The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Pin Hole Gas Tank Leak

4 years ago I patched a small hole in the bottom of my tank with that roll epoxy you knead into a ball. Last fall or earlier it began to leak from there, so I drained the tank.

Yesterday, I took a Roll-Lock and quickly removed that crud. I have a hole about .040" in dia. Looking for suggestions for a more permanent and reliable fix.

Can it be soldered? Use a solder for plumbing vs. electrical?

Should I do a quick tack weld with my mig? (I'd fill the tank with water and invert it) Anyone know how thick a stock '57 tank is? Feeling around the sending unit hole is seems almost 1/8" I'll tale a closer look at the flanges

JB weld, A 2 part liquid epoxy, Other?

Thanks

Check on Por-15 products for tank repairs and restoration.
http://www.por15.com/Fuel-System-Restoration/products/12/

Go to a FLAPS and they sell a epoxy kit for that use .


Pete

I had the pin holes in mine brazed then I acid cleaned the inside and lined the tank with RedKote.

Has anyone used a product called Kwik-Poly to fix gas tanks? I've used it to repair wood and other things. The literature on it says it can also repair gas tanks.

JB weld is a good product. I used it to fix a tank on one of my trucks. Was still holding after 5 years.
Regards Roy

Quite often the hole is rusted from the inside out. Water in the lowest pocket in the tank. Only the products that clean the tank with an acid wash and then seal from the inside will fix that for good.

For less than $200 you can put a brand new tank in there and
never have to worry bout it again, as long as you live.
Denny G

I agree with this approach. That's what I did.

By the time you acid wash it, re-coat it, re-install it, find out the it still leaks, pull it out again, repeat the process Denny's right - That $200 was the best way to go.

Put a screw in the hole and putty it up with JB Weld, and wait for it to leak again down the road. Or get a new tank like Denny said.

I totally agree that if a gas/fuel tank can be replaced with a new one that is the best/safest solution to a faulty tank. But there are those occasions where a tank cannot be replaced and repair is the only option available. What method to do? I would probably take it to a firm that does that sort of work and can guarantee their work.

I recently repaired a pinhole leak on my 41 Chev by soldering it. The hole was near the outlet where the original soldering had started to leak. I do a lot of soldering in my daily work, so I was reasonably well- prepared. I used pure solder (without internal flux) and a mild plumbers flux from a tube. I took special care to clean the area around the leak to bare metal or to bare old solder. I could choose one of our normal larger soldering irons with good temperature control. If one heats up the flux or the area too quickly it becomes dirty or oxidizes again and the solder does not attach well.
Without the proper tools and some patience and experience I would not recommend this method. If you lack experience, make sure to find some old rotten tank to practice on first. Be sure to have the right iron and some kind of thermal control.
Karl

I once had a 63 T-Bird that had a pin hole in the bottom corner of the tank.It was not rusted it was kinda sliced do to the fact that the rear hung real low and getting to back road parking would hit bottom. I used a Old epoxy called PC7 cut a patch from alum siding drained the tank sanded it- may be 3inches around to bare metal.put it on the patch and smusched it on the area.Let her sit for a day .That patch worked 8 years that i know of till i sold the car.Wish i never got rid of the T-Bird in 1977.

A radiator repair shop cleaned, inspected and did a minor repair with solder on one my trucks tanks a few years ago. The charge was only $60. Had that not worked the tank was going to be replaced, as others suggested. I've read elsewhere that using the various in-tank sealers can lead to other headaches down the road. IMO I'd prefer to shave the odds against enjoying a plugged fuel filter or fuel pump at the (usually) worst possible time.

I used the epoxy recoating kit on mine 18 years ago. Never had a problem since. with epoxy it will outlast a new metal tank.