Tank pinhole repair

For a temporary fix I scuffed the bejeezus out of the area with 60 grit and smacked it with a layer of JB Weld, let it cure up 24 hours....

Anyone want in on the "how long will it last" pool? I'm gonna say 3 weeks :lol:

 

if you got it on there good could last forever. otherwise a bit of solder and use a tank liner and you should be good to go.

 

JB Weld and gas doesn't seem to be a good combo. For sure does not work on float towers. Think clean up and soldier would be better.

MN

 

I've never known pinholes to be solitary creatures.

 

I would bet on it lasting much longer with a good tank liner. Honestly, you are better off with a liner anyway.. less chance of rust contaminating the tank and all. IF you line the tank you won't regret it.

 

I'm going to a good indoor MC salvage place next week, gonna see if I can't find a better one. This one may be beyond hope. I cleaned so much rust out of it there can't be much left of it, and it's pretty beat up also, dents, scrapes...I just need it to hold up long enough to be able to run/ride while I work on other parts of it...

Even after the most thorough descaling I could do I'm still catching hella fine rust with my inline...

 

True dat. It was fine until I descaled it, then one appeared...I just stuck some RTV blue over it to stop it for a while, then another appeared adjacent, so when I did the JB patch I covered about a 4"x2" strip along the line they were appearing to follow...

 

ive used jb weld on car gas tanks and it held up for years. also used it to hold a 1/4 inch stud in a 1/2 inch hole to hold an exhaust manifold on a ford triton v10. jb weld is some tough stuff, at least the original slow drying is

 

I have used plumbing solder with success, 5 years and counting. Make sure tank is bone dry and empty - remove petcock and sending unit then blow dry with a hair dryer (outside or in well ventilated area) until all gas and fumes are long gone, then and only then you can safely use a propane torch to put down plumbing solder. DO NOT use a vacuum to suck the tank dry (DAMHIKT).

 

thought i would share a close call with you regaurding fuel tank repairs.a few years ago a farmer i was working for had a 10000l diesel tank with a pin hole that need fixing.the tank was bone dry and had been empty for quite some time.i suggested that before he starts he purge the tank with mig gas or run a vehicle exhaust into it first.he decided it should be ok.he started bronzing the hole up,then a small flame popped out the pin hole.then we could hear the air being forced out of the openings in the tank,which got louder and louder.by this time he was yelling get the loader and take it outside the shed.i replied "be #@%*)^ if im going anywhere near that" and hide behind the loader.finally the fire inside the tank ran out of oxygen and went out.this was then followed by 15 seconds or more of air rushing back into the tank.run an exhaust off his toyota into it and then finished the job.i was told after that the fuel get trapped in the scale and is then released when heated.take care with fuel vessel repairs.cheers scruff

 

There was a show here in the States some years back called Monster Garage. One of the builds they did was making a motorcycle (ended up being a trike) from a diesel engine out of a commercial truck. (You can see it here.) One of the team members was welding up a tank for it, and seemed shocked when he was asked if he planned to check for leaks when he was done -- dammit, he knew how to weld. Sure enough, the thing leaked, and he was sweating bullets.

The problem was resolved when a tube of sealant was made available, but the guy was saying he was going to have to pull the tank and purge it with Argon before patching the holes...

 

i know a guy with half a left foot because he thought his lawnmower exhaust could substitute for his F150 exhaust while he cut a 55 gal drum