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Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank

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Ron Jones

02-12-2000 06:48:13




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I have a pinhole leak at the bottom of my fuel tank, previously poorly repaired in the past by persons unkown with some putty-like substance which has deteriorated. What's the best way of repairing it? I'm leaning towards silver solder. Thanks!




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jim

01-08-2004 18:25:01




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
princess auto has the stuff you put in the tank, check it out



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jim

01-03-2004 06:32:56




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
Ever heard of JB Weld. You can get it in any hardware store. Since the tank is already empty, just wire brush and sand the area. Apply the JB to it and let dry overnight . Its like using bondo, only better . I have done it on many tanks. Its cheap and easy.



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Ron Jones

02-14-2000 06:51:52




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
Thanks for all the useful advice! I went ahead and silver soldered the leak, plus the diesel fuel return line nipple, which was loose, without incident. I ran a 40 psi line into the tank with all the fuel filler etc holes open and used a propane torch and a $5 silver solder kit containing flux and solder - it took about 3 minutes once I was set up. Now I'll try to find some internal sealer since there was corrosion on the inside.

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Fred Martin

02-13-2000 12:31:10




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
Silver solder too expensive and will not do any better job than brazing. You be careful and use all known precautions for welding on gas tank. If you fill it with water and turn it upside down the vented cap will leak water out and make a pocket of air up where you're welding. Guess what this pocket of air can do? It can blow that dab of weld right back in your face and maybe a whole lot more! Go to the place Steve recommended and let them coat it, the proper way.

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Steve Hansen

02-12-2000 20:15:32




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
Ron,

If you have one hole you may very well have more eating through. Most pin holes are at the bottom, where water collects. You may very well find the bottom is rotten and will not take any heat at all. The Eastwood Company sells chemical sealers for gas tanks. Expensive but they are not prone to exploding and they take care of the holes you do not know about yet. Once you are at the Eastwood site search on "gas tank".

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Ron Jones

02-13-2000 06:50:50




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 Re: Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Steve Hansen, 02-12-2000 20:15:32  
I'm going to take a close look at the bottom from the inside today and make sure there isn't a lot of corrosion. I'm inclined to make the tank mechanically sound by putting metal in the hole, but it would probably be a good idea to seal it as well. Thanks for the suggestion!



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clooney

02-12-2000 08:05:10




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  
Ron, regular acid core solder will work good as well as silver solder. Silver solder requires more heat though. Before you put any FLAME to any container that has EVER contained gasoline you should purge it with a commercial purging solution. Purging solution can probably be obtained from a local radiator or gas tank repair shop. The use of any other means to clean fuel vapors (except steam) is very dangerous. Soap, hot water etc. will not remove the hydro-carbons from the seams and crevices and when you heat the tank they will fill the tank with an explosive mixture. The professional tank welders also put dry-ice in the tank while welding to displace the air with CO2. It is also a good idea to fill the tank with water to a point just below where you are welding so that if it does explode it will only be a very small explosion and escape through the openings. The use of car exhaust to fill tank is also very dangerous because most new cars have a very high content of oxygen in the exhaust because of the catalytic converter.

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Ron Jones

02-13-2000 06:56:54




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 Re: Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to clooney, 02-12-2000 08:05:10  
Thanks for the info. Fortunately, it's a diesel fuel tank, so maybe not quite as explosive as gasoline. It's been air drying for a few days after gunking and rinsing it well; it smells more like gunk than anything else now. The CO2 is a good idea - I'll try and track some down tomorrow; I've also seen others weld on diesel tanks that have a continuously running air hose in them to keep the fuel from achieving much concentration relative to the air. Thanks again!

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Dick L

02-12-2000 07:30:50




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 Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Ron Jones, 02-12-2000 06:48:13  

If your asking it probably means that you haven't done any before. Silver solder will work. CAUTION I have brazed several over the years. I always run water in the tank for 15 min. to half an hr. then put a hose from an exaust of a running engine into the tank for the same amount of time or all the time your putting heat to the tank. The last one that I brazed, even after the precautions it flamed for a second just as I got the tank hot enough for the braze to flow. If it is in a spot where it won't show you can put a small dint at the pin hole and fill it with JB Weld rather than apply heat. CAUTION with heat always keep caps and plugs off and out, you don't want to work on a closed tank.

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W Edge

02-12-2000 08:09:37




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 Re: Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to Dick L, 02-12-2000 07:30:50  
I have done this on air tanksl. Enlarge the hole with a small tapered punch. Make it undersize so you can tap threads in it or use a self tapping screw. You can use some kind of gas resistant thread sealer on the threads.



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Ron Jones

02-13-2000 06:58:55




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 Re: Re: Re: Pinhole leak in Fuel Tank in reply to W Edge, 02-12-2000 08:09:37  
That's an interesting idea! If it'll hold air pressure, it should certainly hold a 1.5 foot column of fluid.



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