mangocrazy
Italian V-twin nutjob
- Messages
- 1,164
- Location
- Sheffield, UK
I've owned a Ducati 888 for over twenty-five years, and it has only really been used on sunny days and track days. It's been maintained scupulously, but recently my usage of it has been very infrequent. It was last used at a Cadwell Park classic track day in (I think) 2015. I've been getting it ready for a similar event this summer, but have found that the dreaded ethanol has struck. The 888 has its fuel pump and filter for the fuel injection situated in the tank and to avoid fuel frothing, the pump is rubber mounted.
Due to (I assume) the presence of ethanol in the petrol, the rubber mounting has turned into a hellaciously sticky, gloopy mess. It took me about an hour to extract the old (and terminally FUBARed) fuel pump from the tank, but there are still bits of rubber smeared and stuck to the tank's insides. The tank is made of aluminium, by the way.
I obviously need to get rid of every last vestige of old rubber before I fit the new fuel pump and filter (which will have Viton rubber mountings), and was wondering what people would recommend for this. I've got a decent amount of acetone, but that stuff just evaporates so fast. I need something that will dissolve the old rubber and carry it away in suspension. Would a mixture of acetone and diesel work? I know people use this as a penetrating fluid - could it also be used for my purposes?
Due to (I assume) the presence of ethanol in the petrol, the rubber mounting has turned into a hellaciously sticky, gloopy mess. It took me about an hour to extract the old (and terminally FUBARed) fuel pump from the tank, but there are still bits of rubber smeared and stuck to the tank's insides. The tank is made of aluminium, by the way.
I obviously need to get rid of every last vestige of old rubber before I fit the new fuel pump and filter (which will have Viton rubber mountings), and was wondering what people would recommend for this. I've got a decent amount of acetone, but that stuff just evaporates so fast. I need something that will dissolve the old rubber and carry it away in suspension. Would a mixture of acetone and diesel work? I know people use this as a penetrating fluid - could it also be used for my purposes?