Rust in Older Case 580ck Backhoe Fuel Tank

[tasmanian hoe]

Hi everyone..I have an older case 580ck backhoe serial #8336576 (could be 1970"s) that has a lot of rust in the fuel tank which is clogging up my gas lines and carb, is there some way to remove the rust without removing the gas tank which looks to me to be a real big job.I have tried a shop vac, muriatic acid etc and the rust is still in there.. any solutions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[applehead]

I had this same issue on JD410 about 5 years ago. It had blockage and quite a bit of rust. I removed petcock at bottom of fuel tank. I had to poke thru the open hole at bottom of tank with a wire rod then stuff gushed out. Then I used small amount of diesel fuel to loosen the rust in bottom of tank then agitated it with a wire to keep the rust moving. Flushed this way 2 or 3 times. Then put small hose on shop vac. and tried to remove the rest. There should be a strainer on top of petcock and I replace that. Also replace fuel filter. You will never get it all out without removing the tank but this should keep you going for some time. Then use contaminated old diesel fuel for brush fires and such.

 

[NH575E]

On my 575E I used a pressure washer to knock as much loose as possible. It has a pretty good size drain plug. I filled it with a 50% mix of water and cleaning vinegar and let it soak over night then repeated the pressure washer rinse. I dried it out with a heat gun.

After all that I installed a small engine fuel filter in front of the water separator. It clogged a couple times within the next month and has remained free flowing since.

 

[tasmanian hoe]

I had this same issue on JD410 about 5 years ago. It had blockage and quite a bit of rust. I removed petcock at bottom of fuel tank. I had to poke thru the open hole at bottom of tank with a wire rod then stuff gushed out. Then I used small amount of diesel fuel to loosen the rust in bottom of tank then agitated it with a wire to keep the rust moving. Flushed this way 2 or 3 times. Then put small hose on shop vac. and tried to remove the rest. There should be a strainer on top of petcock and I replace that. Also replace fuel filter. You will never get it all out without removing the tank but this should keep you going for some time. Then use contaminated old diesel fuel for brush fires and such.[/QUOTE
Hi Thanks for answering.. theres so much to take apart to remove the fuel tank I believe I am not qualified to do this the backhoe is in a field and can only be driven out..the hoe is gas can I still put diesel to try to flush it out.thanks

 

[tasmanian hoe]

On my 575E I used a pressure washer to knock as much loose as possible. It has a pretty good size drain plug. I filled it with a 50% mix of water and cleaning vinegar and let it soak over night then repeated the pressure washer rinse. I dried it out with a heat gun.

After all that I installed a small engine fuel filter in front of the water separator. It clogged a couple times within the next month and has remained free flowing since.

Hi Thanks for the reply.I tried pressure washing didn't help me..i first used muriatic acid let it sit for a day then I pressured wash it this was late 2019.. I put gas in it for the winter and now 2020 went to drain the gas and still so much rust particles. very stumped.thank you for your advice

 

[Delmer]

Muriatic acid will remove the rust, but rust bad again. Not much you can do besides keep the tank full and fresh. Rinse the tank a couple times, then live with it. Unless you want to remove the tank, then there's lots of options.

 

[Tinkerer]

When you cleaned it with muratic acid how strong did you mix it with water ?
It has to be quiet strong. I prefer 50/50.
Was the tank full of the solution to the top ? How long was it in the tank ?
You may need to do it again.
There should not be any particles coming loose for quite a while if it was done correctly.
As Delmer said it will rust immediately, but it will only be slightly rusted on the surface. If it was/ is severely rusted it may start to leak before long.

 

[NH575E]

Mine just had rust in the bottom so it wasn't too bad but it was bad enough to be clogging the lines and filters.

Here are the before and after pics of using 50% cleaning vinegar.

 

[Tenwheeler]

I have used products like Kreem from Napa, something similar from JC Whitney and some other gas - fuel tank sealers. They always worked well but that tank has to be clean. Roll them around a lot after you put it in.

 

[Swetz]

Back in the day we called that tank slosh. It does work, but you must be careful with the fuel pickup. Also, the tank must be removed from the machine and rolled or sloshed around quite a bit...not just a little...this is what coats the inside of the tank. It must be left to dry before being put back in service.

 

[tasmanian hoe]

When you cleaned it with muratic acid how strong did you mix it with water ?
It has to be quiet strong. I prefer 50/50.
Was the tank full of the solution to the top ? How long was it in the tank ?
You may need to do it again.
There should not be any particles coming loose for quite a while if it was done correctly.
As Delmer said it will rust immediately, but it will only be slightly rusted on the surface. If it was/ is severely rusted it may start to leak before long.

