Forgrt the JB Weld. It is not fuel-proof. Trust me. You need a fuel-proof epoxy.
Replace the gas tank. You are literally playing with fire. Buy a serviceable tank from a salvage yard and have it professionally installed. Or have your tank professionally repaired. Forget the patches. That’s all I have.
Replace the gas tank. You are literally playing with fire. Buy a serviceable tank from a salvage yard and have it professionally installed. Or have your tank professionally repaired. Forget the patches. That’s all I have.
I am not a fan of welding or soldering the tank in place. I would recommend removing it first. In fact any type of repair would be better done with the tank out and the hole facing up during the repair.
Any of the gas tank repair kits would probably work OK, I’ve never used one so I don’t really know, but others claim they do. But after using one of these kits, I would follow that up with a small sheet metal patch, two to 4 inches square and molded to fit the profile of the tank around the hole. Then epoxy that patch in place with a two part epoxy or JB Weld. That gives two layers of protection. Put this on after the first patch has hardened or cured. Don’t do both at the same time.
@Tester, my point is that the hose fitted into the filler neck is not a tight fit. There is no pressure buildup and my suggestion was a hand held torch and silver solder.
Just pointing out a method I’ve used a few times in the past.
Anything is preferable to the current situation of gas fumes in the cabin. There was a story on the news not long ago about a young lady who died while taking a nap in her car with a gas jug present. The fumes in the cabin did her in.
A new tank and fuel pump is still preferred but I’m not privy to the details on hubby’s mechanical aptitude or finances. A rough guess on a DIY tank, pump, and filter would run in the neighborhood of 4-500 bucks.
I just wanted to relate how to weld a gas tank if you have to.
By the way, what sized drill bit was used?
Tester
Now that we’re talking about it, anything wrong with drilling a bigger hole and putting in one of those oil plug repair kits? Don’t know if its plastic or metal but guess it might always leak just a little bit. Maybe the gas would eat the rubber though.
New tanks are about $200 at Rockauto, but the pumps are a little curious. The Densos are about $80 but then the Bosch is aout $600 and one for $700. Are these superior pumps or something? I can see doing the OEM Denso but would really cringe at a $700 pump.
Epoxy doesn’t seem to be a permanent repair. I have plugged tanks and reduced the leak to a seep while acquiring a new tank. Often the plug totally seals the hole but only temporarily.
We used to use the napa epoxy kit on punctures on the bottom of leaking, dirty, full, 60 to 75 gallon diesel fuel tanks on tractor trailers and send them out on the road in an hour. That epoxy would grab the steel tank right through the diesel fuel.
I used the Napa kit a couple of times on the rust buckets I used for work cars and never had one fail, but the longest any of those cars laster was 4 years.
JB weld and Seal All are both completely resistant to gasoline. Seal All remains slightly pliable and doesn’t sag much if at all during curing making it a better choice for inverted sheet metal repairs when accompanied by a mechanical restraint like a patch.
Once accessible the sheet metal screw, washer and Seal All repair will take 5 minutes, cost less than $10 and survive the remainder of the cars usable life. This is not a novel idea BTW.
Seal All remains slightly pliable and doesn’t sag much if at all during curing making it a better choice for inverted sheet metal repairs when accompanied by a mechanical restraint like a patch.
@Twin Turbo; next time you encounter the problem of the patch sagging from being inverted, try putting a small patch of aluminum foil over the patch and lightly rub the patching material from the center outward a little. I actually put the patch… epoxy etc., in the center of the patch and then put in in place. I’ve used JB Weld on a few this way and let it set good. Being inverted the epoxy on the inside of the tank will collapse like a rivet and hold it in place better.
It also works great in doing body work as you can smooth out much of the surface, just rubbing gently.
I agree with you that I too would do a sheet metal screw but use a fiber washer and the seal all or JB weld…basically to lock the screw.
Yosemite