Gas tank horror story~

After years of on again, of again restoration, dealing with all sorts of pirates and bad mechanincs and endless procuring of parts I drove my 1978 Z1R for the first time in 32 years this week. The very bike I owned in 1978... It was at a freind's shop over the last year and in his spare time he did the final assembly. The engine having been done a couple years ago. My buddy is a great mechanic and when it fired up it ran like new.

It ran great for 10 minutes and I barely made it home as the bike began to cough and sputter, bog and want to stall. I was quite bummed out.

My mechaninc came by tonite and spent a few hours with me... To make a long story short It was a carb issue and we soon found that the gas tank that had been lined with some sort of white materieal started shedding this "liner" with debris from the tank affecting the carbs.

You're probably thinking "why didn't I check it out beforehand?" How we missed this is amazing.... I think the gas reacted with some cracks inside that were not visible. I've heard this white crap can be a nightmare.

I had the tank prepped and painted superbly 10+ years ago and paid little attention to the liner. It looked sound. Little did I know it was probably deteriorating all the time while just sitting in my home. It was stored dry and probably just began to break down when gas was put in.

You could see the crap lifting off right thru the gas when looking in the filler with aid of a flashlight and we drained the tank and we could reach in the neck and actually pull a couple chunks away to find it rusty appearing underneath. It was probably not put on properly or the tank was probably not properly prepped. It was so long ago I bought the tank I don't remember it being lined but it had to be. My painter (now retired) would never had lined it... Just took it for granted. Made a serious mistake... I judged the book by its cover!

Great. Now I have to find someone to strip it completely with an acid solution and re-line it. This has to be done without damaging the perfect paint.

I mean perfect. The paint would fool 99% of people into thinking it was original. The only giveaway was the liner. Too bad the inside is not as cherry! My buddy is certain there is no serious corrosion but the person I bought the tank from (15 years ago at least) obviously lined it.

Took off all the parts (cap, petcok, gauge sensor etc.) tonite and will try adnd find someone who can do this job without wrecking my paint.

This bike will be the death of me. I could write a book about all the struggles I've had.

Oh well, the few minutes it ran like new is enough to keep me going.

Carbs will need to come off again and get cleaned and hopefully it will only take a week or so to get this all done. The carbs are a minor issue. My buddy is a fantastic tuner.

Wish me luck! Any advice about lining? Are there any permanent fixes or any way to return what is no doubt a corroded tank under that carp to original silver metl finish or is lining the only way to go? I hear there is a "red" liner that is good stuff.

Wayne

PS: As a cruel twist of fate my Suzuki GS1100 (always a great starting and awesome running bike) refused to start today. Pulled the battery and going to have it tested. Hopefully it's just a battery gone kaput and not a charging problem. All this on my birthday too!

I think you should unload that Z1R. Send it to me in Honolulu!

It sounds like your tank was lined with Kreme. Cleaning the tank and recoating it with a different (better) product is not too difficult if done carefully.

editing error doh

i believe all the problems and then the suzuki not starting is called "cascading events" :sick: .

or as i always say "everything went to hell in a handbasket" .

sorry to hear of your mis-fortune,what a kick in the bag :pinch: on your birthday.

keep us posted on how this turns out for you,

leon

when it rains it pours..sorry to hear about that...onward soldiers...you will get it sorted

Dear martin_csr,

With what did you rinse out the tank, after the muriatic acid solution?

martin_csr wrote: You're going to have to use a solvent to remove the liner... such as MEK or a liner remover.
Protecting the paint may be problematic. Maybe a new liner is needed... maybe not?

My situation was kinda like yours: new paint, but the tank had rust & needed to be cleaned. So I made some block off plates for the underside openings & used a test plug at the filler opening. The block-offs were made from sheet rubber & 1/4" oak wood. I plugged the fuel cap bolt holes using teflon tape on the bolts. Since I was treating the rust w a muriatic acid solution, I kept a flow of copious amounts of water over the tank while doing the job. Not sure if it was necessary, but I wanted to be sure to protect the paint.

where did you find this plug?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!

ramtough_63 wrote:

martin_csr wrote: You're going to have to use a solvent to remove the liner... such as MEK or a liner remover.
Protecting the paint may be problematic. Maybe a new liner is needed... maybe not?

My situation was kinda like yours: new paint, but the tank had rust & needed to be cleaned. So I made some block off plates for the underside openings & used a test plug at the filler opening. The block-offs were made from sheet rubber & 1/4" oak wood. I plugged the fuel cap bolt holes using teflon tape on the bolts. Since I was treating the rust w a muriatic acid solution, I kept a flow of copious amounts of water over the tank while doing the job. Not sure if it was necessary, but I wanted to be sure to protect the paint.

where did you find this plug?

X2 I need to buy one of those for a boat I just bought. One of the freeze plugs is out of it and it's the one behind the motor mount. If I could find one of those types of plugs I won't have to remove the motor mount to replace it.

.

I am leery about coating the inside of a tank unless the tank has a leak to begin with. Or, I know that it has weak spots in the metal. Just keep hearing about too many issues with these coatings. Especially if done incorrectly. And are they really needed on a rusty but solid tank that doesn't leak. Wouldn't just taking care of the rust be all that's needed? I have heard that the red cote is one of the better coatings. But I would say avoid coatings if can. When I de-rusted my tank using vinegar. And since the tank didn't leak with the vinegar (acid bath) in there for three weeks, I figured there was little chance of getting one and it was safe to go ahead and paint.

Through lots of rat rod tanks chopper and b obber addicted friends and a couple old bikes I picked up this stuff is about the best I have seen www.caswellplating.com/restoration-aids/...gas-tank-sealer.html