Help..Leaking Fuel Tank.

[Korumba]

I arrived home from Fishing on Saturday and my Son said my Bike had an Oil leak…I told him my Bike doesn’t leak Oil, That’s sweat from all the Horsepower!


It Turns out the Fuel Tank is leaking under the front mounting bracket, the left hand bolt had its thread stripped and there must have been extra vibration resulting in this leak.

I have removed the Tank, drained the fuel and will try and get it fixed for the ride to Wellsford this Weekend.

Someone told me that they can put some kind of resin in the tank to seal it from the inside..

Doesn’t sound like a long term fix to me. Anyone heard of this and does it work?

I would think getting it repaired buy wielding would be the answer and do any of the Guys from the Whangarei area know who to go to

I am also in Orewa every Wednesday so a run to someone on the North Shore wouldn’t be any trouble (or even the City) but would properly have to leave it there until the next week, which means no ride down South this weekend.

Cheers

[WINJA]

IVE FIXED LOTS OF HOLES IN PETROL TANKS WITH ARALDITE , AT SUPERCHEAP THEY SELL A PUTTY JUST FOR THIS JOB

[Racey Rider]

I followed Winja's advise :sweatdrop and used 5 minute ARALDITE on my rust holes two months ago.
Still working well.
Thankyou for sharing Mr Winja. :drinknsin

[El Dopa]

i feel your pain. I have/had a similar problem, on and off over the last six months. Just (touch wood) had it fixed, and picking the bike up this weekend.




Someone told me that they can put some kind of resin in the tank to seal it from the inside..

Doesn’t sound like a long term fix to me. Anyone heard of this and does it work?

Yes, there is a resin, and no, it isn't a long term fix.

You can get the inside of the tank coated with a sort of rubberised coating/resin. This is what I had done originally. Unfortunately, it only worked for a short while before the petrol in the tank ate through the resin/rubber coating.

So it's not a long term fix, and it doesn't work on larger holes.


I would think getting it repaired by wielding would be the answer

Cheers

This is what I have just had done. Well, not welding, but soldering. My friendly mechanic put a couple of bloody great gobs of solder over the holes. Apparently it has worked, but the proof of the pudding will be in the riding.

If you want any more info (e.g. name of the mechanic) let me know.

[Kiwi]

Hi

Depends where the leak is - try POR 15. Did it on my Duati tank, works since one year now

Kiwi

[Ixion]

I followed Winja's advise :sweatdrop and used 5 minute ARALDITE on my rust holes two months ago.
Still working well.
Thankyou for sharing Mr Winja. :drinknsin

I also followed Mr WINJA's Araldite advice and it has worked well, thanks Mr WINJA. I did back the Araldite up with some fibreglass tape and resin.

Long term fix is of course to weld the leak up, but welding petrol tanks is tedious and it buggers the paint. So far I'll stick with the Araldite.

[John]

I got my tank lined, shaws did it saved me screwing around - didnt cost much and it will never rust again ;)

[Korumba]

Thanks Guys...I Cant see exactly where the leak is,but its somewhere the bracket is attached to the Tank.
I will contact Shaws and see if they can do the coating thing..the gas was leaking onto the motor and lastly dropping off the pipes, so am keen to get a good fix first time..will keep you posted.

[FROSTY]

that 2 part epoxy instant metal stuff works well. Really important though --get the area reallly really clean and dry. If you dont remove all the rust first you'll just end up repeating the job when the rust liftts the repair back up

[Motu]

I've welded plenty of tanks over the years,the only permanent fix,although sometimes you can get embrittlment of the metal,and then another failure next to the weld - but in that case there is often stress involved,remove the stress and relieve pressure.

My XLV750 tank defeated me though,it was very thin and had holes everywhere,just low temp brazing causing stress cracks.I had Por 15 tank liner in for 5 yrs,my TLR200 has had tank liner for 3 yrs and takes a pounding as I toss it down banks and slam it into trees - I wouldn't hesitate to use tank liner.

[BUBBLE]

No.1 - Dont weld it, it'll look like crap. It will distort tank locally to welding.
No.2 - Soldering is best. I've soldered a couple of tanks with excellent results, no distortion, no leaks.
No.3 - POR 15 do a motorcycle tank sealer kit. Ive also used this with excellent results, best thing is that tank does not need repainting. Its easy to use and anyone can do it. Info can be found on this website http://www.por15.co.nz/index.html and there are lots of distributer thru NZ

[BUBBLE]

And for $60 who can complain http://www.por15.co.nz/por_products/motorcycle_tank_repair_kit.htm

[Sniper]

Hmm, seems the season for it. I needto fix my fuel line tomorrow

[Korumba]

Repair underway with Por-15 ($75.00 Northland Dollars) sounds like it works great.

