Did you find the fuel pick-up filter…

When you removed the the fuel line from the tank, and if you still had the large 21mm drain plug out of the tank from the passenger’s side of the D Model, you might have noticed the fuel-pick up filter that I spoke of earlier fall out onto the ground.

If this did not happen, then it is probably still inside of the tank. You want to have that out of the Citroen gas tank at this point, in preparation for what we want to do to the tank next. It will come out easily by tilting the tank toward the filler neck and then tilt the tank back further and it should roll right out.

There it is…

With the fuel sending unit removed you can look down into the tank with a flashlight. You might be able to see some of the general condition of the tank at this point. You can get a small mechanics mirror or dentist mirror and see a little bit more, but what I am going to tell you about the construction of the tank you will just have to take my word for, since it is pretty hard to see without cutting the tank apart.

As you can see, the Citroen D Model gas tank is big and flat and runs the width of the car. As most manufacturers would do in this case, to keep the fuel inside from sloshing around too much when the vehicle goes around a corner and to give extra strength to the tank, is to put vertical walls or baffles in the tank. These baffles have holes in them to slow down, yet still allow the fuel to move back and forth in the tank.

Rusty, rusty, rusty…

Well, adding the rusty factor to your D model’s compartmentalized fuel tank, you should begin to realize that without opening up that tank, it will be impossible to get all of that rust out of there. Take it from me, early on I used to try and steam clean the tank, knock some stones around inside and then even tried one of the fuel tank sealers. I just had no luck with them. I did have success on my old motorcycle tank and my lawnmower tank, but not on the Citroen tank. It’s not possible the way it is constructed.

I will share with you now the company I would always send a steel Citroen tank to without any hesitation. Their franchised name is Gas Tank Renu. Their national website can be found at: www.gastankrenu.com

They offer a lifetime guarentee on their work. This will make one less thing for you to worry about with your classic car. Their process involves them cutting into the tank, full sandblasting the tank inside and out, checking for any leaks that might show up, repairing them, then welding the tank back together where they opened it up.

They then use their own patented coatings that they will use on the inside and the outside of the tank . This makes the tank impervious to rusting inside or out for the life of the car. It’s the best way to go.

They’re the best…

Now believe me there was a time when I believed in these do it yourself coatings. But, getting this type of tank nice and sand blasted clean is not possible without taking it apart. And when those do it yourself coatings start to fail because the surface was not prepped properly, well, they start coming off in sheets, and you think a rusty tank is no fun?

Try one with the coating coming off after you went to all the work of taking one of these puppies out and putting it back in again.

Oh, Man…

Take it from me, just send the job to the pros and be done with it. This way you can do something more constructive with your time, like going with your wife to pick out the colors for that kitchen remodel.

So, here is the national site again: www.gastankrenu.com. Go there and look up on their dealer locator the nearest franchised dealer in your area. Give them a call and tell them what you have and that you want the tank sand blasted and their process done.

I have a rusty Citroen D Model gas tank…

There are two things you want to caution them about and they are… Tell them to make sure they don’t put any of the coating down the fuel line pick-up stand pipe. You don’t want it any smaller inside diameter when you are putting that fuel line back in. Second, tell them not to bend the fuel filler neck, because that angle is very critical to getting things to line up when you put the tank back in.

If you have to ship the tank make sure you seal up all of the openings in the tank. Also, put plenty of packing around it when you box it up and put several hundred dollars of insurance on it along with tracking. A good fuel tank can be hard to find.

Next time I will tell you how to put your Citroen D model tank back in once you get it back…

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