Doug D.
"Tin Man"
Not long after I bought my trike, I began to experience fuel system problems. After a time, I found I had to clean the carburetor about every other week or so, and was going through fuel filters like Doritos at a drunken frat party. Logic dictated that the contamination was originating in the fuel tank, and after inspecting it as best I could, I found that the inside had been coated with some kind of gunk that I assumed was meant to stop leaks. This coating had begun to slough off the sides of the tank and dissolve, subsequently contaminating the rest of the system.
After talking to several mechanics and builders, I had to resolve myself to the fact that the tank was unsalvageable. I was told that there was no practical way to get all of the crap out of it, unless I were to cut it open, scrape it clean and weld it shut again. This meant risking more leaks, so I decided to replace the tank.
The tank was made specifically for the frame and was one of a kind. This meant the only way to replace it would be to have one like it custom built. This proved to be fiscally impractical, so I decided to install a sand rail tank, which I had on hand, on the rear of the trike. Not wanting to lose the original lines of the trike altogether, I decided to re-purpose the old tank and convert it into an instrument panel.
This meant the bottom would have to be cut out of the tank to allow access for installing a speedo and other gadgets.
Lo and behold, when I cut the tank open, I found what you see in the attached photos. And there was a ton of it.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with tank coatings? I was told by more than one mechanic that these coatings were bad news and shouldn’t be used at all. One guy told me that four of the last five fuel problems he had fixed were tanks with bad coatings.
After talking to several mechanics and builders, I had to resolve myself to the fact that the tank was unsalvageable. I was told that there was no practical way to get all of the crap out of it, unless I were to cut it open, scrape it clean and weld it shut again. This meant risking more leaks, so I decided to replace the tank.
The tank was made specifically for the frame and was one of a kind. This meant the only way to replace it would be to have one like it custom built. This proved to be fiscally impractical, so I decided to install a sand rail tank, which I had on hand, on the rear of the trike. Not wanting to lose the original lines of the trike altogether, I decided to re-purpose the old tank and convert it into an instrument panel.
This meant the bottom would have to be cut out of the tank to allow access for installing a speedo and other gadgets.
Lo and behold, when I cut the tank open, I found what you see in the attached photos. And there was a ton of it.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with tank coatings? I was told by more than one mechanic that these coatings were bad news and shouldn’t be used at all. One guy told me that four of the last five fuel problems he had fixed were tanks with bad coatings.
