My D3GXL (JMH01566 s/n) (1500 hours) dozer is developing fuel issues. Rebuilt the injector pump and have a new transfer/primer pump coming. Upon inspection top half of fuel tank is rusted and flakey. Any ideas on the cure? Was thinking about taking it off and pressure washing and shaking it up with a chain inside. Dry and replace keep fuel topped off. Dont like the sounds of coating it. Anyone else had to deal with this. Maybe leave it alone and double filter the fuel lines. This machine only has one filter below the elec transfer/prime pump. WS
Best way is to throw a heap of small pea gravel inside the tank, turn it upside down and then shake the bejasus out of it. That'll get the rust off. Suspected cause probably a combination of not keeping the tank totally full of fuel plus maybe not draining the condensation out of it frequently enough. Maybe just one filter in the circuit is a bit on the tight side but with good maintenance and changing the element as per the Manual it should work OK.
I fixed a rusted Deere loader tank with the POR-15 cleaner and sealer and it worked fine for years, no peeling. If you just want the rust out, Evapo-Rust will remove it completely and quickly, but it's expensive, ~$20/gal.
Keeping the fuel tank full probably helps but you can`t completely keep rust out as diesel is going to have some water in it no matter how careful you are. I cleaned out my sk130lc tank (heavy scale on the bottom) by using muriatic acid. Flushed it well and dried it well and used Por coating right away. Did 4 tanks to use up all the coating. That stuff dries hard and seems to be impervious to anything. The air that replaces the fuel being used has moisture in it and it will condense into liquid to do its dirty work. I would coat the tank. Good luck.
I had the same issue with my D3G LGP (2005). My machine is almost identical to yours. I purchased it with 1600 hours. I was changing the fuel/water separator filter below the priming pump about every 10 hours. The tank was not rusted badly but enough to accumulate rust particulates. When I first opened the water-sediment valve on the bottom of the tank, it would not flow until I poked it loose. I replaced that brass valve. I emptied the tank. Flushed it with fuel and vacummed it out. I put Evapo-rust in it over night. I flushed it again and vacummed it. I replaced the fuel/water separator filter about every 20 hours for about 100 hours. I cut a couple open and they are now clean. I have put about 800 hours on the machine and it runs perfect. I can see where you thought it may be the injectors or priming pump. I had the same thoughts. But the filter below the priming pump provides protection down stream of there. Even the priming pump should be ok. That system is nice. The water is separated by centrifugal force created by the way the fuel is pumped into the filter. The water spins out and collects in the bottom of the filter where it can be bled off. Mine also has the electronic water detector which reads to the dash light on the bottom right of the panel. By the way, I have never gotten any water or sediment out of the water/sedimant drain on the bottom of the tank since I got the system clean. I drain it into a glass and let it set for later inspection. I do NOT see any water! I absolutely keep my tank full. It is humid here and I do not take any chances. I do not want to go through this problem again. Also, my off-road diesel source must be clean.
I've got a little back hoe that had the same problem. I tried adding another filter and I just ended up having to replace filters CONSTANTLY. I ended up filling it full of kerosene and small gravel and letting it ride around in the truck bed for a few days. I would turn it over every day so a new side would get the gravel drug across it and so far it has seemed to work.
I have had the same problem before. I took some small p size gravel and put inside the tank and shook it up and rinsed it out 3 or 4 times. Another filter would'nt hurt and refueling your tank at the end of everyday will help in the furture. A full fuel tank will not build up as much condensation as a tank with little fuel in it. A water and fuel seperator drained every morning before starting will help too. Good luck.
It's one of those thing where you have to treat the disease not the symptoms. Adding extra filters is all very well but it does not address the root cause of the problem which is condensation produced in the tank plus the related corrosion of the tank caused by the condensation. The biggest deal is draining water from the separator daily and from the tank weekly as a maximum interval, preferably twice a week. As Inyati says above you also need to make sure you are putting CLEAN fuel into the tank in the first place.