repairing nail punctures in Kubota fuel tank

[pttdds]

Well my first shot at the repair fell short of the mark. Thanks for all the good ideas. Without them I'd be deeply troubled about now. As is, lots of other options.

My first shot was to place a small piece of sanded sheet aluminum coated with marine epoxy over the nest of holes. It seemed to be working well, but came back an hour or so after application and found diesel leaking from below the patch. Must have rocked the tractor enough to slosh fuel up onto the site before the epoxy set. Pealed it off and will start over. This time I will incorporate another suggestion and fill each of the puncture sites with a pop rivet before applying the epoxy patch. Will give a report on the result. (Have now run the tractor to lower the fuel level in the tank and will try not to rock the rig after applying the patch.)

Thanks again

Pt don

 

[pttdds]

Thanks again. Have been unable to find the proseal adhesive but have found marine epoxy. As usual I was making my repair too complicated by first putting a plate on the outside of the epoxy -- which slide off the vertical surface pulling the epoxy with it when fuel sloshed on it -- and then planning to punch the holes larger to allow pop riveting them. All ready punch them out when I looked at the residual from the prior failed attempt. It looked really solid. So I tried simply sanding the 2"x2" area around the holes and patching with the marine epoxy. It seems to be working well. Someday, if the patch continues to hold, will sand the lumpy epoxy surface and paint it to blend with the rest of the tank.

All the good ideas were very helpful. Thanks. What a great resource this discussion has become!

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