The Blob is living in my gas tank!

[notAdub]

Ok, so  I just got my first bike a couple weeks ago, and took a quick night ride lastnight through some local neighborhoods for some practice. I got home, and checked my fuel level and noticed it was VERY low, but the bike never sputtered like it was low on fuel, and i didn't have to switch to reserve  

So 1st question. How low does the fuel level need to be before needing to switch to reserve?

I noticed while looking in the tanck some rust on the left side/ bottom of the tank and some particles floating in the fuel, and then...A mass of brown jelly like material floating within the fuel!!!  It looked like I had a lava lamp in my tank!!! The previous owner told me he put fuel stabilizer in it last winter, and this is the first tank of gas I have been through since a i bought the bike.

2nd question, How bad is the rust and particles floating around for the bikes well being? I will eventually clean and coat it, but can't do that for a bit.

3rd question, What the hell is that blob in my gas tank???

Please help a newbie out,  thanks all.

~Jeremy

[scottpA_GS]

I would pull the tank off and clean it out.

The blob is probably old gas.. it turns into goo like that over time.

[LimaXray]

the best thing to do would be to take off the tank, totally drain it, and clean/seal it with something like POR-15

[JamesG]

Yeah, and don't run the bike anymore until you get the tank fixed, or at the very least until you drain and flush the tank with fresh gas. Fine rust particles will clog up your carb jets in a heart beat and there is no telling what the "blob" will do.

[dchrist]

por-15 worked for me. I wouldn't run the bike again until its clean. you may already need a carb cleaning and if you continue to run rusty gas through it you certainly will if you don't already. good luck! its not that hard I did it two weekends ago and it wasn't too hard, just time consuming. its amazing once you clean out your carbs you get really protective of what goes through them. remember, the gs doens't have a fuel filter unless its an after market mod, just the in-tank screen. what model are you riding?

[notAdub]

its a 2000 GSe. I figured it might be bad/ old gas. 

So how do you take the tank off and how much is POR15 and where can I get it? I know the product, just havent looked into it in many years. Is this something I can do say...tomorrow and still ride this weekend?

I noticed two "tubes" running up along the left side inside the tank. I assume one is for the "reserve" and the other looks to be plastic with a screen. won't a sealler ruin that "screened tube"?

Any suggestions/ thoughts on my first question?

Thanks for the prompt response everyone, this site has been more help to me even before I bought my GS, it is the reason I bought it over the Ninja/EX 500.

[natedawg120]

you can switch to reserve whenever.  You will know when you have to switch to reserve because the bike will start to sputter, you will feel it.  Only thing you have to remember is to switch it back to run after you fill up or the next time you try to flip it you will be in for a not so pleasant surprize

[LimaXray]

You can buy the POR-15 tank kit through the link in my earlier post, but I don't know where you'd get it locally. 

To get off the tank, there are 2 bolts, one on each side, that hold the tank to the frame about where the seat meets the tank (you have to take off the seat to get to them).  Take out those two bolts, then slide the tank back to free the clip in the front, and you should be able to lift up the tank.  There is a second petcock attached to the bottom of the tank where the 2 fuel lines connect; turn off that petcock with a screw driver then remove the 2 fuel lines and the vent line from the bottom of the tank.  The tank should be free now and you can drain it as you please. 

I'd think when you do the whole sealer thing you're supposed to remove the entire pickup/petcock assembly from the bottom of the tank so you don't seal things that shouldn't be sealed.

[3imo]

Yeah, and don't run the bike anymore until you get the tank fixed, or at the very least until you drain and flush the tank with fresh gas. Fine rust particles will clog up your carb jets in a heart beat and there is no telling what the "blob" will do.

Welcome back JamesG.  Glad you made it one piece.

NotAdub - Do NOT ride your bike with the blob, anymore. I hope it aint to late.  Don't worry about sealing it until you have time to do it properly.

For now. remove the tank and clean it out.

#1 remove the fairings

#2 remove the two 12mm(i think) bolt that hold the tank. they are located at the rear of the tank just where your nuts hang.

#3 close the tank mounted petcock BEFORE removeing the feul lines.  turn it 180 degrees. Use a flat tip screw driver. it is located just above        where the feul lines connect to the petcock. you will see where the flat tip will go.

#4 remove the fuel lines. CAREFUL not to splash fuel into your eyes. I know from experience.

#5 the tank should slide right off the frame. empty it as best you can through the gas cap, then open the petcock and rinse the entire tank out upside down with water.

#6 I would remove the petcock and clean too, at this point.

#7 then add a bit of soap and lotts of water. ( soapy water will break down the "slimy" goop attached to the walls of the tank.) swash the soapy water around for a good long time. do it until yuour arms are tired, take a smoke breakk and do it again.

#8 next rinse all the soap out THOROUGHLY!!!

