Gas tank problem

both perhaps....4 minute jb weld works wonders till you get a new one

I probably would buy a new tank. I've been told that if you crank down to hard on the nuts that it could pull the mounting posts away from the tank and cause the tank near the weld to crack.

I myself wouldn't buy a new tank. I have removed a old nipple and installed it in a different tank. Simple brazing. I do mine, any local garage or body shop can fix it. I braze with a brass rod, silver solder is too brittle.

Simply brazing the crack is an easy and permanent fix......also the cheapest way to go if you can do it yourself. Just drain and rinse the tank to rid the gas and fumes and leave the gas cap off. Wire brush or sand the cracked area to raw metal and braze away. Wire brush the brazed area and touch-up with enamel spray paint. Done deal.

scotto- said:

Simply brazing the crack is an easy and permanent fix......also the cheapest way to go if you can do it yourself. Just drain and rinse the tank to rid the gas and fumes and leave the gas cap off. Wire brush or sand the cracked area to raw metal and braze away. Wire brush the brazed area and touch-up with enamel spray paint. Done deal.

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Ummm ... I suggest taking it to a welding shop to have them do it ... if they will. You can rinse a tank and still blow it up, even with the cap off. The shop I knew for years with a huge amount of experience would only weld a gas tank through a small opening in a concrete wall. And yes, those were tanks that were emptied, rinsed, aired-out and with the cap off. Another shop filled the tanks with water first and then welded them. Gasoline requires a solvent to remove it, but then, solvents are flammable, too. It takes a long time for gasoline to evaporate completely from a tank. New tanks are cheap anyway. Heck, I have a spare new one lying around and you can have it free, just pay the shipping. Save your hands and face for another day. You live in CT? I'm in New London every Sunday or Monday and if you live close you can even save the shipping and just pick it up. PM me if you want it.

If you fill the tank with an inert gas or liquid (ie water) then it will be safe to weld / braze. Combustion requires fuel, heat and oxygen, take away one and it won't burn.

CO2 kills gas. Drain as much gas as you can, some left in it will be dead after you finished the following steps. Route a hose from a gas burner exhaust to the fuel filler hole. Start up the vehicle and when the tank is as hot as the exhaust, the tank will be good to go (about 10 to 15 minutes). I've done from a MB tank all the way to a C10 Chevy pick up (takes longer). I've poured liquid out of a tank after it's death, poured on the ground and can't be lit. Learned that from a barge welder. Water in a tank is not the way to go. The gas will stay inert.

Generally, you would weld a gas tank with gas in it - but these HT kit tanks, I wouldn't trust em due to how they vent, and how small they are.

DuctTapedGoat said:

Generally, you would weld a gas tank with gas in it - but these HT kit tanks, I wouldn't trust em due to how they vent, and how small they are.

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I removed outlet fitting that the valve screws into. Both tanks had gas in them, I "Killed" the gas, removed one and installed it in another. Not so much as a "poof". If he wasn't that far off I'd repair for free.

Sorry, I meant a full tank, like when welding a car's fuel tank.