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gas tank pinholes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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Heres a good question for some of the experts on this forum.I am trying to repair the fuel tank on my 78 gs 1000 , it has about a dozen pinholes from the bottom up to the seam on both sides. I dont want to use an in tank pocess because I am trying to save my petcock and gas gauge without taking them out. So I am trying to find an outside spray or brush on sealer that will handle gasoline. I have removed the paint down to the metal where the holes are.............thanks fellow Gsers.........................


ps cannot afford to have tank replaced or rebuilt..times are tough ......Ken
 
About the only other way is to have them welded. Pinholes are just teh beginning of a bigger rust problem. :twisted:
 
Desperate times call for unusual measures.

There is a glue-type product called Sealsall that works well on gas tanks. Comes in a yellow tube in a yellow box with red and black print. I believe it is made in USA, so it should be available there, but you can get someone in BC to send it to you (or take a trip to "sunny" Vancouver.) as it is sold in all Canadian Tire stores.

This stuff set the standard for this type of repair many years ago, and it is still excellent.

Follow the instructions.....let it dry OVERNIGHT to properly set.

It dries clear, and it works!

Problem with that, is that it cannot be considered more than a temporary fix, as the rust you already have inside will not get better.

Best approach would be to find another tank, but, failing that, you can take it to a radiator or gas tank repair shop and ask their opinion. With a little luck they will look at it, and maybe test it for you, at no charge.
 
I think you're going to lose this battle. You could try removing the valve and sending unit and remounting them with plastic bags around them, not an easy task and you need a thick plastic bag to withstand the acid wash. Company that makes kreem recommends making wood templets to replace them during the process. Also, if you use the bags, you will probably need to replace them between the wash and coat. If you try to go on with the internal rust you are going to have trouble with pieces of rust on the screen of the fuel valve and smaller pieces will make it to the carbs (if they aren't already there). Inine fuel filter. Then you will have some of the problems you read about fuel systems on this site. The best home fix would be to apply the stuff the other guy suggested or JB Weld, let it cure, and then wash and coat the inside of the tank. Pay attention to the instructions because you have the worst case. You will need to put nuts, bolts, or stones in the tank for an agitator. They probably only need to contact the lower part of the tank.
 
thin aluminum sheet stock glued on ( external ) with JB Weld has worked for me, and others,,,,following the directions, roughing both surfaces with 80 grit, and fanatically cleanliness are important to success, a reputaple radiator shop can solder thin copper patches, which is highly effective, but will mess up your paint.
 
thin aluminum sheet stock glued on ( external ) with JB Weld has worked for me, and others,,,,following the directions, roughing both surfaces with 80 grit, and fanatically cleanliness are important to success, a reputaple radiator shop can solder thin copper patches, which is highly effective, but will mess up your paint.
 
Keep it simple.....JBWeld applied to the problem area like drywall spackle, Let dry and sand down and paint. (flat black works great!) I've been doing this on my tank for a while. Not one of my patches :D has failed but new spots are constantly arising :evil:
 
Like other said, it keeps getting worse, especally if you just patch it from the outside. Think of it this way : You just see the pin holes but really it is rusted thin all over in between and around where the pinholes are, the old "tip of the iceburg" situation, although the ice burg is inside and the pin holes are where it breaks the surface. So keep that in mind when you use any of the patching material stuff. But, yah, I understand your just wanting to get it back on the road.
 
dgeorge said:
There is a tank for a 79 1000E on ebay right now for about $50 Might be cheepep then trying to fix your old one. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2415319387&category=34284
Click to expand...
Sadly that tank on ebay is not off any 1979 GS1000E I ever saw, that's the trouble with some ebay sellers, they just don't know what it is they're selling.

For my two cents, I reckon that por15 stuff looks very good, they even provide a solvent that removes botched kreem coatings, and for 29 bucks for a permanent repair you couldn't go wrong, or could you??????:twisted:
 
gas tank

gas tank

Does anyone know what tanks are interchangable with my 78 gs1000e? Hopefully within a couple of months I might be able to get some cash together.But I would sure like to ride in the meantime as the sun starting to come out in the Pacific Nothwest............... :( ........thanks ..Ken...
 
Tanked!

Tanked!

Ken:
I tend to agree with "Redman" in that you're really just delaying, or rather patching a terminal problem. I had a rust thru problem on my old 79 1000 also. My guess is that I never took the petcock off "ON" and never used the "RESERVE" setting, so...water accumulated on the bottom of the tank and the good gas rose to the pick-up tube. One day it started weeping gas, I emptied it flipped it over started poking at the rust spots, one pinhole turned into a half dozen dime size holes in moments.......
You should get a new tank......OK?
Rick........
 
