fuel tank leak - epoxy question

I would look for a replacement tank from a junk yard.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

why would you want to try and patch a gas tank? you are asking for trouble. buy a new one

With an AWD Subaru, the rear differential has to be removed (which means most of the axle) for removal of the fuel tank. There is a small but proficient leak at the seam, and being that I don't have a hydraulic lift, removing the fuel tank would take a very long time and leave very little room to work.....Perhaps the individual posting knows little about the fuel tanks on AWD Subarus, and the labor and cost involved...............What I asked (and believe I did ask) is what sort of epoxy will withstand the corrosive properties of gasoline, not suggestions on what to do with the tank. I know what needs to ultimately be done. This is not a difficult question, unless your sole purpose is to seem like a jack-ass. I am painfully aware that the only real fix is to replace the whole tank, but THIS IS NOT THE QUESTION I AM ASKING!! If you have no useful/pertinent information on EPOXIES that can withstand gasoline, please DO NOT POST in this thread. Start your own thread for people who are unable to answer simple questions. Thank you very much for your useless information/pissing me off................

Have you googled before asking here? Sometimes its easier.. like the old saying....if you want something done right, nothing like doing it yourself.....(this is not a bash, so please don't take it this way)

Good luck...

Fwed

Thanks for the suggestion fweddy.....Sorry I got a bit upset, but I really do know the best solution to this problem, but am P-O-O-R. I KNOW the tank will need to be replaced soon/eventually.......I have Googled (the best tool in the known universe) and have found some good options. Its a small leak, but when you leave a small leak for two days....... JB Weld seems to be the best option now, but I was hoping that someone had a similar problem and was successful with a certain method. I am a college student working at a golf course for the summer, and need to be as cheap as possible. Replacing the tank is a LOT of cash. The question I posted asked nothing about replacement tanks, but asked about epoxies. Perhaps I'm a little too stringent with my standards in regard to answering questions................................The reading/research I've done indicates that JB Weld is the best option. If there are any more good suggestions (asised from getting a $^#@&!*^$(^%&$*@&(^%(@(#@) new fuel tank, please respond. If you feel the desire to state the obvious, I hope you die in a fire............. Thanks in advance - (not actually this aggressive/cruel - just wanting an answer from someone with a similar experience)

jeremiah

The auto parts stores, even hardware stores, sell knead and press epoxies that resist gas and solvents. The package states they are for fuel tanks. They have been around for years and they work if applied properly. I had it last the life of one car. I favor this over JB because it shrinks very slightly and grabs the surface. That's what the package says and it seems to work that way. I'd be afraid of JB poping off suddenly.

I have no experience with trying to patch a gas tank with epoxy... but I do have experience with epoxy. Here are my thoughts...

1) I am assuming that this is a plastic gas tank. But really, my advice would be valid for a metal one as well, with the caveat that ALL rust must be removed, by wire brush, sandpaper, acid etching, whatever. 2) when you say "leak along the seam," does that mean that the tank looks like an old metal tank, where the seam is a flange that sticks out from the tank? If that is the case, I'd be tempted to drill some holes through it, and get some small machine screws and nuts and bolt the flange together with two long pieces of steel for strength. A good mechanical support will help any adhesive repair last longer. 3) Run the tank almost empty before you start. Do not create any sparks whatever you do as an empty tank is actually more dangerous than a full one, but you need it empty so you don't have liquid gasoline trying to leak through your repair before it cures. 4) There are specific products sold for patching gas tanks. I don't know if any of them are any good, but I'd feel better using one of them because at least they are supposed to be gasoline resistant. I wouldn't use anything that didn't specifically say "gasoline resistant" on the label. 5) Rough up the surface you're going to apply the repair material to with the coarsest sandpaper you can find. The more "tooth" the material has, the more surface area there is for the repair material to adhere to, and therefore the stronger the bond will be. Screw cosmetics, you're going for functional here. If you have ugly sandpaper marks outside the repair area, so be it - that's preferable to trying to cover it all up with your repair material and getting some on a smooth, un-roughed area and having that corner peel away, starting a failure of the whole repair. 6) If you decide to try 2) above, I'd prepare the holes, hardware, steel, etc. first but not actually assemble it all until after applying the repair material but before it has set. 7) keep in mind that if you get a couple three years out of an adhesive repair, you're doing well. You'll have to either do it again in a couple years, especially if the tank is plastic (some plastics do not take adhesives well, even when properly roughed up) or else buy a new tank.

hope this gave you some ideas...

good luck,

nate

I know your pain!! When my daughter came home from college, back in the 70's, she had a leak in her tank..1977 Chevy Chevette. I got some of my Body Filler, made by Swiss, the kind that patches holes in fenders, and patched over the hole. 3 thin layers did it! She drove that car 75,000 miles, and the car was falling apart, but the fuel tank didn't leak! Get the gas level down below the leak, clean it well, so that it shines, mix the patch, so that, it cures kinda fast. Worked for us...28 years later, she drives a new 2006 Pilot, I told her the other day, "Watch the tank".....

