The Hodaka Club Forum

Opened my beautiful on the outside fuel tank, to find it was not so beautiful on the inside!

It seems the tank was left to sit for a very LONG time with fuel/oil mixture in it. It appears to be crudded up inside with nearly dry, semi-sticky 2 stroke oil, on the inside of the tank.

Any advise for removing this crud from the tank? I tried adding fresh fuel with a little bit of oil and a handful of drywall screws, but it's having little or no effect on removing the dried up oil.

As always, thanks in advance. Victor

The Auto Zone sells PURPLE POWER Industrial cleaner. A Gallon costs $6.99 + Tax. The Diesel Pickups need the EGR Valve and EGR Cooler cleaned every so many Miles. That stuff breaks down baked on soot and carbon really well. Use it undiluted. Be careful on Aluminum parts! Eats it ! Joe.

Will it harm the chrome? I’m guessing it’s just a pour it in & shake it proposition, Joe? Anything I need to know in more detail? Please let me know. Thanks! Victor

Victor, take this as you may - I would suggest not using gasoline as a tank cleaner. Slosh a little around the tank before trying a different 2-stroke oil. Yes. Shaking the $4iT out of a tank full of gasoline, screws, and "mystery crud" - no. Concerned friend here spouting off.

Basically you just pour it in the Tank and let is soak. Will it stain Chrome? Possibly. Only soak The solid Cast iron Cylinders. Just pour a Quart in the Tank and let it work for a couple of hours.Then rinse it out with water and see what it did. WEAR GLOVES ! This stuff will attack Aluminum! Read the instructions and go from there. DO NOT SOAK CARBURETORS IN THIS STUFF !!! I tested it on a junk VM24 Float bowl and it started to dissolve it. As with anything, test it first. Stay Safe! Joe.

OK Joe. I will acquire some, read the directions and proceed with caution! Thanks for the info!

Matt, I hear you!!! Victor

Matt. Your advise is always well taken. I just figured that if the oil was dissolved in the gas, that maybe the gas would break it down, but, no go. Going to try what Joe recommended. Victor

You're a bro, Victor. Just concerned about your safety. I've taken care of wayyyyyyyyyeeee too many fuel fire victims and its heartbreaking. Try this on your tank: Simple Green or Krud Kutter and the drywall screws with a hardcore shaking. This has worked well for me. My brother fills the tank with a moderately concentrated solution of Dawn dish soap, lets it soak for a day, agitates it a bit, soak, etc. He swears by it.

You're a bro, Victor. Just concerned about your safety. I've taken care of wayyyyyyyyyeeee too many fuel fire victims and its heartbreaking. Try this on your tank: Simple Green or Krud Kutter and the drywall screws with a hardcore shaking. This has worked well for me. My brother fills the tank with a moderately concentrated solution of Dawn dish soap, lets it soak for a day, agitates it a bit, soak, etc. I have not tried it yet, but he swears by it.

Joe. I bought a gallon of the Purple Power Industrial Cleaner this evening. I’m going to try it tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes along with before and after pics! Fingers crossed. Victor

OK, as promised to Joe, here’s a Before photo of the inside of the tank! About to add the Purple Power Industrial Cleaner he recommended. After pics to follow! Victor

Well, Joe, I bought a gallon of Purple Power Industrial Cleaner. I poured the entire gallon into the tank. Shook it up. Rolled it around. Not much came loose.

I then turned the tank upside down on my work bench, so the top of the tunnel would be submersed in the liquid. I left it over night. Not much of a change. Here’s the before & after pics. Victor

So I’m going to try Vinegar and see what that does. I may be headed for a tank cream if this doesn’t work. So, who can suggest which one might work the best considering how rough the inner surface is? Thanks in advance, AGAIN!!! Victor

I’m wondering as well as the Naval Jelly worked on other parts, if I should try using that or something similar? Any suggestions? This looks like a bad case of rust, coated with dried 2 stroke oil. Victor

Recently I've had decent luck letting tanks soak filled w/ E85, it seems like the alcohol acts pretty well as a solvent to loosen old crud.