Re: Tanked!

Re: Tanked!

Richard Ellis said:
Ken:
I tend to agree with "Redman" in that you're really just delaying, or rather patching a terminal problem. I had a rust thru problem on my old 79 1000 also. My guess is that I never took the petcock off "ON" and never used the "RESERVE" setting, so...water accumulated on the bottom of the tank and the good gas rose to the pick-up tube. One day it started weeping gas, I emptied it flipped it over started poking at the rust spots, one pinhole turned into a half dozen dime size holes in moments.......
You should get a new tank......OK?
Rick........
Click to expand...
I totally agree with you and in time I will get a new tank if I can raise the 200 dollars most yards want or if something shows up on ebay for the cash I have, but till then I would really like to be riding..........thanks
 
I can vouch for the POR-15. I bought the stuff at a local NAPA store, followed the directions religiously, and I haven't had any recurring problems. According to the folks at stovebolt.com (Chevy GMC trucks forum) the KREEM stuff has a history of flaking off into the tank. Don't know if thats true or not.
 
If appearance is not a problem, strip the paint off the tank, at least around the entire bottom.

Make sure all the rust is gone.

Cut two or more sheets of fiberglass CLOTH to fit your needs. Fiberglass comes in a fluffy loose mess or a woven cloth. Use ONLY the cloth.


The cloth coverage must extend well above the highest point at which you have any leaks. Does not matter if you have to make notches in the cloth to allow for curves/corners. Do it. Overlap as needed, but leave no spaces, holes or blank areas of any size. You can sand it smooth later.


Sand the bare part, then mix up a liquid epoxy according to directions on the can, brush it on liberally so that there are NO bare spots, and lay on your first sheet of fiberglass. Pull it taut, then use the brush with more resin to splay out the cloth. The extra resin will fill all cavities. Turn the tank upright, and wait for a few minutes until it starts to set up. Turn it once or twice to minimize runs and keep the resin consistent in thickness.

After that, ignore the runs.

It is critical that there be NO bare spots on the metal. Anywhere there is metal, the fiberglass must stick to it.



At this point it is preferable to let it set overnight, sand smooth all over (and remove all drips), then continue.

It may be possible to place a second sheet before the first batch of epoxy starts to set, but this will depend on your experience and knowledge of fiberglass. If you have little or none, stop after one sheet and wait overnight.

Trying to rush a second coat/application is just as good as throwing stones at it....all you will succeed at doing is destroying your first effort.

Coat everything with resin and lay on a second sheet. Again use the brush to both stretch it smooth, and fill in the cloth completely with fresh resin.

There will again be excess resin to drip away.

When hardened, sand away the drips.

If the tank had no major holes, a third sheet would be preferable, but two should do the job, provided you were liberal enough with the resin. One sheet may look just as good, but one is NOT sufficient.


If the tank had major holes, then a third sheet is necessary.


You can use a spray paint can to get close to the original colour.

Using suitable gasket material, remount your petcock AND add an in-line fuel filter, fill the tank and drive on.
 
I can tell ya what NOT to do!! don't try to drill it out and plug it!!! I did and as soon as the bit bit, it dragged itself thru half and inch of tank!! big gaper of a hole.

I was able to fix this with JB weld (or the like, can't remember brand name). I stuck a steel ruler in thru the cap hole to provide some backing and plastered the weld into it, rubbing it with a spitty finger to smooth out the outside. it's held for eight months so far, but, as others have said, other holes just keep poking out!!!

good luck, and put that drill away!!
 
On my Gs1000gl, I got one of those re-coating kits for the gas tank and it filled in the pin holesin it. but now, 2 more pin holes have formed. Is there anything I could do to fix them without getting another re-coating kit? Could I sweat it like sealing a copper pipe? what do i do?
 
sweet61 said:
On my Gs1000gl, I got one of those re-coating kits for the gas tank and it filled in the pin holesin it. but now, 2 more pin holes have formed. Is there anything I could do to fix them without getting another re-coating kit? Could I sweat it like sealing a copper pipe? what do i do?
Click to expand...

Sure. Read my post, above, then follow the instructions.
 
I've seen air tanks on transports sealed by driving a sheet metal screw into the hole but Ron's solution is best. Do not try to dip the fibreclass into the epoxy first, it's very hard to apply after you do that.

Cheers, Steve
 
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