial "well ventilated area" and an extinguisher kept nearby. The alternative is to remove the tank (cutting and welding at your extreme peril). If it's damaged or very rusty there are "Tank ReNu" places that specialize in cleaning, repairing, coating fuel tanks. There is one near here. I think the cost is $200-$400.
Don't know what the problem is. Water, dirt? Regardless. You don't need to remove the tank unless it is rusting internally. The are companies which specialize in this sort of thing, especially for diesel boats. They siphon the fuel, filter it and put it back. I had this done on my Chris Craft a few years ago. Check with a marina. Perhaps you local shop also knows about this.
Why are you coming to FChat for tec advice to work on a 911? I had a 911, a speedster and a 914 in that order, i am not dissing you, just curious. The primary benefit of vehicle specific chat rooms is that there is a huge amount of experience with the specific make and model available, to help you get experienced recommendations for fixes. Ok, so here is my tank cleaning fix....with the tank out of the car, cleaned and dried, on sawhorses, away from anything you care about, give it a good shot of starter fluid and from a long way off, drop a match in there. This is absolutely guaranteed to clean off every bit of rust, scale, paint, and udercoating from your tank. You may have a very hard time finding the tank or hearing after the above mentioned "fix". After a moments thought, perhaps this is not the safest way to go. I would deferr to those pundits on the 911 forum. You might still ask them if my method has any merit though. With toungue massively through cheeks, your bud, chris
+1 ya' know, I've been a new member here and found the snap-byatch attitude to be a bit overboard. guy askes an honest question and someone tries to 'light him off'? Don't know about you, but I tends to NOT make me want to stay current with site.....makes a bad name for some of us in the community. I guarantee that many persons here ask 'stoooopid' questions of cars in general [how do I check my freaking oil...., what's a tire pressure ...., or the posts on 'what do you do for a living {ok, those post deserve squashing--but already in the tongue-n-cheek sections}] but cleaning a gas tank as much as model specific as could be is still general enought to get honest reply.
I had a bit of rust in my MGB gas tank a while back, and I cleaned it out with acid I got at the hardware store (I think it was muriotic (sp?) acid) and then put the gas back in. I wanted to cut the tank in half and fix it, but I couldn't find a shop that would work on an internally rusty tank at any price
Chris. I always wanted a real race car. lol. I thought since I paid my dues on F.C., I would get better responses. - Which is in fact the case. I only have about 20 or so posts on the P boards (member since late 05 / never had any P car), and I did not obtain all that many responses to my questions. I recently posted three technical questions, that are not marque specific. Thanks for all of the interest.
Ralph, My friends the Lightfoot brothers over at European Cars, Ltd.on Feagan east of Sheperd can help you......talk with Owner Phil or lil' bro Jim..... ..even if they DO chase my Fcars from the parking lot with a pipe wrench....LOL! They DID order that XKE Jaguar fan the blows on the radiator of the 308GTB......
Thanks Alan I am looking into having it fixed, with a radiator shop. A few people have suggested this.
Agree that a radiator shop would have the required process to repair. Still, that place is all PCar, Audi, BMW and Mercedes...if you need them they've been around a long time.... Maybe DON'T use my name there......LOLOLOLOL!
A radiator shop should be able to handle it if it's not too bad. A friend of mine had his VW tank cleaned out by a radiator shop and his was BAD. Looked brand new when he got it back. Good luck.
Thanks Alan, Matt, and many others. On this snooty 12cyl or walk F board, we mentioned the two letters V.W. ? ewww - Please do not mention the (defunct in the U.S.), Y brand. lol.
Just be really careful. I dont know anyone around the twin city metro area that even does gas tanks anymore. There was one guy years ago, he had been repairing tanks for years, everyone sent him work. I remember him telling me how he had a secret way of flushing and purging them so he could weld or solder on them. Then he was done. BOOM! he had one explode. He said he would never touch one again, as he honestly believed he had it figured out and it still bit him. Honestly, I would flush it out with water. Pull all the hoses, get it out of the car if you can, and hose it out. You can rinse it with solvent or a bit of alcohol to absorb any remaining water when your done, and if your real concerned after that, pour in a can or two of fuel additive. There are enough chemicals in fuel these days to absorb water that as long as you get most of it out it wont be a big deal. Air hoses work too I have had good luck emptying them of fuel just using the electric fuel pump. Pull the feed line off and attach a hose into a gas can and run the pump. It really wont take very long. I pumped out the fuel on the 308, about 14 gallons, and I dont think it took more than 10 minutes or so. Do it outside though, LOL.
Doing it outside is the way to go. Even after pumping all of the fuel out of the tank(s), you will still have a significant amount of fuel in there and in the cross over hoses, so be prepared to catch it. Similarly, you may still have a bit in the corners of the tank that will likely come out when maneuvering the tank during removal. Have containers right at hand for the draining process and stuff for clean up. Have a 5 pound extinguisher close by, not in the boot, dry chemical works but Halon is a lot less messy. I have been through 4 engine fires, three of them gas and if you don't get the fire out very quickly, the car is toast. Most of us have been lucky - I do not want to count on luck - be prepared. hth, chris ps, when doing the tank, this is an excellent time to replace every hose that carries fuel or vapors, especialy if they are the old cloth covered kind.
This post may be a little late, if you've done this job already, but Artvonne's advice is very complete/safe that I've seen so far. Only thing I would add, FWIW, is during the process of removing tank/siphoning gas out, ground the tank with a heavy (12 gauge) copper elec wire with clips, that way, if a spark occurs, say if you drop a ferrous metal tool, the tank will be grounded, and an explosion will likely be averted. THEN, purge out the vapors of tank by filling with water from hose, then dump, then shake excess water out, then finally, after excess water has been "shaked" out, add a pint of acetone (yes, also flammable), and swish around to mix with water residue, then shake out again, and let dry, Acetone mixes with water v well, and has a drying effect. Air dry overnight. That's how I did it 2 yrs ago, and have survived.....
I don't know if you can still do this with EPA regs and such, but I had an old Jag with syrup like gas in the tanks. We took them out, drained them and then had a radiator shop boil them out. They were clean as a whistle..
I have taken them in to shops to be boiled and coated, this is the best. I used the Eastwood kit to clean and coat one tank myself but it is a hassle to deal with the chemicals when you are in process, let alone dispose of the the waste chemical and excess chemicals when finished. Here is the back yard special method. Remove and drain tank. Fill with soapy water (dishliquid) and some small gravel, tape off openings, rotate the tank while you shake like hell. Works well to clean up the big scale and it is a workout once you are done. This is an effective "no buck" method. : ) PB
