fuel tank
 

Yes I have a 1982 240D, I have had trouble with the gas gauge acting up, ever since I got it, how big is the gas tank in it? I think its around 10 to 12 gallons.

Look out!! Prepare for "very funny" GAS comments.......:rolleyes:

fuel level sender unit is accessed by removing the first aid kit shelf on the rear dash. then remove the sender and clean- very easy, many post' on this already.

This will be a very expensive repair as first you will need to replace the gas tank with a fuel tank and new sending unit. Also, you will need a new fuel guage as a gas guage doesn't belong and I'm sure it will not work properly. Hmmm..........maybe that was the problem all along.:eek::D:D

(Seriously, the search for "sending unit cleaning" should give you an answer. IIRC, some even with photos.)

Gee it SMELLS in here --- must be all the GAS coming from Sunnyvale.:D

around 17.4 gal, IIRC.

I ran out of fuel in my 1979 240D the other day because of my faulty fuel gauge. When I filled it up, it took 21.2 gallons.

Thats not a stock 240 tank, I don't think.

Well, its spring again!!!!!

I know this post started last November but I just wanted to update everyone and give anyone with gas tank trouble a few pointers, I used dmorrisons directions for cleaning the tank and as usual they were awesome, but I did do something different. My tank was not only had a algae problem, but it was also rusty (only has 116,000- old lady in Illinois, it sat a lot), when I removed the filter at the bottom of the tank it was full of rust and gunk, I'm amazed I got any gas through that filter. I don't have a garage so I waited until it warmed up to do the tank. I actually did not power wash instead I used about two pints of bolts, washers, nuts and put them in the tank with degreaser, plugged up all the holes and and just turned the tank continuely for about half and hour. then got all the bolts out rinsed out the tank with more degreaser, this did work well in getting all the grease and any large bits of rust loose, then let it dry, I still didn,t like to leave the tank looking a bit rusty, don't know how long before my filter would be clogged again, but one of the men in my church solved my dilemma, he fixes up old tractors and told me how he fixes gas tanks on old tractors, he showed me what has worked best for him. First I used muratic acid to clean up the tank, and get the rest of the rust out of the tank, WARNING! bE VERY CAREFUL IN THIS STEP. Acid is nothing to play around with do this step out doors, wear a good industrial pair of rubber gloves and when mixing it with water wear a gas mask, or hold your breathe you will see a mist rise when pouring the two together, do not inhale this, very bad for you!!!! I deluted it 50/50 the first rinse and 25/75 (water/ acid) the second rinse. Plug the filler hole and slowly turn the tank around slowly until you feel that acid has reached all serface area enough, then remove plug and dispose of acid in a responsible way you can dump it down a drain just make sure you run lots of water, lots. Then I dumped a half gallon of vinegar in and sloshed it around until I had covered all the serface area (the vinegar neutralized any acid left). This cleaned it up alot you could still see some rust, but not bad and dump out, then use MEK, very expensive but worth it, I paid 22.00 buck for just one gallon. pour in a pint, plug and slosh around five minutes, empty and repeat. get all excess out and you have a completely dry tank ten minutes later, no hooking up the shop vac for a couple hours. Then I used a tank liner called redcote (recommended by the tractor guy), it was expensive, the local radiator shop had it for around 40.00. I bought it on Ebay for 35.00 w shipping. For this final coating I did change all my plugs (old rags and duct tape) Poured the whole quart in and with the same turning motion (a bit slower than before) until the whole tank was coated. then put the can on the ground and tipped the tank so the gas spout was in the can, let all the excess drain out for 20 minutes. Then put the can lid back on and replaced the can of redcoat with a whip cream plastic dish, took out all the plugs and let it dry 24 hours. A bit more dripped out into the cool whip dish, but now I have a rust free tank that has an epoxy liner that won't rust, so this tank should last the rest of this cars life. Total cost around sixty dollars.

Aaron

I almost failed chemistry but Isn't vinegar acetic acid?
How does that neutralize muriatic acid?
I would think plenty of H2O should do the job or some base like baking powder or such