Its a long process though Cleaning / Metal Prep and the Sealer itself takes 96hrs to cure, but am still hopeful of having it all back together for the run on Sunday.

Thanks again for the help and advice.

[Kiwi]

Good luck mate

Kiwi

[Motu]

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry the tank before you put in the liner....take the tank with you if you go to the movies and keep rotating it every couple of minutes.

[vifferman]

My VF500 had a rust pinhole on the right rear, where any moisture in the tank tends to end up and not get out again. I soldered up the hole, and treated the tank with the "Kreem" stuff (apparently not as good as POR15). This comprises a rust neutraliser (basically orthophosphoric acid), a cleaner/drier (basically acetone), and the liner (a thickish plastic that uses acetone as a solvent).

It didn't work that great, despite me following the destructions implicitly (and to the letter as well). Two problems: the liner is difficult to get into all nooks and crannies, as it is not very runny, and the soldered bit of the tank promoted more catalytic rusting of the tank, as steel is more reactive than lead. So the pinhole leaked again. And again. It wouldn't have mattered if the liner had covered the pinhole thickly enough, but it didn't.

Oh yeah - and the tank capacity was reduced by slightly less than the volume of the bottle of liner.

Whatever you do, do it right, so you have to do it only once. :yes:

[Korumba]

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to dry the tank before you put in the liner....take the tank with you if you go to the movies and keep rotating it every couple of minutes.

Help This Guy whats to check my fuel Tank (sry saw a post about helmets last week)and when I told him to Rotate it I got kickout...lol

Thanks Motu thats the bit they stress is the Drying befor putting the sealer in sry about spelling but this Shit Smells Good!!!!!!

Anyway its all in and doing its business,and all going well, will see Saturday night if it works and if so Ill be on the ride to Wellsford,

I look forward to putting some Faces to some Alais's

[Pixie]

My VF500 had a rust pinhole on the right rear, where any moisture in the tank tends to end up and not get out again. I soldered up the hole, and treated the tank with the "Kreem" stuff (apparently not as good as POR15). This comprises a rust neutraliser (basically orthophosphoric acid), a cleaner/drier (basically acetone), and the liner (a thickish plastic that uses acetone as a solvent).

It didn't work that great, despite me following the destructions implicitly (and to the letter as well). Two problems: the liner is difficult to get into all nooks and crannies, as it is not very runny, and the soldered bit of the tank promoted more catalytic rusting of the tank, as steel is more reactive than lead. So the pinhole leaked again. And again. It wouldn't have mattered if the liner had covered the pinhole thickly enough, but it didn't.

Oh yeah - and the tank capacity was reduced by slightly less than the volume of the bottle of liner.

Whatever you do, do it right, so you have to do it only once. :yes:
The Por15 system uses the same type of rust treatment/etchant,after cleaning with the caustic cleaner,but the sealant is an isocyanate polyurethane.This is cured by contact with moisture.

[Korumba]

The Por15 system uses the same type of rust treatment/etchant,after cleaning with the caustic cleaner,but the sealant is an isocyanate polyurethane.This is cured by contact with moisture.


So the Gloves bit was important????Cause I think theres not many crimes I commit tonight would link me to the finger prints I had this mornning!

[Korumba]

The Por15 system uses the same type of rust treatment/etchant,after cleaning with the caustic cleaner,but the sealant is an isocyanate polyurethane.This is cured by contact with moisture.

Sry just re read the bit about moisture...As I understand it if it not as dry as a Nuns.... Prayer Book, it dont work! and the instrutions are clear about that.

Quote:

"Your tank has now been completely cleaned and prepped ready for sealing.

The tank must now be bone dry - DO NOT SKIP THIS, otherwise your sealer will not work properly e.g. Leaving tank in the sun for a few hours is not bone dry. Best method is to introduce moving air into the tank with a vacuum cleaner, fan, dryer etc and/or warm tank to evaporate moisture from inside."

[Korumba]

All fixed and back on the bike (couldn’t wait the last 4 hours for it to cure 92 hrs has to be enough) No leaks so far.

The ride tomorrow will tell.

Thanks again for the help and advice.