That leakin gas tank

[noah's big truck]

Ok, guys the next item on my " fix the jeep" list is to fix that leakin gas tank. I haven,t had a chance to look at it very much but I know the hole is in the rear tank about three quarters of the way up between the tanks Should I patch or replace it? If I replace it does anyone know where to get a new one?
Thanks

[Tad]

Checked my Raybuck catalog, no listing for any trucks after '79. Others will no more than me (always).

[noah's big truck]

Thanks, Has anyone ever had any luck with trying to patch a gas tank . I have talked to people who have and have heard good and bad. It just seems like a lot of work to drop the gas tank to try a patch that may not hold . I would appreciate everyones opinion.

[Don S]

Noah......sure can patch-up metal Gas tanks..Rule # 1.. It's gotta be clean. Your fingers got oil. Clean and sand (like 180 wet or dry)but sand it dry, a large area around crack. Clean again..Chop up alittle wad of fiberglass real fine and mix with some JB Weld. Use the slower set-up style. If it's a crack it could be a problem. You might need to drill a small hole at each end of the crack to stop it from continuing..I have fixed several rusted f@rd tanks and Glued a new pickup pipe into my Jeep tank 14 years ago...still no leaks...Hope you can fix it up..........ds..

[Gwamp]

JB weld will work fine. Just like Don S. Says, its gotta be CLEAN to work right or you will doing it again

[Dan G]

My cousin did this on his 65 GTO (OK, stop salivating now)

He fiberglassed right over the existing steel tank, but he did the entire tank. Somehow, I don't think that's what you want.

I'm with the JB weld and fiberglass mat guys, and make sure you clean off all oil residue before you try to get the JB to stick.

[BOONIERAT]

I concur with the JB Weld. My tank was leaking at the seam on the frame side (plastic tank),used JB on it almost two months ago and its still holding. I also fixed a crack in my tank flot that was causing it to fill up with fuel and register empty all the time. It's still working also (over a month now). Dealing with gas, let it cure a day or two longer than recommended and you shouldn't have any problems.

[O.P.]

Noah

Before you patch the hole in the tank, remove the sending unit and look inside with a flashlight. Make sure there isn't much rust on the inside of the tank. My '76 J-10 has the whole bottom half of the gas tank fiberglassed. When I pulled the sending unit on the tank I found the entire inside was totally rotted out. That explained why I had the fuel filter stopping up about every 3 to 4 days. I vacuumed out about 2 quarts of rust that was loose in the bottom. Now I get to order a new tank and sending unit. Hopefully yours isn't nearly that bad though. Just thought I'd let you know to check the inside and get out anything loose while you've got the tank out.

Good Luck
O.P.

[Tad]

Noah, so you want to patch a gas tank, read my stupid gas tank story and it should convince you to
1. Do the JB Weld and ignore it till it needs replacing.
2. Let someone else do the dirty work.

Here she is "Stupid Gas Tank Story" no crying.

1. Bought 1970 Wagoneer for $750.
2. It started, ran, moved, wouldn't stop.
3. Wagoneer had an auxiliary tank put in spare tire location between frame rails (thing is huge).
4. Added 5 gallons of gas to both tanks.
5. Gas leaked like crazy from original tank where hose meets filler neck.
6. Couldn't switch over from auxiliary tank to original (valve stuck). Decided to drop original tank.
7. Found fuel pump return line only went to original tank (so when running on auxiliary tank all extra gas goes into original tank).
8. Drained 12 gallons of varnish from original tank (seriously, this stuff was black).
9. Dried out tank by running shop vac through sending unit hole for a couple of hours (smell of varnish was bad, neighbors complained, tough).
10. Couldn?t get air through fuel pump line (decided to perform surgery).
11. Cut 3 1/2? square hole in top of tank around fuel pump lines (I just drew the square hole, ran tech screws through the corners and used aviation snips to cut out the rest).

Now the fun begins

12. Found about 1? of varnish sludge in bottom of tank.
13. Fuel line sock, what fuel line sock, did find an ugly, clogged and decomposed thing attached to the end of the fuel pump line though.
14. Began cleaning tank with MEK, 2 gallons at a time letting it soak overnight (this stuff dissolves anything).
15. Cleared fuel tank line with G string from a students bass guitar attached to 3/8? drill (kind of like RotoRooter for fuel lines).
16. After 3rd application of MEK tank looked pretty clean (now I have 12 gallons of old gas & varnish and 6 gallons of dirty MEK sitting in yard).
17. Soldered on homemade fuel line sock (brass) to end of fuel pump inlet line.
18. Made a 3 1/4? ID by 3 3/4? OD square 16 gauge steel flange to patch area cut out.
19. Blew out tank with shop vac again for about 2 hours.
20. Purged tank with CO2 line from MIG welder set at 5 CF per min for 20 minutes.
21. Tacked and welded in place original cutout and flange.
22. Pressure tested tank at 25 psi and marked all the pinholes (welding patch back in meted all solder from the fuel line areas too).
23. Repeated step 20 again.
24. Repeated step 22 again but at 50 psi (got them all but this is time consuming).
25. Brought tank home, reread IFSJA post about gas tank trap, started thinking, painted outside of tank.
26. Bought an extra foot of fuel tank filler line, posted question on forum, sent some pic?s, cut the bend off on xmas eve morning with hacksaw, filed down all sharp edges.
27. Tank ready to go back in, still working on brakes so no hurry there.
28. Added up all receipts, I?m at about $40, plus fuel hose ($30) plus about 5 hours of time.
29. Had attack of logic, should have had radiator shop do all this (would have been faster, but, like so many things, it just got personal).
30. Found local (Pima County, AZ) hazmat site that will take gas/varnish & MEK, no charge for residential.

[noah's big truck]

Thanks for the input guys .I'm going to work on it this weekend. Are there any tricks to dropping the gas tank on a J-10 ? I have done it a couple of times on my old Z-71 and I know there is deffinitly a hard way to do it. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[BIGYELLOW78J10]

Well, the worst part is rust. Then weight. So start spraying all of your bolts with penetrant tonight. And then get rid of the gas. if the leak is bad, the truck will take care of this part. I wish I had tried harder to deal with my leaky gas tank 6 months ago. I had it patched once, and while I was out of town it started leaking in a new place, as the tank had never been emptied when it was patched so the same condensation that ate through the first time came through again 8 months later. Anyway, I had my tank replaced at a local shop because i thought I didn't have time. Well if I had known their estimate was going to double to $450 I would do what I think you should do. Either get the fiberglass and JB Weld or go to napa and buy their gas tank repair kit. You could try to apply it while the tank is on the truck, but a better repair would likely be obtained with the tank dry and off the truck. However, the hoses are likely quite brittle and taking them off may be impossible. SO, siphon out all the gas you can. Sand, perhaps wet sand the area around the leak. Dry it and patch it. Cross your fingers and watch the tank. Run some dry gas through the tank to get rid of the water inside which is killing you. Constant fuel filter replacements will tell you you have to get the new tank. Be careful, Good luck,

Daniel Toon

[Lugnut]

You might try EastwoodCompany.com; their part # 10165Z Gas tank sealer kit, or, you might find something else there you would wanna use.
I have never used thisparticular product but I've seen it on occasion in magazines showing how to use it, etc. It's about $40. I guess it would be especially helpful in vintage autos where the chances of finding a new tank are just about impossible.