It can be that simple...
...but it really depends on how sophisticated (clean) you want to get. If
you've got a day (or a half a day if you're familiar with your fuel tank) to
play with, take the whole tank off, inspect and clean all the parts in diesel
(fuel pump, hoses, etc.), replace the filter, and depending on the openings in
the tank you might be able to fit one of those toilet style brushes (the round
headed ones) in there and give a good scrubbing with about two quarts of
diesel. This should help pull deposited minerals out. A friend of mine took
200 Copper BB's and put them in with the diesel, sealed all the openings back
up and gave the tank a good shaking. Use this method if you can't get a brush
in there. Be certain to count all the BB's you get out: don't leave any in
there! (Diesel Martini, shaken, not stirred!)
Be amazed at the amount of crap that's in your fuel tank as you dump the
diesel out. Use another 2 quarts and flush again. This requires a gallon of
diesel total. We kept the diesel and used it for parts cleaner from then on
out.
Remount the parts and tank and put at least 5 gallons of gas in it. Take
it to the gas station and filler up! Your new fuel filter that you installed
should last about as long as it did when the truck was new.
If you don't have much time, drop the empty fuel tank and suspend it with
bungee cords from the frame. Remove the largest "low" opening you can. Find
a way to temporarily stop it up and put 5 gallons of diesel in the tank. With
a big funnel and the now empty 5 gallon gas can below the fuel tank, shake
vigorously in the bungee cradle for a bit and unstop the opening. Try to keep
the tank agitated as it drains the diesel out into the gas can. Get as much
diesel out as you can (hopefully all of it). Remount the tank and put 5
gallons of gas into it. Take the vehicle to the gas station and filler up!
These are Generic procedures and need to be modified for each vehicle.
I've done this to 2 different cars and a tractor (worked fine). If your truck
is in harsh environments or gets filled up at gas stations that don't use
'in-line' filters, you may find it a good idea to do this more often than
every 5 years.
Shaun H.
---original message---
Do you have to do anything special to flush a tank, or is it as simple
as putting diesel in there, sloshing it around, and repeating until no more
junk comes out?
-Jon-
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