Petrol tank repair

"Dave Plowman (News)" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Ask in uk.rec.motorcycles.classics - it's a fairly common problem on older bikes, AIUI.

Might be worth talking to these people even if they're not in your area. They'll at least know what goes wrong with that particular tank.

BTW, what's the difference between the carb and efi tanks that stops you using a carb one?

PS, just came across this.

Dave,

A few links that may be of some use in your quest - rovaparts.co.uk are sellers of used parts and I have always found them very relaiable and helpful.

Cash

Can you not patch it? I've used "Petropatch" epoxy putty on tanks with great success - one repair lasted 16 years and might have done longer if the tank hadn't got lost.

There was an article in Practical Classics about petrol tank refurbishment recently. Sorry, haven't kept it, but within the last six months, I think.

Ian

The carb one has an integral pump. The EFI one external.

It's pretty difficult to get at - you have to remove a cover plate - so I'm not sure I could be bothered with that sort of thing. Besides, I'd like to sort the rattle too.

I'll look out of curiosity.

Hi Re the article on repairing fuel tanks,they said NO NO NO to DIY attempts at repairs on leaks or rewelding baffles etc The residual vapour is too risky and the picture article showed a company fixing a tank after much cleaning and removal of fuel vapours Cheers mark

If you flow an inert gas through the tank while welding while welding it is guite safe.

I fail to see why nearly filling it with water before welding won't work

Rob Graham

Its still not safe - I know from experience. plus you don;t get enough heat into the tank for the repair to stick.

petrol stays in the joints and does not wash out.

I lost most of my eyebrows one time years ago to petrol-soaked rust on the exterior of a tank.

Id agree with that. Back in the 70s my Triumph petrol tank started to leak because of rust pinholes on the underside. I removed the tank, steamed it to get the last residues of petrol out, removed the tank sender unit and left it in the open air for a week to allow it to vent. Then I cleaned up the underside and attempted to sweat a patch into place. The first touch of the gas torch and the tank took off vertically. Fortunately I'm not daft enought to lean over the work. A friend claimed the tank got up to the height of the local trees, about

I gave up and bought a new one.

detergent & steam, Or hot water & leave it a week. But you'd want to fill it, not nearly fill it.

After you water treat the tank a lighted taper (with caution) can be used to proof the tank is safe

Or not :-)

Doing it with epoxy putty is perfectly safe. You have to be a little careful rubbing down the area, of course, but there' a reason for the "wet" in "wet and dry" ...

Ian

Although that's always achievable with a gas torch & a fairly enclosed tank.