Should I coat inside of 48 DeSoto gas tank?

[MarcDeSoto]

I am restoring a 48 DeSoto 3-window coupe.  Should I remove the gas tank and have a radiator shop boil it out.  Then I think you are supposed to put gravel inside and shake it around to break loose any rust.  Then you pour in a special type of liquid that seals the inside of the tank from any further rusting.  I should say my tank is in great shape and I don't know if it even has any rusting inside, but after six decades, I guess that's a possibility.  I am asking because I remember reading decades ago, (1980s), that it would be bad to coat the inside of a MoPar tank because of the permanent fuel filter inside the tank.  Has anyone ever done this coating to their 1940s MoPar gas tank with good results?   Thanks, Marc.

[Plymouthy Adams]

you posing a situation for a car that you have no idea if needed...drop your tank,pull the sender unit and fill hole..inspect the inside..only then can you make the right call...if rather crusty one may well be ahead of the game to consider a replacement tank...could be the difference between a problematic car and a smooth dependable driver.

[TodFitch]

If the tank has some specific issue that can be helped by coating the inside then I'd probably do it. But I've heard too many horror stories of failures to make me do it "just to be safe". And as Plymouthy Adams suggests, if your tank is far enough gone that you need to get it lined maybe a better choice would be getting a better tank.

 

On my '33, I simply removed those things that could be damaged, threw a handful of crushed (sharp edged) rocks in and shook it around for a while, then removed the rocks and rinsed it. For the first few months after the car was on the road after that there was a little bit of rusty material that showed up in the sediment bowl on the fuel pump. Since then the bowl has stayed clean. That was maybe 17 years ago.

 

But maybe I was lucky in that my tank did not leak and the gunk on the inside was more dirt and debris than anything else.

[mopar_earl]

I'd put a good inline fuel filter on it to keep any junk from reaching the fuel pump and carb. They are making fuel tanks for these older mopars. Not sure if they make one for your car but they do for my 52 Dodge. If I found my tank was bad, I'd buy a new one instead of throwing money at it to "patch" it up.

Earl

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'd put a good inline fuel filter on it to keep any junk from reaching the fuel pump and carb. They are making fuel tanks for these older mopars. Not sure if they make one for your car but they do for my 52 Dodge. If I found my tank was bad, I'd buy a new one instead of throwing money at it to "patch" it up.

Earl

for sure...after dropping the tank a couple times..or cleaning the insides of the carb few times to get the residue from liner material breaking down in it or a few filter changes...you are many hours and much money ahead of the game with the new tank..ask the company doing/supplying the cleaning and liner work about the warranty on workmanship and material..when the echoes of the laughter subside...a bit of reality will help you decide..

[Young Ed]

for sure...after dropping the tank a couple times..or cleaning the insides of the carb few times to get the residue from liner material breaking down in it or a few filter changes...you are many hours and much money ahead of the game with the new tank..ask the company doing/supplying the cleaning and liner work about the warranty on workmanship and material..when the echoes of the laughter subside...a bit of reality will help you decide..

My P15 tank was redone by gas tank renu. Lifetime guarantee. I'd have to pull it again if something happened but they'd fix it.

[Plymouthy Adams]

sounds like a chain store type facility...if you are fortunate enough to be close to one of those that sounds like a reasonable avenue to explore...I was referencing the more fly by night radiator repair place type of boiling out and repair...where what you got is all you get..any mail order product will be covered by the catch all...we did not do the work or have control over how it was done..any failure is directly proportional to the inexperience of the user and therefore have no warranties written or implied..

[Young Ed]

Yes they are a chain. My 46 truck I had cleaned out at a radiator shop but no coating. Its also been fine for 14-15 years.

[Tom Skinner]

New Tanks are about $350 (nos replica tanks) on ebay 46-48 Chrysler,DeSoto, Plymouth, Dodge.

Why mess with a messy mess? Replace it.

I would compare this to spending $30 on a headlight kit and spending 3 hours labor to polish the blur out of the lenses

instead of spending say $50 for new headlights and replacing them in 15 minutes.

It isn't worth the headaches that messing with a smelly old rotton gas tank would give you.

Those Companies charge that much to re-line your tank, why not (now that they replicate them) have new?

[Tom Skinner]

Rebuild a Carburator or two, you'll agree that gas headache ain't worth it.

