leaking gas from top of tank (2 Viewers)

[Tools R Us]

... Id love to just patch it up w/ some petroleum resistant paste (tiger paste/JB) but from the sounds of it no one has had luck w/ the repairs.

The vapor in the tank expands/contracts depending on temp, this causes the top of the tank to flex, the chances of and "glue" fixes working are slim. The best fix would be a braze or solder job, but finding someone to do it would be the problem, try calling radiator shops?

 

[concretejungle]

hey, get that thing off our beautiful grass!!!!!!!

 

[jfz80]

I have only found one place to repair it, however they require me to take it to another place out of town first for the outgassing process and safety testing procedures at $100 and then the repair. I dont want to drop this again really so balancing fixing vs fixing right. And trying to find a Land Cruiser tank is a constant dead end on line. Talking w/ cruiserparts right now and then irbis to see whats being parted.

so used is 2-250 and new lists for $514.15 w/ smart shopper price at 385.61 plus the ride across the country. hmmm

 

[jfz80]

Just a quick thought before i order a used tank. Anyone ever used the POR-15 gas tank sealants?
POR-15 Depot - POR15 :: Fuel System

 

[Koffer]

I got a new MAF 38gal fuel tank goes in the stock location sitting on the floor here Thats never been installled
Too bad you so far away

 

[Brian894X4]

Holy Cow! Another darn thing we have to worry about? Cracks in the gas tank for no apparent reason and no rust?

This sucks! Well, I'm very sorry this happened to you, but glad you were able to quickly find the problem. This thread should be archived somewhere, so that others can refer to it if/when it happens again.

What year was your rig again and does anyone know if this is just limited to certain years or are all years experiencing this?

If it were me, I'd probably use it as a good excuse to try the MAF tank. 38 gallons would sure come in handy when the stock range on a built rig is barely 250 miles.

Koffer, what made you change your mind on the one you have?

 

[jfz80]

Koffer--- you know your closer than C-dan or Cruiserparts.net , right ? oh and you got PM

I looked into those and even though MAF is out at the moment and only orders every 2-3 mos w/ them being presold. I just didnt have the time to wait. Every other option i could find online is overseas w/ France being the closest i could get to home. I talked to the owner of a company in Seattle and told him about MUD and these lunatics that are adding aux tanks and sourcing all the parts from australia and im supposed to get an email back from the owner w/in a week.

Brian- its a 95 and kinda scary that the other two members ive found w/ this same crack in same spot were both 95's as well. I guess its just a minor flaw, like the HG design

 

[jfz80]

Do you have anything bolted or screwed to the middle rear passenger floor? I made this mistake and lucky only put one screw into the gas tank, which was fixable.

Brain, How'd you fix the hole in the tank?

i have a neighbor thats swearing up and down i should just fill it full of water and weld it up. i told him id let him pull the trigger on the miller though.

I really am looking to replace instead of repair just for peace of mind but you got me curious. The POR product is for cracks, not holes, up to 1'' which this actually would qualify but im a bit skeptical.

 

[AJP]

I would forget the POR ...I tried it on a rusted filler neck and eventually had to replace the neck anyway. The POR would not hold despite a lot of time spent prepping the surface as directed.

By the time you screw around with the POR and then have to pull the tank again for a proper repair...you are better off (and dollars ahead) doing it right the first time. Not sure POR will hold the pressure that builds up in the tank ... even if it adheres properly to begin with.... which IMHO is a crapshoot anyway. Although it sure does stick to hands and clothes

It also seems to me if you have an accident and spill gas as a result of a POR patch you may regret the decision...


It is my understanding that a tank repair shop will steam out the tank first and repair it...then pressure test to ensure that the tank is sound...usually they can be made as new.

 

[jfz80]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!! so big boxes w/ cruiser parts are supposed to bring joy.

however this looks like tank #2 damaged in shipping (turning into a fan of the purple people here).

My question is: What would be considered an appropriate test to see if this tank will hold up over time? I did buy used from cruiser parts, and it is said to be pressure tested and cleaned. Well it certainly isnt clean!!! granted maybe it was and then stored for quite some time b/c it came w/ a nice sample of NH rodent crap, pine needles and leaves inside. My concern is 3 of 4 corners (pinch weld) are obviously bent and damaged w/ the leading edge of the tank being my biggest concern as it looks like the top half and bottom half are separated along the pinch weld. (just comparing to my old tank)

Would filling it w/ water be an acceptable test or does the tank need to be pressurized to get an accurate analysis of its integrity. I dont want to pay for it to be pressure tested w/out knowing ill get reimbursed for the cost should it fail....if it passes i guess i can handle a small additional charge for the piece of mind.

