Hi,
a few weeks back I installed transparent fuel hoses on my bike, and a few days after riding, I noticed this small red, rusty powder in the tubes. I reckoned the tank must be rusty from the inside and so I emptied it completely and gave it a wash (dried it properly afterwards). I was ready to give it a phosphor treatment as well but I wasn't able to spot rust.. The fuel filter in the tank was also in perfect condition. I reinstall everything, and the powder continues to appear. What do you guys recommend? Fill it up with some acid, give it a shake after all? The flakes haven't reached the carburator, they just float/lie in the tubes, both Res and On.
Could the fuel filter be faulty, should it let these small particles in if it worked perfectly? I've also considered buying filters just for the On and Res hoses, if that could be a solution to
the problem.
Also, wondering where the rust could possibly enter the tank, I thought of corrosion, and checked the copper vent pipe that goes through the tank. No visible holes whatsoever but as I put there some air I saw bubbling in the gasoline where the pipes are joined together. Fuel proof epoxy? I'm pretty sure I'd just be able to reach it from the tank hole.
I wish I never installed those transparent hoses..
Thanks for the help!
I once had clear lines on my bike and I can say I never experienced this... but if I did, this is what I would have done.
Drain the gas and fill with new/fresh... see if it happens again. It probably won't in your case but it'd be worth a try maybe.
FWIW you don't need inline filters... but I did have one installed once. The GS doesn't come stock with any. Try removing it/them and check the hoses again.
Just some thoughts. Hope they help!
You have that light fine rust appearing. You can coat it etc etc, but the stupid coating still let rust grow inside IMHO. Or I coated some tanks especially GS tanks very badly.
The GS is not a 0 drain tank. It retains almost 1qt in the worst possible location - the crap pocket.
You may be fine just coating it with kreem or POR15 but in reality I'd install a drain fitting on top and use it to empty the tank out of the acid, then empty the neutralizer. Then dry it with a hair dryer then coat it. And get all that also out.
The coating process may be OK, the problem may be in the acid. If you never manage to get that out and the tank dry you will separate the coating from the metal and it will continue to rust.
My powdercoating guy used to say that no matter what you do to "neutralize" it and put it in water etc etc you cant ever get it out. That was why he would only sand blast them as prep and not acid dip em. But you cant even reach the crap pockets without cutting anhole in the tank to sand it so you're SOL with tanks.
Cool.
Buddha.
Thanks for the replies, problem fixed.
So, I contacted a mechanic working at a Suzuki store and the copper pipe isn't a problem according to him, as it doesn't let any fuel out.
What comes to the rust in the fuel lines, I drained the tank again, put in 1l of phosphoric acid (Annitrol), shaked it, let it do its job, rinsed it with warm water afterwards, added sinol, and finally a layer of wd40. Refilled the tank with new gasoline, I've ridden around 150km and the problem seems to be gone!
The whole acid thing is where my doubts were. That pipe would have been steel, just with that weird patina likely from rust. You cant weld copper to steel and hope it holds with temperature shifts. They can braze them but again they would braze steel to steel not to copper.
I dont know what sinol is but phosphoric acid turns rust into iron phosphate - a black powder. How you get that all out in the parts you cant see is the question. The phosphate slowly turns back into - you guessed it, rust.
In reality a lightly rusted tank would be best treated with very very dilute muriatic acid and for as short a time as possible, then neutralized with boiling water as much as possible, then dry thorougly the wd40 and a close eye for it to get rusty again and repeat. Till its pockmarked I wont bother coating it. Once it shows those little craters then I'd have done the 0 drain mod and POR15 it.
Keep an eye, on it. It may rust gain, but it may be so slow that it would likely exceed the useful life of the bike.
Cool.
Buddha.