Fuel Tank - Harley Forum

botzman · #1 02-01-2008, 08:44 AM

Good Morning....

It is with a heavy hand that I will reach deep into my pocket and lay out $950+tax for a new Sturgis gas tank from HD. After trying ever chemical known to man and every trick in the book to remove the crappy liner HD used to put in their tanks I give up. The way I see it to buy raw tin and have it painted with Sturgis emblems I'm up around the 1,000.00 mark anyway. Im a stickler for paint and dont want a cheap crappy paint job. Kills me that a tank costs that much...I have plenty of other uses for that money....like beer! If any one has a sure fire method for liner removal please let me know. I've done the whole pellets/nuts/chain thing with mediocre results. I'm tired of pulling the carb off 2-3 times a year to clean out the sludge from the liner. Im running the petcock screen and an inline filter already. Thanks in advance. Botz

#2 02-01-2008, 09:12 AM

Botz
I can't help you with a solution for the liner, hope others can. I know you've tried many different ways to fix this problem. Sometimes it's better to just bite the bullet.

$1,000.00

I'm glad you can still say "good morning"

Exsarge2 · #3 02-01-2008, 10:26 AM

That bites. I have an 02 TC88 w 37k that I am considering putting gear drive in lieu of chain. They will probably get me for about a grand money that could be swallowed 12 ozs at a time........

frisco-rigid · #4 02-01-2008, 01:46 PM

Hey Botz

OK, since you've accepted that you will have to spend on painting (new tank/s) just take the tank to a radiator or chrome shop and have them dip it..
The chrome shops have dipping tanks to clean in prep to chrome, the rad shops simply clean everything out period..

I've had it done at both..
Just be sure to get something in there to retard rust IMMediately cuz the metal is totally bare.. You know, a mist of WD-40 or whatever, just do it very soon..

Then simply get it painted again.. I reckon it's waaay less that new tanks AND paint..

botzman · #5 02-01-2008, 02:05 PM

Frisco,

Thanks. When you had yours done did you use one of those tank liner kits afterward or just coated it with oil and be done with it? Not sure I want to put any kinda liner in there after this fiasco. Thanks. Botz

Wrightturn · #6 02-01-2008, 03:11 PM

If the liner is the only problem you need to find someone that reloads their own ammo. With any luck they will have a vibratory case cleaner. The media is available from the Eastwood Company. Buy enough to fill the tank half full. Remove the bowl from the case cleaner and replace it with a cheap plastic dish. Drill a hole in the center of the dish that the tank can rest on and cover the dish with a rubber pad. I use a couple of mouse pads. Let the tank vibrate for 8hrs and then turn it upside down for another 8hrs. When you dump the media there will be nothing left in the tank.

Like Frisco said the inside will rust fast. After trying most of the stuff on the market there is only one product I will use. Sudco Rustol www.sudco.com/rustol.html
This will not hurt the paint and is the best product I have found.

botzman · #7 02-01-2008, 04:16 PM

Wrightturn...Thanks. This stuff wont screw up the paint? Botz

Wrightturn · #8 02-01-2008, 07:56 PM

Have splashed some without damage. On original paint tanks that I did not want to repaint it has worked very well. I am using it to prevent rust and remove any that the vibratory cleaner did not get. The Eastwood media is very abrasive and will remove liner. I had a tank with Kreem that was flaking and this got 99% of it out. I have not found any other way to get liner out that would not involve striping the paint. Your tank does not have a rust problem and Rustol will prevent rusting after the interior is cleaned.

Expensive but I have used it enough to recover the cost.

myt evo · #9 02-01-2008, 10:42 PM

Botz! Don't buy that tank yet! Awhile back I bought a dyna low rider tank from Ebay for my future project and come to find out it was for an early 90's Dyna! My mistake. It is a brand new factory tank in primer with the liner and has never been mounted on a bike! I paid $200 for it and that's all I'm looking to get in return. The front mounts have slots instead of holes like the later Dynas and the threaded hole for the petcock is further forward on the tank then the later Dynas which had it mounted more towards the rear. So check your tank! If you want, post a couple of pictures of your tank showing the front mounts and the bottom of your tank showing the location of the petcock. At the time i was going to purchase one at the dealer and the cost was about $675. So i finally found another one at a swap meet. So if this is what you need I'll ship it to you and I'll trust you for payment. I'm usually not that trusting but I feel I can trust you. So check It out and let me know!

frisco-rigid · #10 02-02-2008, 12:04 AM

WOW between the great info from wrighturn and myt's offer I'd say you're sitting in tall grass baby.. Yeah..