bummer.. gas tank liner peeling. ruined my day.

[LA_Dog]

so I just got this nice 2001 Pro Sport and was running into a bit of issue with it stumbling at part throttle, sometimes acting like it was running lean at full throttle. I spent most of the day today tuning the carb, checking spark, ignition, timing, etc etc etc.. All to no avail with remedying the issue. As a matter of fact, it started getting worse and every time the bike got warmed up / hot, it would idle poorly and want to die. I was just mystified. Then toward end of day I checked the gas level (it was low) and saw some sort of yellow plastic wafer thing in the tank. I got a light and looked further in the tank. all the liner is peeling off and clogging the holes / petcock screen. effing wonderful.:angry::bang:

Just got back from Lowes with the jug-O-Jasco epoxy stripper, a can of MEK, two boxes of shorty drywall nails, and a big ass magnet. tomorrow will be a fun day. Will be totally pissed if I mess up the nice paint job.

oh and in case you are wondering what the magnet is for, it is for dragging the screws around inside the tank. put some felt on the magnet, hold it to outside of tank, screws inside tank attract to magnet, move magnet around outside of tank. I have some smaller magnets with a hole in it for "fishing" the drywall nails out of the tank afterwards. beats the hell out of trying to fish them through the hole with your finger.

and yep I'm going to run raw steel in the tanks. I hope it does not leak without a liner. we'll see/

 

[Nukeranger]

I used POR on a 1968 BSA gas tank that was under 10 feet of Katrina water for 3 weeks. If prep work is done right, it can be a solution.

FUEL TANK REPAIR KIT

 

[liferider]

Are you running octane booste? Some brands will cause tank liners to come apart. Ford had this problem with 2006 F-450 with Diecel engines. The new additives in diecel were causing the lining to turn to a jello substance. Some octaine booste turn regular tank lineds to peel off. Only two I would recommend Star Brite and rocket fuel.

 

[kickstart]

My 05 Bulldog did the same thing. BD was still in business at that time (08) and they had discontinued using the yellow liner and went to a white. They told me it was the ethanol that was causing the liners to melt.

 

[liferider]

My 05 Bulldog did the same thing. BD was still in business at that time (08) and they had discontinued using the yellow liner and went to a white. They told me it was the ethanol that was causing the liners to melt.

Ethanol also will cause the nylon part of your gas cap to expand making it very difficult to remove and put back on. Happened to me last yr. Had to order a new gas cap. Landmark Renegade gas caps is where I got my replacement from.

 

[LA_Dog]

Are you running octane booste? Some brands will cause tank liners to come apart. Ford had this problem with 2006 F-450 with Diecel engines. The new additives in diecel were causing the lining to turn to a jello substance. Some octaine booste turn regular tank lineds to peel off. Only two I would recommend Star Brite and rocket fuel.

No octane boost from me- maybe previous owner. Bike has 3,800 miles on it and I've only put 100 of them on myself.

Any of you fellow BD owners running steel without leaks? I have read as many threads on (insert brand here) new liner kits peeling off after a few years as I have threads on (insert brand here) working great. I basically do not want to deal with another peeling liner, ever. Rust is not a concern where I live in Los Angeles, bike is never going to sit empty.

 

[SCOTTx88]

Just redid mine, used caswell tank liner, worked great. All I had to do is shake the screws around. Get the dragons blood version, it's colored, easy to mix and check for coverage.

http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/fuel-air/51157-just-re-lined-my-gas-tanks.html

 

[LA_Dog]

Just redid mine, used caswell tank liner, worked great. All I had to do is shake the screws around. Get the dragons blood version, it's colored, easy to mix and check for coverage.

http://www.bigdogbiker.com/forums/fuel-air/51157-just-re-lined-my-gas-tanks.html

Thanks for the info. how did you keep your breathers clear on the dual tanks? petcock / bungs seem easy enough, breathers definitely hard to get to from inside.

 

[BigDogRick]

I have been running mine bare steel for four years. No issues.

 

[SCOTTx88]

Thanks for the info. how did you keep your breathers clear on the dual tanks? petcock / bungs seem easy enough, breathers definitely hard to get to from inside.

Just stick a wire through when the epoxy just starts to set up.

 

[LA_Dog]

I have been running mine bare steel for four years. No issues.

Thanks- I'm going to go the steel route.

 

[LA_Dog]

Just stick a wire through when the epoxy just starts to set up.

Thanks Scott

 

[LA_Dog]

ok so just finished cleaning out the twin tanks. what an effing messy, PITA process. the reserve tank was rather easy (large hole and petcock hole). the main tank was a massive hassle due to the small opening.

My paint got effed up though. it was already slightly bubbling around the gas bung on both tanks (last painted by someone who does not know NOT to paint into the gas bung area).

So anyway some of the Jasco fumes from inside the tank seeped in under the paint around the bung and caused it to lift a lot more. So, off to the paint shop for these tanks. yeh it sucks but with the existing bubbles it was just a matter of time anyway before they spread.

But at least... no more stinking liner.

You know I had some big thick chunks come out as well, some as much as 1/8" thick. it was yellowish so I vote for thick liner that sat pooled and hardened.

 

[MN K9]

The liner peeled up in my RoadKing's tank. I removed the loose stuff, replaced the in-tank filter, then stuck the tank back on the bike. The paint is in nice shape and I didn't want to screw it up.

 

[LA_Dog]

The liner peeled up in my RoadKing's tank. I removed the loose stuff, replaced the in-tank filter, then stuck the tank back on the bike. The paint is in nice shape and I didn't want to screw it up.

Yep totally understandable. just keep an eye on things, the liner will continue to fall apart / turn to mush and there is a lot of that crap in there. my tank cross over lines were plugged with gooey liner. Which is why my main tank would stay full while reserve tank was running dry.

 

[01Mastiff]

Been 5 years without liner on BD and over 60 years on my '47 knuckle with no problems so I think you'll be OK.

 

[Deathstar88]

How do you get the pieces of liner out of the tank?? I have huge pieces in my tank shutting the bike down. I need to get them out ASAP

 

[FrankBDPS]

I bought one of those tools that looks like a steel choke cable with fingers that open and close on the end and a bore scope to see in the tanks with. It's an awfull time consuming job. Good luck

 

[Deathstar88]

I bought one of those tools that looks like a steel choke cable with fingers that open and close on the end and a bore scope to see in the tanks with. It's an awfull time consuming job. Good luck

Can I have the tank re lined without re painting? My paint job is almost brand new !

 

[FrankBDPS]

Some places will tell you they can remove the liners by placeing things like dry wall screws in the tanks and rotating and tilting them with a machine the have bilt to grind out the old liner. I tried doing mine my self with drywall screws. It worked for about 90 percent of the old liner. I reluctantly put paint remover in them. It bled thru pin holes in the welds and ruined my less than one year old paint job. I haven't figured out how to load pics yet or I would show you.

I think the name of the place I looked at using was fuel tank services. Good luck.