DS23 petrol tank

keepsmiling

keepsmiling

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Fellow Frogger
Tadpole
Tadpole
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Oct 26, 2022
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Does anyone have a cut away pic of the fuel tank that they could post. The cut away image would help me understand where the baffle walls are so I can try to use wire (or similar) instrument to scrape away the gunk off and also determine what size stone to use to agitate the gunk.

I suspected that the tank is full of gunk and rust, the engine cut out when the fuel level would drop below 1/2, previous it was about 2/5 full but initially it was about 1/3 full when I inspected it before purchase the engine would have trouble starting until fresh fuel was put into the tank.

I have confirmed my suspicion, its really bad. I initially replaced the fuel filter (date stamp on filter was just over 12months old) with a cheap plastic clear filter which within 2 minutes of the engine idling was full of gunk and rust.

I have removed the tank from the car and have emptied the remaining fuel, it came out like dark coffee. Sticking my finger in via the drain plug hole there is about 10mm of gunk (if not more) settled on the bottom of the tank.


Some pics to the reality of the tank gunk.
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I'd strap it to my cement mixer after throwing some big heavy sharp wood bolts in there ...... and whatever your favorite cleaners are :)

Didn't someone recently post some photos of the inside of a DS tank here ?? (I know there was a GS tank thread).
 
Thanks DoubleChevron, it would be good to know the make up of the tank, I dont want bolts or stones getting stuck in there....lol

After flushing it with petrol then with degreaser many times, the gunk that has come out looks like used coffee grounds, it's possible the tank has been sabotaged, there is so much of it. It's NOT rust, though I'm sure some of it is rust.

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There is only one method to completely clean your fuel tank, properly.
Get it Chemically Dipped.
Gone will be the rust, varnish, dirt etc, leaving only clean metal,
One place in Sydney to get it dipped is Redistrip, in the suburb of Blacktown.
If it has rust holes, use POR15 tank sealant, easy to use, follow the simple instructions.

I cleaned two fuel tanks over twenty years ago, they are both still clean today.
Wishing you success, David
 
If it stops when the tank is half full there is also another cause ( not arguing the tank shouldn’t be cleaned). The rislen fuel lines shrink with age. Mine had the same symptoms and on investigation the line was not only out of the tank filter but halfway up the tank. Replacing the line completely removed these symptoms. In my case the fuel line was cut in the sill to extend it and the cap bridged with a normal fuel line
 
Thanks Peter.

I am still learning all things DS as I go.

After removing the drain plug to drain the tank before I removed it out of the car, I notice a cylindrical shaped device came out with the drain bolt/plug, which I was a little confused about, it was full of this gunk that has consumed the tank. Now that I have seen the cutaway of the tank, I realise it's the filter for the fuel outlet pipe, what a clever design to be able access it without pulling the tank out of the car and/or cutting it apart. Its definitely missing the filter washers or mesh.
 
The stack of filtering discs was not fitted to EFI cars. Only for carby cars. The tank itself changed very little over production and you can even fit an early tank from an ID19 if you add in a return pipe for the EFI. There are a few caveats about using POR type sealants, notably not to block of have the plastic tube not properly inserted to the bottom of the tank when you add the sealant as you will likely never get that tube in the correct place later. The steel pickup tube doesn't go to the bottom of the tank, hence the insert.
 
This is the device that came out with the drain plug bolt. As you can see there is no filter mesh, should there be?

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I wont be using a por15 or kbs (i've this in an old vintage car tank) type of tank sealers, I think this tank is too elaborate internally for it to seal all the sections inside. I could wrap some gauze meshing around this and keep in place with wire.

After many flushing out with petrol, then with degreaser and then now with water, I am going to use Evapo-rust to convert and neutralize the remaining rust inside the tank.
 
keepsmiling said:
This is the device that came out with the drain plug bolt. As you can see there is no filter mesh, should there be?

View attachment 215845View attachment 215846


I wont be using a por15 or kbs (i've this in an old vintage car tank) type of tank sealers, I think this tank is too elaborate internally for it to seal all the sections inside. I could wrap some gauze meshing around this and keep in place with wire.

After many flushing out with petrol, then with degreaser and then now with water, I am going to use Evapo-rust to convert and neutralize the remaining rust inside the tank.
Click to expand...
Sorry, am I missing something? The drain plug, why put mesh around it?
 
This is my understanding of it;

the plastic device you see in my previous post fits into the plug bolt and the outlet tube from inside the tank fits through the hole in this device, hence the outlet pipe picks up coarse filtered fuel from within it.

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keepsmiling said:
... I am going to use Evapo-rust to convert and neutralize the remaining rust inside the tank.
Click to expand...

Be careful how you treat the metal with chemicals if you are going to use a sealant like POR. As I recall, that type of coating may want a slightly rusty, but non-greasy surface to ensure it adheres properly. Follow the instructions exactly.
 
David S said:
Be careful how you treat the metal with chemicals if you are going to use a sealant like POR. As I recall, that type of coating may want a slightly rusty, but non-greasy surface to ensure it adheres properly. Follow the instructions exactly.
Click to expand...
I won't being using any tank sealer por15 or kbs.
 
I've often mused that one way to deal with an old fuel tank that has been chemically cleaned might be to protect it internally with electroless nickel deposited inside using a hot bath. If you have only a phosphate coating after treating that may not be enough longer term. That's why people opt for the sealers and coat every surface inside.
 
It’s possible that someone has previously tried sealing the tank and what you are pulling out is the failed sealant.

Rather than trying to clean the original disc filter a lot of people removed the discs and fitted an inline filter. I’d do one or the other but not both filters, one less service item to deal with.

As a side note, while you can drill a hole for the IE return line the internal tank structure is very different. The IE tanks have extra baffles and a sunken baffled pool around the pickup to stop the pump from running dry when cornering.
 
It's interesting, I couldn't find a supplier of the filter, the drain plug/bolt is readily available. If anyone knows of a supplied please let me know. I'd be very surprised the IE model does not have some sort of filter on the pickup pipe. Otherwise, I will wrap it with a metal mesh.

Today I will be spending time soaking the tank in Evapo-rust.

faulksy, very possible it maybe remnants of a failed sealer because there was so much of it, however, the gunk feels organic...lol
 
It’s not unheard of for fungus to grow in diesel so I wonder if the same can happen with petrol?

Apologies I thought we were talking about a carby car tank. The IE cars still have the plastic cage but without the discs. As you say budge, it locates the end of the pickup hose. They don’t need an in tank filter as there is an inline one just before the pump in the sill. The original pumps don’t have a lot of suction so fitting an in tank filter could cause you problems.

As Peter said, make sure the pickup is fully inserted into the tank. It’s a bugger of a job on IE cars because there’s not much room with the extra return and the tubes run at an angle through the sill. Best don’t with the drain plug out so you can see the pickup end.
 
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