Best way to flush an oil tank

komet · Jun 8, 2011

The oil tank on my '71 Commando has sludge in the bottom and I need to remove this as well as flush it clean before painting. Also, I filled it with petrol to trace an oil leak and am worried that the fumes might cause problems when I get a new rear mount welded on. The welder suggested running car exhaust fumes in for 15 minutes to neutralise the risk. Any suggestions on either would be welcome.

Graeme

L.A.B. · Jun 8, 2011

komet said:
The welder suggested running car exhaust fumes in for 15 minutes to neutralise the risk.

It's only a tiny little oil tank not a multi-baffled fuel tank, so any petrol fumes will disperse quite quickly after it is been flushed clean and allowed to dry out if the filler is left open.

Alternatively use paraffin/kerosene or diesel instead of petrol to flush it?

Keith1069 · Jun 8, 2011

If you're rewelding the bracket why not brace it to the filler tower. Cured me of having to fix it every two to three years. Make sure when its in place on the bottom mount and front that there are no gaps to the rear mount. Most of the damage seems to come from fore and aft shaking and any extra 'pull' on the tab will break it again. That's why I braced mine, doesn't look great on this one but I did a better weld on the tank that's in place now.

marinatlas · Jun 8, 2011

Hi , about flushing before welding/brazing ,I use hot soapy water ,and then rinse plenty times with hot water, more simple and as effective as "inerting" by ehaust fumes which we use on our tankers to inert the cargo holds , which was mainly used to get rid of the oygen and thus bringing the inside atmosphere impossible to ignite/explode whatever the % of inflammable gases inside , in fact either you take the O2 out or the flammable gases out, and to make sure atmosphere testing before entering in the tank or doing any hot works.........but that were tankers , and we with those Norton basic oil tanks could just use any solvent to help remove the sludges , and then as said previously , wash and rinse with hot water............

AntrimMan · Jun 8, 2011

Rubber gloves, an exact number of 1/4-20 nuts, some diesel, a clean bucket to dump into and shake shake shake.
A retrieving magnet is handy sometimes when the in count doesn't match the out count.
The nuts will agitate the sludge and quicken up the process.
Advise the welder this tank had fuel in it, he will know how to handle that.

swooshdave · Jun 8, 2011

I gave it to my machinist who put it through his hot tank (big parts dishwasher). Best $20 I ever spent. Clean and stripped the paint all at once. Just primered and painted after that.

combat-proddy-build-t4186-120.html#p59697

Flo · Jun 8, 2011

marinatlas said:
Hi , about flushing before welding/brazing ,I use hot soapy water ,and then rinse plenty times with hot water, more simple and as effective as "inerting" by ehaust fumes which we use on our tankers to inert the cargo holds , which was mainly used to get rid of the oygen and thus bringing the inside atmosphere impossible to ignite/explode whatever the % of inflammable gases inside , in fact either you take the O2 out or the flammable gases out, and to make sure atmosphere testing before entering in the tank or doing any hot works.........but that were tankers , and we with those Norton basic oil tanks could just use any solvent to help remove the sludges , and then as said previously , wash and rinse with hot water............

I would go with that, plenty of washing up liquid, hot water & a good old shaking, but not stirred.
Warm it up afterwards to dry quicker.

shrugger · Jun 8, 2011

I sprayed half a can of engine degreaser. Then took it to a carwash and power blasted it.
Sprayed the other half for good measure and blasted it again. Sludge gone. :mrgreen:

Just dont wear your good shoes.

Cheesy · Jun 8, 2011

I soaked mine in a plastic tub with a pretty strong mix of caustic soda and water, took all the powder coat off nicely, I did fill it with nuts and petrol and gave it a good shake first to get the sludge out first though.

komet · Jun 9, 2011

Hey thanks for the replies, what a great forum this is. First Norton I've owned, wondered why the tank was so loose and then found the bottom rubber and spacer plus the rear bracket was missing... Going in to the Harley dealer tomorrow to pick up some rubber mounts, think I might try a rubber doughnut for the bottom mount.

Graeme

Best way to flush an oil tank

komet

L.A.B.

Moderator

Keith1069

marinatlas

AntrimMan

swooshdave

Flo

shrugger

Cheesy

komet

Similar threads