Topic: What's the best way to clean out an old oil tank?

[mycb750k6]

Seems like lots of black goo in there and there are so many holes for hoses and such in the tank I'm not sure how to get it clean.
I do know it needs to be cleaned before I put it on this bike.

[Alan F.]

I'm a fan of warm acetone for things like that, just leave a quart of it in the car on a hot sunny day, then in a well ventilated place plug all the holes in the tank well and pour it in, agitate every now and then.  It'll stay warmer longer/work better if you leave the oil tank out in the sun for a few hours.

[srook]

Alan has a great method.  The only thing I will add is when I cleaned my oil tank with laquer thinner, it didn't get installed on the bike right away.  The tank sat empty with no more oil resude left inside and rusted over the winter.  I basically had to re clean it with a bunch of screws thrown in to remove the rust before using it.  Don't clean it until you're ready to put it on and fill it up with oil.
Scott

[Alan F.]

Good point there Scott!

[Johnie]

If it is rust free then I use carb cleaner. I spray and wipe with a long flexible shaft with cloth on the end. Spray until clean. And you want to do that with the tank off the bike. You do not want to run the carb cleaner into the oil lines. One of my tanks was goo up to the top of where the oil line connects. In that case I first used a long screwdriver to pull some of that goo out. Then I went to the carb cleaner.