Your best bet is to go your local auto parts and get a fuel tank epoxy repair kit. Most epoxys will not be affected by gasoline but alcohol will soften epoxy unless it is heat cured. Much gas nowadays contains alcohol. Go the auto parts and get the correct kit - NOT JB Weld or household epoxy. Permatex makes a good one.

Yeah those are fun. Run it so you are SURE that the gas is below the seam. Go to a parts store or order online a Versa Chem/Syon Fuel tank repair kit. Use a brass wire brush to cleans the rust and dirt off of the seam, go well past the current leaking area and check for other weak spots as well. Get the tank as clean as you can in the repair area(s)without making sparks. Wipe the area down real good with a fast drying solvent (acetone, lacquer thinner, Naphtha) No water based cleaners. Mix up the epoxy type material in the kit and make the repairs. Let it cure and fill the tank and enjoy. I've used it a bunch of times and never had a problem. They make different types for different repairs as well. The radiator tank kit also works real good.

are the type you want.

go to your local auto store and pick-up some (magnum steel)-- it will work good..IMPORTANT follow directions to the T autoguy

Hey onesandzeroes, Al surely knows what he is talking about here. I've converted GM diesel cars to gas engines--nearly 60 of them--and most of them we drilled a hole in the lowest point to get ALL the diesel out of the tank. And we used this 2-part stuff, consistency like modeling clay, from AutoZone, kneaded it together, and pasted it in and around the carefully-sanded hole, as per the instructions. Never had the 1st complaint about any leak, and 50 of those cars were sold in and around a small

10,000-population town where just about everybody knows everybody. Still see a pickup--with 2 tanks & 2 patched holes--running around my new home town after about 19 years. I see the couple often at breakfast, and all they've done to the pickup is have it painted one time. That STUFF works!!! s

I would be a little worried about a spark from the drill... how about making the hole with a nail? I've heard of that being done, followed by an epoxy patch, to drain water out of the tank.

But in any case, it's one thing to patch a small, self-contained hole that is not accompanied by any structural damage to the tank. Didn't the original poster have a seam coming apart?

They got away with that because its not very easy to light diesel fuel. Throw a match in a pool of diesel fuel and the match will go out.

He did and that's why the epoxy is a really poor idea. But the OP has made up his mind that he does not want to know that.

Don

I would give one of the gas tank repair products a shot. Permatex makes a couple of products specifically for this. Follow the instructions and do all the prep work. I repaired a motorcycle tank once with JB Weld, the repair lasted for about a year and I had to redo it. Check for leaks after the repair and keep an eye on it. If these armchair computer mechanics were half as right as they think they are then they wouldnt even sell repair kits - The product liablility would be so great the manufacturers wouldnt get near it. Good luck with your repair.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1154620727.720155.291670 @p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:

i used a 2 part epoxy from napa a few months ago on screwdriver poke holes. worked great!......seam leak? maybe work, maybe not?..........make sure its perfectly dry and clean at repair area and give overnight to cure.......goodluck, kjun

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I've repaired a few gas tanks and never had a patch fail and I know of at least one that lasted 30 years. And they almost always develop leaks either along the seams or under the support straps so that's not really big deal. Those are just the places that the salty winter slush can lodge and do its thing. By filling in these areas with a smooth coating of epoxy you may prevent that from happening in the future. One could argue that a patched tank (if done well) would outlast a new gas tank. A new gas tank it would appear from what the OP says to have a life expectancy of only 8 years.

-jim

Does anyone know if this tank is plastic or metal? I bought a kit, but it says not to use on plastic................. thanks for all the responses to the question I asked.

jeremiah

crawl under the car and tap on it, that will tell you what you need to know. If you still have a question, try to scratch it with your pocketknife.

I *imagine* it's plastic, as most new tanks are, but better to examine it yourself.

nate