Hi. I just fixed up my father in law's old Clinton J9 outboard. We brought the original steel
fuel tank home to drain and mix some fresh fuel and I ran into a few problems.
1. What was supposed to be fuel was brown, no "gasoline burn" on the skin, and the smell won't wash away.
2. The hose and primer bulb were full of chunks of hard stuff, varnish or rust?
3. The bottom of the tank has about an inch of brown, chunky stuff.
I removed the fuel line and primer, removed the fuel pump connector, removed the cap and cleaned all those bits. I know I need to pull the pickup tube out of the tank and clean it, but the bigger issue is how to clean the sludge from the tank and then remove all traces of whatever I use to clean it before adding some fuel.
What is a safe and effective way to clean a steel fuel tank?
1. What was supposed to be fuel was brown, no "gasoline burn" on the skin, and the smell won't wash away.
2. The hose and primer bulb were full of chunks of hard stuff, varnish or rust?
3. The bottom of the tank has about an inch of brown, chunky stuff.
I removed the fuel line and primer, removed the fuel pump connector, removed the cap and cleaned all those bits. I know I need to pull the pickup tube out of the tank and clean it, but the bigger issue is how to clean the sludge from the tank and then remove all traces of whatever I use to clean it before adding some fuel.
What is a safe and effective way to clean a steel fuel tank?