HI Thanks for replying Yes i used 50/50 right to the top left in for 2 days and drained then i pressure washed it let it drain of excess water then i put a hair dryer to iit to let the water dry up and then i shop vac'd it...and then i put gas in it to let it sit for the winter and when i went to drain the gas it was full of rust still. I cannot take the fuel tank off because i would have to disassemble half the machine and im not really mechanically inclined.

Thank you

 

[tasmanian hoe]

Back in the day we called that tank slosh. It does work, but you must be careful with the fuel pickup. Also, the tank must be removed from the machine and rolled or sloshed around quite a bit...not just a little...this is what coats the inside of the tank. It must be left to dry before being put back in service.

Hi.. Im not that mechanically inclined to remove all those parts of the back hoe looks complicated and the hoe is in a field stuck there since last year...
Thanks for your advice

 

[tasmanian hoe]

Back in the day we called that tank slosh. It does work, but you must be careful with the fuel pickup. Also, the tank must be removed from the machine and rolled or sloshed around quite a bit...not just a little...this is what coats the inside of the tank. It must be left to dry before being put back in service.[/QUOTE

Hi ..Yeah i figured i would have to tank apart im not mechanically inclined i play the Guitar Lol.

Thanks

I have used products like Kreem from Napa, something similar from JC Whitney and some other gas - fuel tank sealers. They always worked well but that tank has to be clean. Roll them around a lot after you put it in.

 

[Delmer]

You should have a filter somewhere between the tank and the fuel pump or carb. That will save most of the hassle. Rust is not really a big deal for a gas engine, gas flows and filters much easier than diesel, and doesn't need to be as clean as diesel needs to be for the injection system. You could add a few ounces of oil every time you fill up with gas, that will give a slight oil film to the exposed parts of the tank, mostly for cosmetic reasons. Otherwise, you just need a filter, or a bigger filter. A 3/8" inline plastic filter would probably be plenty.

 

[tasmanian hoe]

You should have a filter somewhere between the tank and the fuel pump or carb. That will save most of the hassle. Rust is not really a big deal for a gas engine, gas flows and filters much easier than diesel, and doesn't need to be as clean as diesel needs to be for the injection system. You could add a few ounces of oil every time you fill up with gas, that will give a slight oil film to the exposed parts of the tank, mostly for cosmetic reasons. Otherwise, you just need a filter, or a bigger filter. A 3/8" inline plastic filter would probably be plenty.

Hi thanks for the reply the bottom of the fuel tank has a glass bowl and from that a fuel line directly to the carb would i still add a filter after the glass bowl and also what grade of oil should i use.
Thanks

 

[Delmer]

That glass bowl originally had a fine mesh brass screen to keep out bugs and weeds, usually the brass screen is gone after so many years. I'd put it halfway to the carb in the middle of a section of rubber fuel line so it will be easy to remove and shake the water and rust out of it, if needed. or add a new 3/8" fuel line hanging low enough that you can put a clear inline fuel filter vertically going back up to the carb so the air goes into the carb, and the water and rust fall back out of the filter, that "trap" of water might be enough to stop the gas flow, just be aware of it, to me it's better to run out of gas, than to get that water into the carb. You could use two cycle oil, or whatever is handy, better not to use synthetic motor oil.

 

[tasmanian hoe]

That glass bowl originally had a fine mesh brass screen to keep out bugs and weeds, usually the brass screen is gone after so many years. I'd put it halfway to the carb in the middle of a section of rubber fuel line so it will be easy to remove and shake the water and rust out of it, if needed. or add a new 3/8" fuel line hanging low enough that you can put a clear inline fuel filter vertically going back up to the carb so the air goes into the carb, and the water and rust fall back out of the filter, that "trap" of water might be enough to stop the gas flow, just be aware of it, to me it's better to run out of gas, than to get that water into the carb. You could use two cycle oil, or whatever is handy, better not to use synthetic motor oil.

Thanks for the quick reply will have to wait till next week to go get some parts i live in a small town and being the weekend lots of out of town people coming here to get out of the big city from the this covid 19 that means stores are letting people in one at a time..STAY SAFE EVERYONE

Thanks to all who replied i will post once i do this..

 

[NH575E]

Add a small engine filter between the tank and the water separator bowl. Get the larger size small engine filter that is sized for your fuel line, not the torpedo shaped one. Keep a couple of filters on hand.

Here is an example for a 5/16" fuel hose. They also make them for 1/4" or 3/8" hose so get the right one.

 

[Delmer]

just like that one. Except I would not use one on diesel, even if it's the screen for diesel, diesel tanks should have a screen in the pickup, a water separator, and then the stock pump and filter setup. I think a fram G2 is a paper filter for gas, so that will be the first suspect if you have problems.

 

[Billrog]

The filter like the one in the pic. is standard on my 580 SM only it's
1/2 " have to buy them from Case auto motive outlets didn't have 1/2 "