# scrubbing bubbles



## whiskijon (Feb 24, 2009)

i'm sure i'm not the first guy to think of this...
i just bought an 80 scirocco with a tank full of rust, the local radiator repair place quoted $100 + to clean it, more if they blew a pinhole through it with the sandblaster , or damaged it with the torch 
so i filled the tank with household vinegar and put a couple of airstones on a high volume air pump, and let it go overnight.

next morning, siphoned vinegar out and saved, ran a piece of fence wire through the small metal lines inside the tank until clear, rinsed out rust with a large volume of H20, then added a couple of handfuls of rock salt and two gallons of mineral spirits, then shook the tank for a total of maybe 15 minutes, followed with another rinse, then poured the vinegar back in, and added a quart of muraic acid, and let the "scubbing bubbles" do their thing for a couple more hours, rinsed again with clean HOT water and installed

from what i can see i got 95%+ of the rust out. i plan on driving it for a while just to bounce it around a bit, then another rinse. 
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND USING MURAIC ACID AT ALL, next time i'll just get new vinegar for second rinse, undiluted muriac acid will burn through old metal very quickly!
hope this helps someone.


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## where_2 (Jul 21, 2003)

*Re: scrubbing bubbles (whiskijon)*


_Quote, originally posted by *whiskijon* »_i'm sure i'm not the first guy to think of this...


Don't forget to stick that little plastic filter element back into the bottom of the tank securely. You'd be amazed the amount of crud that will catch. 
From what I see, the tank looks much better than mine ever did (also an '80 Scirocco that I once owned). As you mention, drive it for awhile, and see what you get. Some rust may collect on that plastic element, and more may collect in the CIS main filter. When I was dealing with my rust problem, I could literally pour rust out of the filter under the hood. 
The part that took some figuring out was the fact that I was plugging up that little plastic filter in the tank. When I first started driving my Scirocco, I could drive ~20 minutes before the car would sputter and die. It would restart if you let it sit for ~10 minutes, and you started the ~20 minute clock again. The more I drove it, the shorter my ~20 minute window became, yet checking and changing out the fuel filter near the CIS fuel distributor didn't net a completely clogged filter element, even when I cut them open to check... Finally, I found that filter in the tank that nobody ever mentioned in Bentley was clogged almost solid... 
Good show, where's the pix of the rest of the car?? I want to see '80 Scirocco...


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## whiskijon (Feb 24, 2009)

oops, it's muriatic acid, which is really HCl, and don't use it.
the plastic pickup filter is no longer a problem,
I'm now running a cis-e setup with a bag filter/transfer pump, to a jh motor.

confirmation of fuel delivery issues.




tomorrow i pick up my 92 gti shell, complete with 9A short block , and cismo harness, time to start a build thread, 
but at least i can keep the gas tank stock!


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## whiskijon (Feb 24, 2009)

just had to show off my vial 13"s, clean and straight now i just need a late sixties bmw to put them on...


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## where_2 (Jul 21, 2003)

*Re: (whiskijon)*

I see by your hatch shots that my 1980 Scirocco_S was not the only one that rusted around the mounting points for the rear hatch gas struts... 
The interior shots of your Scirocco give me new hope for the second Corrado_G60 I am picking up in a few weeks...


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## scott.thunder (Mar 19, 2008)

*Re: (where_2)*

I used a product, can't think of the name, but it seals your entire tank in a plastc so you won't have issues ever. I just used spare bolts to shake everything loose then sealed it and hooked it up in front of a fan. it took 36 hours to fry before gasoline could be added http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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