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I managed to get a few minutes this afternoon and gave that blocked tank breather tube a bit more attention.
Forget the WD40, it made no impact on the blockage. I mixed up a little Deox-C solution with hot water and found a small syringe, I also happened to have some needles which came as a surprise gift with the syringes. I was a bit annoyed about that at the time as they didn't know who they were sending needles too, but as it happens they have come in handy.
I soon realised that it was much easier to manoeuvre the syringe into the tank if it was only half full. I used the needle so I could get it right into the tube and avoid spilling the rust eater in the tank. a couple fillings revealed a puddle under the back of the tank, so liquid and air was able to pass the blockage, but I wanted it properly clear, so plugged the exit and filled the tube with Deox-C. I did a bit of wet rodding with the guitar string and made a few mm progress. unfortunately the string was not stiff enough to push when it reached the obstruction.
A rummage found me some .025 music wire left over from my modelling days. This is American in origin so I assume .025 is inches? And what we would call piano wire.
This immediately made a few mm progress and was stiff enough to hold with good pliers and really push. I got it going about 6mm at a time until it stopped dead again.
So I took the bung off the exit and tried to work the wire up from below. It was incredibly hard to get it round the 90 degree swept bend outside the tank but I forced it with pliers and managed to work to wire all the way through. I then kinked and hooked the end and pulled it right through with pliers and deemed it clear.
Next a few syringes full of clean water to rinse the Deox-c out, which also brought a lot of rust and bits with it. Then a few of clutch and brake cleaner which flushed even more dirty detritus. Finally a flush with WD40 to try and keep it from rusting again. Done.
Boring and tedious but one of those important jobs that needs to be done.
You really need to have the tank off for this and all the rubber hoses off too, so you can get in and really give it a seeing to. If I were not going to be stripping all the paint off, I would have wrapped the tank with bubble wrap and taped it round leaving the filler hole and breather exits clear.
Looking forward to some more interesting jobs.
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