#9 mount the tank and fairing. I suggest you invest in an inline fuel filter at this point.

#10 refuel

#11  have fun this weekend.

[dchrist]

thats a good call if you don't want to spend the time for the three step pour -15 clean kit. It took me about 15 hours not including tank removal and reinstalation but then I'm not the fasted hand. Plus the tank needs to cure for 48-96 hours after your done. remember to mark the lines or you'll get them reversed. have you bought the manual yet? there's a link somewhere on the site that I can't find right now where you can go to buy it and support the site at the same time. I recomend it.

[3imo]

Damn it LX beat me too it. hahaha....[size=06pt]mmmm..bastard[/size]

anyway, heed his advise. you MUST remove the petcock and filter when you seal your tank.

check this site out--http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=41309&ck=

This site belongs to Starwalt...one of our beloved members here in GStwin land.

he has pics of his por-15 project for your reference.  If you have qustions you can PM him. I am sure he'll be happy to lend a hand.  http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=331&folderid=208550&groupid=41309&folderview=thumbs&ck=

good luck

[dchrist]

you'll also want to go to the hardware store and get a pump pipette (they're cheap) so you can get all the water out of there when your done. the tank can't drain fully through the holes. just tell them you need to pump bad gas out of a tank and they will know what you need

[3imo]

you'll also want to go to the hardware store and get a pump pipette (they're cheap) so you can get all the water out of there when your done. the tank can't drain fully through the holes. just tell them you need to pump bad gas out of a tank and they will know what you need

woops!!  oh yeah that too. 

What I do is run a hand towel into the tank. and bounce it around a bit.  works really good.  I had the luxury of leaving my tanks off for the weekend out under the sun, as well.

but yeah, beware of water. our tanks have like a catch all semi reservior where the water will stay permanently and not get burn in the engine. it tends to cause rust in that area.

[dchrist]

what I did to dry it (no sun it was raining the weekend I did it) was prop a hair dryer up so it forced hot air into the tank. every hour or so I would shake the tank around to spread out the water (dries faster than if its sitting in a pool). It took 4 or 5 hours before the tank was "bone" dry as per the por-15 requirements. if you aren't going to do an enamal coating you don't need it to be that dry, just no puddles.

[Egaeus]

You might also check that the reserve and on hoses are not reversed.  It's easy to do.  I did it recently.  It's not so good when you run out of gas and have no RES and no PRI.  Luckily, I got suspicious of my incredible gas mileage and went to the gas station before I ran out completely.

[MarkusN]

The Blob actually might be water mixed with rust. That would explain why it doesn't mix with the fuel.

[3imo]

The Blob actually might be water mixed with rust. That would explain why it doesn't mix with the fuel.

Or......A mysterious creature from another planet, resembling a giant blob of jelly, lands on earth right into your gas tank. The people of the nearby small town refuse to listen to some teenagers who have witnessed the blob's destructive power. In the meantime, the blob just keeps on getting bigger.

Indescribable... indestructible... insatiable

The indestructible creature! Bloated with the blood of its victims!

It crawls.... It creeps.... It eats you alive!

[3imo]

maybe one of these...http://www.spacefem.com/blobs/


or maybe a part of this........ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14062964/
An enormous amoeba-like structure 200 million light-years wide and made up of galaxies and large bubbles of gas is the largest known object in the universe, scientists say.

[notAdub]

   Thanks everyone. I may (for now) just do the temp cleaning and refuel as to ride this weekend, I WILL do the sealing soon, but I have a small dent in the tank that I would like to have fixed while the tank is off and do the whole "Project resto tank" at once and correclty. Hell I may even change the color of the bike while I am at it 

It is black now, but the paint isn't in the best shape, and I kinda want to brighten up the bike. I love the color blue my buddies SV650 is...hhhmmm GS wearing SV colors may be the ticket.

Anyway, thanks again 

And I will keep you all updated on my progress.

[notAdub]

OK, so I took the tank off tonight and began the draining and cleaning process, rinsed the tank until only clear water came out.

Arms are tired, but the beer brake was good (sorry, quit smokin' 5 years ago).

I couldn't get ALL of the water out, so I stuffed an old clean tshirt in the  tank (leaving a good amount to hold-on to) shook the tank around a bunch more until I didn't hear any more swishing.
Success!!

I pulled the tshirt out, and shook the tank again, but this time I heard something tumbling around

OH SNAP! I lost a little rubber gripper thing off of my garden hose nozel 

So now I need to find one of those springy finger tool grapper things and try to fish it out.

Hopefully I can get it out in the morning and get the tank dry so I can re-assemble everything and take advantage of the fantastic weather we are supposed to have.

Then once pay day comes, order some por-15, bribe my bodyman buddy to pull my tank dent and set aside some time to do everything properly