Fuel tank pin holes... Weld or seal?

After another round of brick acid and prep'n'ready I found a pin hole

The tank sealer instructions say just use some gaffa tape to block the holes to prevent the sealer leaking.
I guess the sealer is enough to keep the petrol inthe tank - has anyone just done that?

But should I try a dab of weld to fill the hole or am I likely to make it worse....?

 

i`d be temped to splash the cash and get a rust free import tank

 

If you weld it might make it worse....


It is extremely hard to do it first time ,you should have seen the size of the blob when I finished..

 

Solder would be a better bet.

 

This^^ Tinned and soldered is the best way... I would also use the tank sealer, as long as it is approved for fuel containing ethanol!!

 

Look at diddymens thread as he soldered his tank I think

 

yup ...solder it up
dish the area around the hole,
put a screw or a nail head in the hole ,
put some flux on it,,
heat and melt some solder into the hole,

i did one where someone had put a screw through the tank while fitting a r&r bed,

 

Ahh yes I found that diddymen post - excellent stuff

Edit: Can I do it with a soldering iron though - silly buts it's all I have ....

Yep it's the por-15 stuff, ethanol proof

 

What tank sealer have you got? I did mine with POR15 and the instructions said it seals pin holes

 

Damage is different if its got pin holes and a bit thin for me i`d rather just replace

 

Yep that's the stuff

It's just the one pin hole (so far) the tank seems pretty good nick apart from that - especially after the amount of acid cleaning it's been subjected to.. I don't really want to scrap it just yet

 

Edit: Can I do it with a soldering iron though - silly buts it's all I have ....



Depends on how powerful your iron is. The metal of the tank will soak up the heat, so you might not get it hot enough. A gas torch is better.

 

This^^ you'll need a gas blow torch, some tinning paste, and some bits of lead, as you're wanting to do a lead solder repair, and not an electrical solder repair

Tinning paste
http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-fillers-tools/solder-paste.html

And you can just use some offcuts of roofing lead!! (cheaper that frost)

 

Thanks for the good advice all

I opted in the end for a quick splodge of weld as it's what was to hand..

There's the hole


A blob

Dressed-


Cheers

 

cool air doing new tanks for £290.

 

So far I reckon I spent about
£20 on brick acid
£20 on marine clean (used half)
£30 on prep'n'ready (used half)
£30 on tank sealer

A couple of hours of filling and tipping...

Going to wire brush the exterior and slap some epoxy mastic on should be good then for another 40years

But the replacement tank I guess is worry free