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Gastank Repair
Post by fastfrankie on Oct 14, 2006, 6:21pm
Unfortunately I bought a used M715 gastank that was previously repaired with that spreadable bondo like goo underneath. Now its leaking. The tank is rustfree inside and out...I think something may have pierced it years ago and they smeared that stuff on top of the hole etc.
I plan on grinding it off and using something that will seal up the tank again.
Anyone use anything good that you can recommend? Thanks!
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by mikel on Oct 14, 2006, 6:31pm
Clean it up and weld it.
I had the exact same thing in my J300's gas tank.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by fastfrankie on Oct 14, 2006, 6:36pm
Weld it? I am very good with a Mig and have one in my shop, but I gotta tell you...I have a wife, baby, and two puppies! The last thing I need is to ignite an explosion and kill myself. It would be cheaper and easier to have someone else do it and I'd gladly pay them $50 or whatever they would want.
I know the whole trick about running exhaust through it yada yada while welding it. I have real bad luck and with that being said, I can imagine that tank exploding on me and sending shrapnel everywhere, killing me in the process!
I wonder if any local radiator shops would work on it? Not for anything, I am real digusted since I bought this thing for $125 and the sender was bad and it was patched once before and I wish the person told me it was patched before I drove a few hours to pick it up. Had they told me it was patched before I went, I would have passed on buying it.
It only lasted me 6 months in the truck - maybe 20 miles of use....before it started leaking...not to mention, I lost about a whole tank of gas!
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by marknessmonster on Oct 14, 2006, 6:46pm
Did you purchase the part on this website and if so, who listed the part?
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by compexp on Oct 14, 2006, 6:53pm
fill it with water and then weld it.
Of course- I don't know anything about welding, so for some reason, that might be a bad idea.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by mikel on Oct 14, 2006, 7:11pm
M715 tanks are very easy to drop - Overhead welds are not my thing. But you could remove the drain plug, drain the gas and flush the tank with water.
If you drop the tank, you can take it to a radiator shop to have it cleaned and sealed. Your fuel system will appreciate not having 40 years worth of cr$p being fed through.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by teking on Oct 14, 2006, 7:34pm
When I worked on my gas tank a couple of times I put dry ice in the tank. The CO2 will keep anything ugly from happening. Just get some dry ice from you local grocery store. Go to the meat counter and ask for it.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by sf on Oct 14, 2006, 9:18pm
I completely redid my tank on the 725. first I drop the tank, rinse it out with Hot water running thru the pressure washer, do a couple of times with dish detergent to clean, then I cut with a sawsall , a section off the top, next I scraped the inch of crap out of the tank . then sandblasted the complete tank ,cleaned out all the sand and welded a piece of 22 gage metal to seal the open section, then coated the inside with sealer I purchase from a radiator shop, redcoat I believe what it was called. It looked like red candy apple syrup. It sealed up all the pin holes and any small holes i might not have sealed in my welding .The sealer was around 50.00 a gallon.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by k8icu on Oct 14, 2006, 9:36pm
If you clean the tank well and leave it to vent to the air for a week or so you should not have any proplems welding it. The only draw back is you can't drive for a week or so.
Re: Gastank Repair
Post by wrecker on Oct 16, 2006, 2:04pm
If it's only a pinhole leak, the red seal type product is supposed to seal that from what I've heard. I plan to cut the mine in two vertically in order to clean it, seal it, and narrow it a few inches in case I ever swap in a 14 bolt rear. The drive shaft gets too close to a stock tank with the 14 bolt rear imo. Bill