 

[RavenTai]

I have a neighbor thats swearing up and down i should just fill it full of water and weld it up.

Your neighbor is correct, liquids do not burn.

when I was a kid I worked for a construction company as a mechanics helper, had a disgruntled employee decide to shoot all the tanks of the dump trucks in the yard, I guess he expected them to blow up like in the movies,

we drained and dropped all the tanks, filled them with water because these were large holes we had could not have water right at the hole it would poor out preventing any heating of the metal, we put the holes at the very top and brought the water right up to them and brazed them shut, there was a small fire in the tank but with only a quart or less of air to work with not a problem and no explosion,

you can also purge the inside of the tank with an oxygen free gas like nitrogen, I would still fill the majority of the volume of the tank with water.

 

[jfz80]

OMGMFSOB R U FN kidding me!!!

Yep, again. Tank #3. Conveniently presenting itself 24 hrs before departure on a large organized run.
Raiven, looks like it get to try it after all.

 

[concretejungle]

Dude, no way!! i thought i smelled gasoline last night when i came home.

 

[jfz80]

So the tank is drained and dropped and it is cracked in the very same spot as the last time. I reinstalled, marked point of failure, and removed to inspect the crossmember and mounting surface. There is no contact at this location, and only one spot that had made contact w/ no resulting issues. Everything seemed as it should except the very slightest of gaps along the front passenger corner of tank. It was perhaps 1/8'' off the body as if the strap were a bit loose, however it was not. I doubled up on the pads after i installed the tank last time and this was the only place a pad had become dislodged.

Any thoughts to why? First thought was straps were loose and the weight of the fuel caused the tank to bow along its lengthwise axis; but the strap was rather taught.

Only significant factors i can think of are it happened w/ a full tank again. 3.2 miles from fillup, on the night of the first frost of the year. Very light though, and i would really think this would affect it.

Gonna weld it up this afternoon and throw it back in there. Cross your fingers cause we depart 7:30 am tomorrow for a 5hr hwy ride and then about as much wheeling till camp.

crossmember is smooth and obstruction free along the length that contacts the tank.

 

[jfz80]

on a lighter note, i did add this while i was under there....

cruisers and b'days go so well together .... concretejungle!!!

 

[Ebag333]

It looks like there is a crease where the crack is. Is anything sitting on top of that spot that could cause it?

 

[jfz80]

NO contact at failure point. There is a rubber pad that lies b/w the tank and the bottom of the body. The pad was in place and provided a gap b/w the tank and body along the entire length. Thought maybe it was the perfect toss of a small piece of gravel, but no dice, not twice.

oh and sorry, my finger is pointing to the area where the failure is located along boddy ribbing. Smooth and protrusion free, no signs of wear/rub.

 

[jfz80]

What are my best bets for getting it free of water before refueling?

Lil gas rinse and a match? I have a friend helping me who is making his own biodeisel. He sais its quite hydroscopic, so maybe a rinse w/ a gallon of that and then throw it back in the washer. Would any residual Bio be worse than water? thank you for you thoughts on this while im under the gun here.

 

[Ebag333]

What are my best bets for getting it free of water before refueling?

Lil gas rinse and a match? I have a friend helping me who is making his own biodeisel. He sais its quite hydroscopic, so maybe a rinse w/ a gallon of that and then throw it back in the washer. Would any residual Bio be worse than water? thank you for you thoughts on this while im under the gun here.

I would let it drain as much water out as possible. If you really want to make sure all water is out (good idea) you could pour some alcohol in there (preferably not the expensive kind you like to drink ). The alcohol will evaporate fairly rapidly, and should take the water with it.

That's a commonly used trick for electronic devices that have been submerged.

Another way is to put some form of absorbant in there. There's powders that can be used that work quite well.

What I'd do (being the cheap guy I am) is "borrow" a pair of your pantyhose. Fill it with dry rice (or the absorbant powder if you spring for the good stuff, and assuming it's not fine enough that it'll drift through). Dangle the rice inside the gas tank, and let it sit for a while. Rice tends to be extremely absorbant, so should help speed up the process of the water evaporating. (Another electronics trick, though usually it's burying the device in the rice, rather than the other way around.)

I probably wouldn't plan on dumping anything that'll burn and throwing a match in there. Explosions + closed spaces = bad.


HTH

 

[RavenTai]

you should be able to wipe up most of the residual water with a rag from the fuel pump port, then just set it in the sun on a nice day, with both the filler and fuel pump ports open, maybe blow air though it every hour or so from your compressor.