I had a tank with a dent and hole in it. Degreased it, sanded it with 40 grit, put an epoxy patch on it from one of the kits sold at our farm / fleet store. Once that hardened for a couple days, I sanded the epoxy and the metal around it and used the other type of kit with the fiberglass mesh. After that, I painted the whole tank with industrial epoxy. Sort of belt and suspenders approach, but it's in a spot where a lot of stuff needs to be taken off to get to it and take the tank out. It's been holding for 7 years with no drips (knock wood!)
Metal Fuel Tank Repairs that Work??
- Thread starter lowandslow1
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rrrkkk
Silver Member
Well let me throw in another that I have used and it WORKS POR stands for pour over rust they have a very good website, not cheap but all their products do what they say they will. You need to clean the tank with their chemical, de rust the tank with their chemical and finally seal it. I have a NAA that I did 10 years ago it is still fine today as well as several motorcycle tanks.
OP
lowandslow1
New member
Took the tank out and power washed the outside. The tank is resistance welded at the seam. Tank looked good on the outside, still in the stock JD green, no corrosion that you can see from the outside. Did a preliminary clean with Purple Power and got a lot of scuzz out of the tank: brown paste, corn flake sized rust flakes, a couple of sticks of wood the size of a tongue depressor. Not leaking from the seams...but 11 tiny pin hole leaks on the bottom surrounding the drain boss, and one on the drain boss weld seam. Plan on soldering the tank on the outside over the pin holes and drain boss and then doing a fiberglass tank repair over the bottom of the whole tank, plus the KBS kit I ordered the other day for sealing the inside. The fuel pickup that goes into the tank has a stand pipe that picks up fuel about 2" up from the bottom of the tank so you don't get water and crud into the fuel line...good thing. Bad thing, there's no way to drain off the water that ends up in the bottom of the tank without taking the tank out or siphoning the bottom. My tank will hold approximately one gallon (estimating) of sediment/crud and water at the bottom of the tank. 40 years of water eating away at the tank bottom.
Mountaincat
New member
I have fixed many fuel tanks, it depends on why it is leaking. If it has been a punctured you can solder it. If it has rusted through then get a new one.
OP
lowandslow1
New member
I did think about a new tank. But at $500 plus shipping, I figured $90 in repair parts and sealer might do the repair. I might have to replace it eventually. Removing the tank is pretty easy. Draining out the fuel was the hardest part.
Bousez
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2008
- Messages
- 86
- Location
- Riviere Beaudette, Quebec, Canada
- Tractor
- Kioti CK2510 2017
I would take it off the tractor, send it to a radiator shop !
They will clean it, soak it in cleaning solution, grind it, and then they will weld the seam
Not the easiest, not the cheapest but surely the best solution ... will probably cost around 50$
They will clean it, soak it in cleaning solution, grind it, and then they will weld the seam
Not the easiest, not the cheapest but surely the best solution ... will probably cost around 50$
OP
lowandslow1
New member
Finally ran the tractor today. I did a 3 layer epoxy/fiberglass cloth reinforcement layup around the bottom 1/3rd of the tank. Then coated the inside with KBS tank sealant. Pressure tested the tank and then installed the repaired fuel tank last week, put a shutoff valve in the fuel line going to the fuel pump, change the filter, new fuel sender. No leaks at the tank. While I was doing the repairs did a little mini restoration on the sheet metal. Ace John Deere enamel mixed 8:1 with acrylic enamel high gloss hardner and then added a little acrylic enamel reducer and shot the canopy, hood, side cowl, tank, front and anything else I could remove.... The hardner really speeds up the drying of the Ace enamel. Considering I painted everything in the barn and the average temp was 38 it turned out well. It's not going to "Barrett-Jackson" just trying to keep even with the rust....
Old Fergy
New member
Hello, I'm new on this site and have read how the inside of fuel tanks are cleaned, very good!! Can the outside of the tank be sandblastod to give it a smooth finish and ready for painting ?? Ferguson Restoring !!!
OP
lowandslow1
New member
The outside of the tank is the easiest to do. I imagine that you have the tank off of the tractor. I sandblasted my tank. One reason was for prepping it for the epoxy/fiberglass repair and for painting in the non-repair area. They can be a little awkward to work with and may outsize your blasting cabinet. If there is rust and pitting on the tank after blasting those areas they should be filled with a filler if you are looking for a "smooth" finish on your tank. Otherwise lay down a nice primer and spray your top coat over the top. Note: check the tank for pin-hole leaks after blasting as you may remove the rust/scale that was keeping that hole plugged. I'd highly recommend the KBS tank sealant system for the coating the inside of the tank, even if it doesn't leak. You'll never worry that your tank will leak or rust from the inside out. My repair has worked beautifully for the last year...and I work the "poop" out of my tractor.
