Modern Vespa

Help me out mobsters.

I have tried to clean rust out of my 180 Oil tank multiple times. It's not getting any better. (See the rust and grit from this mornings efforts below.)

Should I just throw in the towel and go premix. Is there a magical cleaning method/solution that someone can suggest? All thoughts appreciated.

simple green works fantastic on oil/grease and is non-toxic/non-flammable.

if you are about to throw in the towel, then try some non traditional methods.

Rinse it well back flush each time. Go to auto store or home depot and get some Navel jelly. Put some gloves on and eye protection. Get a couple of hand fulls of small hex nuts throw them in there with the Jelly and seal it up. Shake it around on an off for a couple of hours let it sit. Rinse it well, back wash well . It should come out sparkly clean. Fill with oil as soon as possible. I dried mine out with a hair drier. Brian

I've been doing the nuts, bolts, boiling water, simple green method. 3 times total. I have been hesitant to go with the nav-jelly, but I guess it's worth a shot before I dump the autolube.

I have some concern about the weld area for the site-glass. That spot is in the worst shape it seems, and certainly where the majority of the rust and corrosion is. I think it had moisture or water pool in that spot as it sat unused at some point. The weld area feels weak from the outside, and as mentioned 3 runs of the "simple-green-nut-shake" (dig, it's the new dance) and that spot is still a crusty, flaky mess.

Stating the obvious:

The good thing about premixing is you don't have to worry about if the autolube is working. You always know you've got the right amount of oil in the fuel.

Kind of...

Premix is actually inferior in that 2% is a little too oily for low RPMs and a little under-oiled for WOT.

Autolube adjusts from under 2% to 3+% based on RPMs and throttle position. Plus, the autolube mechanism itself is fairly bulletproof. Doesn't help in this situation, unfortunately for Birdsnest.

I say this more for clarification, though, than in argument, since premix obviously worked well for many years prior to the introduction of autolube.

Excellent info xantu. I love learning all the little details. If only I could retain them.

Well, the nav-jelly definitely helped.

Wash-throughs post treatment had about 75% less rust and muck. Albeit, it still has areas that are... well... just toasted.

I *think* it should be in fair enough shape now to put some gentle miles on it.

disabling the working oil injection on a stock or mildly tuned bike is crazy talk.

I've had good luck using CLR. You should be able to unscrew the sight glass and scrub it out with a brush then flush it clean. You can also do the muriatic acid thing or have it boiled out at a radiator shop, both will get it clean as a whistle but the latter will likely remove the paint as well.

Do it again

That Navel Jelly eats the rust!