[Jerry Roberts]

I also had my tank done by tank re-neu and they put in a linner about 15 years ago . All is still good .  New tanks were not available  for my vehicle back then . Today I could and would buy a new tank . 

[ptwothree]

All of the above sound like check book fixes.  On the cheap...  fill the tank with water, cut out a section on top and clean out what ever needs to be cleaned and weld it back together.  Maybe not for everyone but , if you have the tools and the time..............

[MarcDeSoto]

A new tank sounds nice, but as I say mine looks good.  No leaks.  And the new replacement tanks cost about $650 with shipping! 

[chopt50wgn]

If you do decide to clean the tank out............DO NOT PUT GRAVEL IN IT!!!.............use a piece of chain to help scour the inside. I would do the chain thing and then look inside with a light to see. If it looks ok then no way I would use a sealer. I have heard stories of the seal breaking loose over time and then floating around in small sheets clogging things up.

[mopar_earl]

A new tank sounds nice, but as I say mine looks good. No leaks. And the new replacement tanks cost about $650 with shipping!

Did you shop around? That is over double what a tank costs for my 52. Still that's better than the car dying on you from junk in the fuel system. I've been there and it sucks. The very least you can do is put a good inline fuel filter on before the fuel pump. That won't stop stuff from plugging up the inlet inside the tank. But if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I'd definitely shop around!!!

Earl

[mopar_earl]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/221363238582

Found this on a quick search. Looks like a good deal.

Earl

[_shel_ny]

New non-stock look tank. $230 delivered.

 

Correct look repop seems to be available for about $380 delivered, ebay., but that being said as has been suggested have a look inside first.

 

I do not think you need to drop the tank to inspect it. You can remove the sending unit and have a look. Inspection mirror if needed. You may just be able to leave the horse in the barn where it is now, and put the cart back as well.

 

 

I think your sequence of repair ideas is also out of order. You would not boil it out and then put gravel(or a chain) in it. Having it boiled out would likely get the inside cleaned. Will they even boil one out in CA.?

 

I had one done here for a '51. Clean out, and coat the outside. It needed repairs. I did not get the inside done.

 

As to the other part of your question. Some have suggested introducing air into the tank via the fuel outlet during the drying process to keep the liner from plugging up the built in filter. Others have eliminated the in tank filter by various means.

[blucarsdn]

Generally speaking a fuel tank is not that hard to clean, especially if there is a local radiator repair shop in your vacinity that has a hot tank to boil radiators out in.

On the issue of a fuel filter within the tank; Many manufactures incorporated a sock type of a filter on the intake tube within the tank, however, this practice did not start until the early, mid 1960's.. It has been my experience that the older fuel tanks are an open tube into the tank..

To remove dirt/debis from the inside of a tank, sharp edge gravel can work well, however, a length of chain rolling around the tank can work better..

Several companys, Bill Hirsch, (tank sealer & tank etch) works great... Eastwood Company also sells a great tank sealer..... Bill

[Plymouthy Adams]

Generally speaking a fuel tank is not that hard to clean, especially if there is a local radiator repair shop in your vacinity that has a hot tank to boil radiators out in.

On the issue of a fuel filter within the tank; Many manufactures incorporated a sock type of a filter on the intake tube within the tank, however, this practice did not start until the early, mid 1960's.. It has been my experience that the older fuel tanks are an open tube into the tank..

To remove dirt/debis from the inside of a tank, sharp edge gravel can work well, however, a length of chain rolling around the tank can work better..

Several companys, Bill Hirsch, (tank sealer & tank etch) works great... Eastwood Company also sells a great tank sealer..... Bill

Chrysler used oilite filter over the output tube inside the tank.....many knock these off when suspected plugged with a stiff wire or cable for the outlet if really plugged many have claimed to blow them off with compressed air..

[mopar_earl]

Chrysler used oilite filter over the output tube inside the tank.....many knock these off when suspected plugged with a stiff wire or cable for the outlet if really plugged many have claimed to blow them off with compressed air..

So that's what I blew off with compressed air. Couldn't get fuel so I blew air into the tank fill and the supply line to the pump. Back and fourth and got no fuel or air to move. Than finally I heard something fly in the tank while blowing from the supply line at the pump.

I take the pickup will still pick up fuel OK or does it change the pickup height and run out of fuel sooner?

Thanks for the info!

Earl