why put magnets in the gas tank and other places..

[wayne petty]

this weeks project is an 84 vette crossfire..  the ex bosses brother..  i found that it had almost no fuel pressure...  the cone spray on the throttle body injectors was almost a straight line..   i pulled the filter... out of the back of the filter came rusty crusty junk...

i keep various trays to catch liquids in.. i used my largest food tray from smart and final... 22 bucks... but worth it..   under the filter so i could catch all the gas that is going to flow out...   not just for eco reasons.. but i wanted to examine it...

crud.. chunks of rust... CHUNKS.............. this is after the fuel pump.. that was replaced about 50 miles or 2 years ago... as that was the last time the vette ran...  someone had left the gas cap loose and rain water had filled the tank...   causing the sending unit and hanger to rust... seems that vette tanks are lined with rubber...

i pulled the gas cap lid.. and the rubber boot then the filler neck and hanger with the pump on it...   there was no end on the hanger or strainer on the pump..  so the pump was trashed also...


i dug out the neodynium magnets that i get from all electronics out in the valley...  dropped one in the parts tray with the rusty gas out of the filter and line..    magnet 1...  it pulled all the debris right too it...

then i carefully pushed the magnet with my finger through the gas... magnet 2...    notice something...  it cleans house...


i took some of the neodynium ring magnets and put them on some stainless steel mig wire that i had... and used them to fish out rust particles from the tank bottom...   my arms are too thick to fit through the opening..  i placed a new one on each side of the  pickup baffle.. fixed the pump to the tube with some fuel fill hose i had...

the pictures are really what this is all about..  i used much larger magnets in the tank...  these tiny ones i use to blow into gas tanks through a 3/8" hose...


i have in the past...in cars that ate the rear end bearings.. broken off chunks of heater fan magnet... wedged them into the housing.. and had the customer return for an oil change after a week or so..  the oil looked as clean as if i had just pumped it in.. but the magnet was covered with tiny metal filings..

i have always wondered ... when rear end housing tubes are welded on... for brackets and spring seats.. does anybody pull the ring and pinion and run a ball hone in the axle tubes to clean out the welding scale that forms inside the tube....??

[wayne petty]

what i was getting to .. is i wonder if the magnets on the fuel lines.. really do something..    like pull the rust out of the fuel so the carb does not get it...

i think the next trick will be to get some screw on cap fuel filters off 77 to 85 eldorados and sevilles and put magnets on the insides of the filter cap.. so all the rust is pulled to it...

there was an article the other day... about one brand of diesel motor..  that required a 5 micron filter or smaller as the injectors clog with anything larger... and the truck comes from the factory with a 15 micron element..  and they don't seem to cover clogged injectors .. as they are not damaged.. not defective...   just filled with dirt...   not their fault...  not their problem..

[Crosley.In.AZ]

A fellow at work bought his wife a used  Hodge  Neon car  2 years ago... not long after he bought it the car started having drivablity problems. surging  , hesitates.

you could hear the fuel pump just screaming it's guts out in the tank trying to pump fuel.

He pulled the pump out... no pickup  screen on the pump... the intake of the pump was packed with little bits of crud, plastic , other pieces of stuff.

[tomslik]

i've had an expedition that the fuel lines were rusting out on the inside....plugged up injectors like crazy...

[UGLY OLDS]

Street rod ...Daily ...Anything I have that still has a steel tank....I place a 3" ring magnet on the outside bottom of the tank...AWAY from the pickup...Keeps the rusty crud out of the system...

Every couple of years I pull the magnet..Pull the drain plug & flush a gallon of fuel through...You would be AMAZED at what comes out....


Bob.....

[39deluxe]

Sounds like a real mess. Corvettes started using fuel tank bladders in 1981 for safety reasons.

Tom