Fuel Tank Rust Control

[Black N Gold]

Continuing the saga of getting the 25+ year old Vision in better shape - the outside has been painted by the Previous owner, OK job - but the inside is less-than-perfect, I would call it "slight to moderate surface rust - some of it loose, with dime-quarter size spots generating it... no perforations that I can detect ywt...

So far, I've taken the fuel sender and petcock off, filled the tank with loose stuff and shaken it till my arms have fallen off , repeated, etc., for a few days...- I'll dump the beads and soap/rinse thoroughly soon... I feel better now that the old stuff is mostly going to come off, and the tank is better already - in the short run...
without spending the several hundred dollars to have the tank "professionally" done, what about a material like POR-15? Is this a step up from Kreem? Any experiences?

[shah269]

You can reline it.
Not the.....safest thing to do in the world but can be done.
You clean it out with product A then you etch it with acid and then you line it with some stuff.
A friend and I did his, wasn't hard at all. But we were stoned for like a week from the chemicals!

[Outrace]

Try this:

http://cycletips.blogspot.com/2007/08/de-rusting-your-fuel-tank.html

[Bjorn Toulouse]

I've done a number of tanks with POR-15 and had excellent results.

Many many years ago I tried Kreem on a couple of tanks without joy....lining began to flake off
in a fairly short period of time.

Both products were applied following the specific directions.

If you can scrub the rust out with the technique you're using, and there are no leaks, I would recommend NOT using any liner.

The above is based on my personal experience. YMMV



Rex

[Mr. Whippy]

I have also used the POR-15 system with uniformly excellent results.  There are a couple points to remember:  This stuff dries really hard so make sure the fuel outlets are completely clear before it does dry (ie poke something through so a film or plug doesn't obstruct the fuel flow).  Make sure you don't get any on threads or threaded inserts--again this stuff dries really hard.

[thatguy]

Been using this stuff four about 5 years now.I'd say we've done 50 tanks with it.One step and no BS acid etching.I would be careful about the fumes though as it has MEK in it.Did a 1972 R5 Yamaha that we thought was beyond hope.Saw the guy riding the bike a month or so ago.So it must still be working.Oh and a quart will do a couple 5 gallon tanks.

http://www.4secondsflat.com/Fuel_Tank_Sealer.html

[M.Brane]

 I found some stuff called Evapo-Rust. Yeah, corny name, and I was skeptical it would work. I had nothing to lose though so I bought a couple bottles at Auto Zone. I poured it in the tank, sealed up the filler hole, and spent a couple hours shaking it around. Let it sit for a while on each side between shaking sessions.

 It worked. No more rust. Even got the pits.

 Non-toxic, boidegradable, and doesn't eat paint or bare metal.

[Jes_VFR]

Been using this stuff four about 5 years now.I'd say we've done 50 tanks with it.One step and no BS acid etching.I would be careful about the fumes though as it has MEK in it.Did a 1972 R5 Yamaha that we thought was beyond hope.Saw the guy riding the bike a month or so ago.So it must still be working.Oh and a quart will do a couple 5 gallon tanks.

http://www.4secondsflat.com/Fuel_Tank_Sealer.html

+1 on the redkote. I have used to it make sure that fabricated gas tanks (on cars) are sealed after all the welding is completed.

[PhilBiker]

Is that a 25 year old Yamaha Vision?  I vaguely remember there was some kind of catastrophic engineering defect with that bike.....  Good luck.  Sorry I can't remember anything more.  Neat bike BTW.

[squeezer]

I vaguely remember there was some kind of catastrophic engineering defect with that bike.....  

Yes.  It was brought to market ahead of its time.  

I loved my Vision.  Didn't own it very long, though, so if there was such a defect I never found it.  

[thatguy]

Is that a 25 year old Yamaha Vision?  I vaguely remember there was some kind of catastrophic engineering defect with that bike.....  Good luck.  Sorry I can't remember anything more.  Neat bike BTW.

Nah you're thinking about the TX750 which was a total disaster for Yamaha.It was a counterbalanced twin.At higher RPMs the counter balancers would aerate the oil and starve the crankshaft with catastrophic results.Nice bike with a huge screw-up.There are a few examples of the '73-74 run out there.

[PhilBiker]

Nah you're thinking about the TX750 which was a total disaster for Yamaha.It was a counterbalanced twin.At higher RPMs the counter balancers would aerate the oil and starve the crankshaft with catastrophic results.Nice bike with a huge screw-up.There are a few examples of the '73-74 run out there.

Actually I was specifically thinking of the Vision, but that TX750 sounds like a real problem!

A little googling found the problem This former owner talks about a poorly engineered O-ring seal which chronically wrecked starter motors.  That rings a bell - he also discusses a cheap fix for the problem, which may help the OP!  I think there were other problems with the Vision as well.

[ZZR Rob]

Continuing the saga of getting the 25+ year old Vision in better shape - the outside has been painted by the Previous owner, OK job - but the inside is less-than-perfect, I would call it "slight to moderate surface rust - some of it loose, with dime-quarter size spots generating it... no perforations that I can detect ywt...

So far, I've taken the fuel sender and petcock off, filled the tank with loose stuff and shaken it till my arms have fallen off , repeated, etc., for a few days...- I'll dump the beads and soap/rinse thoroughly soon... I feel better now that the old stuff is mostly going to come off, and the tank is better already - in the short run...
without spending the several hundred dollars to have the tank "professionally" done, what about a material like POR-15? Is this a step up from Kreem? Any experiences?

Kreem worked well for me on a 72 DT250 tank, just followed the directions to a tee.
Good Luck and have fun.