wtb: t4 gas tank on vancouver island

[dlb]

i just loaned the latest project terc to a buddy and we found that when filled up, the tank leaks from the driver side seam. so time to throw some more money at the thing! anyone on the island have a spare tank?

[marlinh]

Take a look at the POR 15 website. They apparently make a product for sealing gas tanks. Haven't tried that specific product myself but I do like their rust treatment stuff so far.

It may be a cheaper alternative.

[Gottolovem]

JB weld in a pinch

[dlb]

thanks for the ideas, guys. i thought about jb weld but i think two other members here have tried it unsuccessfully. i didn't know POR 15 made something for it though so i'll check it out right now. fingers crossed.

[rer233]

Make that three jb weld failures!

[Mark]

Unfortunately I didn't think to save the one off my '83 hatchback, although maybe it was different from the wagon's.

[Mark]

Also, could the tank be taken off and welded? Or is the hole/crack too big?

[dlb]

yeah, the 4wd's have their own tank unfortunately, and they're pretty expensive new.

it appears to be the seam that is leaking but i haven't removed the tank to confirm that. i looked up the POR 15 gas tank repair kit and i think it would work but there are a few issues with it: 1, using the repair kit would require removing the fuel level sender and pickup, and removing those without destroying them is way too much work; and 2, for the price of the POR 15 kit i think i'd prefer to save myself all that work and just buy a good used tank.

[Gottolovem]

If you know someone that's good at welding I have seen people fill tank with water and weld a patch.
kinda sketchy though

[marlinh]

That seam would be tricky to weld.

[Petros]

NEVER WELD A FUEL TANK! there is no way to do it safely. It does no good to fill it with water, by the time you get the metal hot enough to weld it the water vaporizes and the fuel vaports outgassing from the metal will ignite.

Either patch it with some kind of fuel proof elastodynamics sealant, or replace it. I would not use something like JB weld, it likely will crack and fall off eventually. There are these really tough two park rubber-like compounds that would work, I know they use them on aircraft fuel tanks, known as BMS 5-95, I am not sure of the consumer equivalent.

First of all you need to verify it is actually the tank that is leaking, it is just as likely the short length of fuel supply line flex hose on the top of the tank is leaking as much as the tank. Usually unless your tank is rusty or physically damaged they do not leak.

One time when coming back from the airport right after Chrismas the freeway was all covered with deep snow and ice, I was driving our Dodge Caravan, and I heard a loud "clunk" under the car. I hit something that was in the snow, every thing seemed okay in the car and I was not about to go lay down in the snow to inspected it. I than watched as nearly a full tank of gas dropped to less than a 1/4" tank. clearly the fuel tank was damaged.

The Sh*t-for-bains designers at Chrysle made the fuel tank the LOWEST PART of the car!!!! half way between the front and back wheels making it the most vunerable place for strikes. I drove our other car until the snow melted off a week later, and crawed under to inspect the damage. About 2 inches above the bottom of the tank on the front face of it was trianglur shaped puntcher like the sharp corner of cube of metal had struck it. I was really pissed, and did not look forward to replacing it. I was working at boeing at the time, and I talked to some of the other engineers about sealing the leak with BMS 5-95. I wrote repair procedures for the commercial jets and it occured to me if they use this stuff to seal 1000 gallon jet fuel tanks during assembly, it should also works for a 14 gallon mini-van tank. Everyone I talked to said it should work fine for gasoline as well. The assembly shop would mix batches of this stuff up everymoring, and that not used during that shift would go in the trash becasue it would cure in 24hours. So after the shift end and most of the mechanics left for the day, I grabbed a couple of nearly full tubes out of the trash and took it home (they used something like caulk gunes to install the stuff, but they were pneumatic "power" guns).

got it home 30 min later and cut the tube open, cleaned off around the tank damage, and with a putty knife smeared the stuff all over the front of the tank. I did not even remove the tank. The next day it cured firm and tuff, but still kind of rubbery. I was worried about filling it and loosing another costly tank of fuel, so I filled it half way. drove it home and parked it looking for leaks or wet spots on the tank. nothing, drove it for another year with no issue, and than sold it with the patched tank. The sealant used on the fuel tanks in aircraft will last the life of the aircraft, which can be over 40 years of service. No way a POS Chrysler was going to last that long, so I figured it was safe. If that van is still on the road today (over 20 years later), than that patch is likely still holding.

This particular minivan, along with a lot of other really stupid, irresponsible and careless assembly and design details made me vow NEVER to buy another Chrysler product again.

[marlinh]

A friend of mine's dad used to weld fuel tanks. He used to run exhaust fumes from a tractor into the tank and then weld away...One day he didn't wait long enough for the fumes to replace the oxygen in the tank and it blew up in his face. He burnt his eyebrows but survived the incident. It is not something I would try.

Hey Petros, what year and model was the minivan? Just curious...

[dlb]

got this car back and had some time to spend on its tank today, and the prognosis looks pretty good. it's generally in good shape but one spot on top has about a dozen pin holes. it looks like it might have been caused by someone removing the tank and reinstalling it without the rubber guard to be between the tank and the underside of the tire well.

with the rest of the tank looking ok, i decided to go ahead and try the cursed JB weld fix—i say cursed because from all the online reading i have done, it seems to have a 50/50 success rate at best. i really don't have anything to lose by trying this though and it might be the simplest, cheapest solution, so i decided "what the hey."

here's the tank after wire brushing it clean. that's ATF on the screws securing the fuel level sender, not a big gas leak.



closer on the offending area...



closer...



and jb'd up. fingers crossed!

[dlb]

let the JB weld dry, painted the rusty areas with some 'rust killer' spray paint (it sounds like a cheap POR 15 knock off, which i wanted but couldn't find), reinstalled the tank, filled it up, and no leaks or gas smells so far. i'll be keeping a watchful eye on it though.

[Gottolovem]

Let's hope it stands the test of time