A10 Gold Flash oil tank contamination

[Gerry]

Hi all, thought I'd post some pics'. of my oil tank which had been powder coated beautifully when I got the bike in bits...Luckily I had taken out the drain plug and screen (why is it called a filter??) to check for cleanliness. Lucky I did as the sound of the drain plug coming out stood the hair on the back of my neck up!! The tank was full of sand. Who ever had done the powder coating had not blanked off the openings and the tank had filled up with sand. Now with the seams raised on the outside there was no way I could clean it out as its impossible to get all the sand out of the seam and vibration would gradually release it into the oil....lovely! This means its a throw away job normally. So out with the dremel and a slitting disk and painstakingly cut the weld all the way round the tank till it fell apart. Cleaned it out including the 3/4" of sludge in the bottom and took it to a tank repairer who welded it back together for $40AU. Now I can run the bike without worrying about where all the grinding noises are coming from...Cheers. Gerry

[muskrat]

G'day Gerry.
A very wise move Gerry. $40 well spent considering a replacement 2nd hand would be around $150 and might be worse. A re paint is cheaper than a re build.
Lesson 1: Never sand blast any part related to the motor or gearbox or anything that feeds it (oil tank, fuel tank, air box etc).
That's the 1st job when a new bike arrives, a thorough cleaning of the oil tank, fuel tank and air box.
Cheers.

[Greybeard]

The original oil tank on my plunger GF has a tiny oil leak. I recently bid for and won a tank on Ebay. When I stuck a finger inside it came out with a very fine abrasive and sludge mixture! Luckily the seller took it back and refunded me. I have since bought a grit-free tank and it's currently in a bucket of caustic soda. That is how I cleaned my original tank. I wondered if BSA may have sealed the tanks with something when new and the caustic soda had cleaned it off leading to a pinhole leak in the welding. I hope not.

[bsa-bill]

I had a tank painted only to find small tracks across it after about six months, another painter took it in hand, said the tracks were rust and indeed he had to braze up some small holes that appeared before he painted it, made a good job he did, however I thought it prudent to line the tank with a sealer (por 15) (avoiding all important little orifices of course)

So far after about two years or more no sign of rust

[Gerry]

Hi Muskrat, Bill, The problem is if you want the tough finish of powder coating then you have to protect all openings before taking it to them. I had the oil tank on my C15 Trials Pastoral powder coated but first made up taper plugs for all the openings and threaded a couple of bits of rod for the drain and filler openings to keep the sand out. I also instructed the powder coaters to remove one plug to allow for the air to expand when being placed in the oven. But....you have to trust they do as you ask which can be a worry. Cheers. Gerry

[Greybeard]

I had to line my petrol tank due to rust and used POR15 which appears to be good stuff. I have considered lining my oil tank but reading other folks opinions I've decided not to risk it.

[Stephen Foster]

I always remove the back of the oil tank by grinding the seam away ..get the sediment out then reweld .

Hope this helps ?

Steve ...