Fuel Tank

[Ken Juul]

I finally got around to cleaning my fuel tank this weekend.  It took me much longer than I thought to get it burned down to under a 1/4 tank.  Pumped about 4 gals through the racor before the flow got down to about nothing.  Tank came out much easier than I anticipated, the 16 year old hoses pulled off without cracking and without excessive force.  Quite a balancing act getting the tank out with roughly 4 gals of fuel in it, glad I had help.  Sloshed the fuel around quite a bit before I started pouring it out.  Came out looking more like coffee than diesel.  Mostly small particulate matter, got an occasional chunk about the size of a quarter.  Guess the Bio Bor did it's job, it was all hard particles, saw no slime or water.  Rinsed it 3 or four times with acetone until the acetone came out clear.  I pulled the level float out prior to the emptying the tank to keep if from banging around.  Using a flashlight and inspection mirror I check that end of the tank, after the cleaning, found some staining and maybe some etching, but all the sediment was gone.  Re installed the tank, filled with the clean 4 gallons I pumped out, changed the Racor, engine runs like a champ.  All in all about 3 hours work.   

I did not pull the pick up tube.  I visually checked that the rubber tube was in place with the free end laying on the bottom of the tank.  There was no screen present.  Is the screen on the end of the rubber tube or on the copper tube with the rubber pushed over it?  Hope I don't need to pull the pickup!

[Howard Armstrong]

Ken, I have an 88 model and the screen was on the end of the rubber tube. it did protrude, it wasnt up inside the tube.

[Ron Hill]

Ken : You've done all the work - why not pull the pickup tube???  The screen was/is in your's unless it fell out or the PO removed it. 
It's well worth the TWO minutes it will take you to check for it!!!!!!!   

[Ken Juul]

I could clearly see the end of the rubber tube, no screen.  I didn't see anything in the bottom of the tank, unless it is forward of the baffle.  Think I will pull to be sure, just need to burn down some fuel to ensure it doesn't try to come out when I pull the pickup tube.