Once the crud is out, rust can be eliminated w/ evaporust which seems less aggressive and healthier alternative to phosphoric acid.

I can't tell for sure Victor, but from what I can see there appears to be bare metal underneath all that crud. This suggests the possibility of what you're seeing representing the most epic case of caked-on grunge EVER. Have you tried throwing a half pound of drywall screws in dry and giving it a whirl or three. You might consider a grease-cutting formula too (CrudCutter, Dawn dish soap, etc.) before going to the tank liner. Just for fun, try scraping gently along the top of the tunnel with a gasket chisel and see if there is indeed clean metal under there. A happy accident of a bike put out to pasture with fuel and crud in the tank is the fact that it may have afforded the tank some protection. That picture you posted just doesn't look like regular old garden variety Hodaka tank rust to me (it may be my computer).

Bummer! Have any of you bought from Summit Racing Equipment? They sell Evapo Rust in 3 1/2 and 5 Gallon Buckets. They also have a Power Sports Place section for Dirt Bike stuff. Free Shipping on orders over $99.00 Check it out! Great place to shop!!! Joe.

Hey Vic,

Do not use Kreem tank sealer. Not a very good product in my experience. Caswell makes a decent epoxy sealer but that tank would need to be cleaned way better than that if a sealer is used.

Try some lacquer thinner first. Might break down what ever that residue is.

Danny

Thanks Danny! I’ll give it a go!

I did put some Naval Jelly in on top of the tank tunnel, and it appears to be eating down to the metal. But the problem with Naval Jelly is it’s very thick and doesn’t flow well. It needs to be brushed on thick.

So tomorrow I think I’m going to try some CLR. CLR cleans Calcium, Lime & Rust but it’s liquid and can be poured into the tank rather than being brushed on.

The Naval Jelly worked VERY WELL on the under side of the tunnel on the outside of the tank. So I’m hopeful that the CLR might give the desired effect! Victor

Did I tell you how much I like Naval Jelly???
2 quick coats on the top of the tunnel but I couldn’t do this all over inside. If the lacquer thinner doesn’t work, I’m going to buy a gallon of Phosphoric Acid, which is the primary ingredient in Naval Jelly, along with some proprietary ingredients and a small amount of sulphuric acid as well.

Muriatic acid is what I used on my XS650 tank. Be aware, it will remove chrome. You will also want a respirator, chem gloves, and goggles. Have some baking soda on hand to neutralize. It will definitely remove your stains in the tank.

2 weeks or so in an apple cider vinegar bath will do it. Vinegar is cheap and more environmentally friendly than phosphoric, sulfuric, and muriatic acids

If this is rust you're looking at then detergents and solvents won't bring the job home for you.

If your tank's not leaking a DILUTE Muratic acid soak will do. I've used it.

My key qualifier is DILUTE.

Muratic is dilute hydrochloric acid, but too strong full strength. Available at hardware stores.

Here's what I did: fill tank with water but leave room for One Cup, ( that's 8 ounces) of Muratic.

Carefully add the cup of Muratic. Top off with water.

Then wait. I waited about a week. Look in there on e in a while with a good flashlight. You'll see what's the progress.

Rinse and repeat if needed.

Rinse again, add a quart of acetone & a pound of drywall screws. Shake. Remove screws with a magnet if some are hiding.

Flush again with acetone. It gets the water out.

If you want to coat look at Red Coat. I liked it. Takes a very long time to dry. You can do two coats if you want to be conservative. Extensive instructions available from manufacturer.

DO THIS STUFF OUTSIDE! WEAR GLOVES! PUT ON SOME GLASSES! DON'T BRING THIS WORK INTO THE HOUSE OR BASEMENT.

All I got on this one. Take your time.

Thanks Al! It seems the problem is both rust & a dried coating of 2 stroke oil. I will try the muratic acid. Maybe it will clear both. Victor

Roger. I was thinking the same thing. Apple Cider Vinegar and letting it sit. Going to Walmart today for enough to fill the tank! The specs say it’s a 2 gallon tank! Victor