leaking gas tank
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Elder User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 514
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leaking gas tank
i noticed today that the rear gas tank on my 93 f-250 has a leak. i guess in a sense, it is good news (i am getting better gas mileage than i thought!). it is a slow drip. i have not yet taken it off but was wondering, if i pop it off and it has a slight hole but nothing major, can i just cut out the bad section and weld in a new piece of metal (assuming i have drained and dried out the gas tank)? personally, i don't see any problems with this method as it will save me 100 or so bucks if done safely. if there is a reason i should NOT do this, please fill me in.
chris
chris
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,511
Likes: 5,567
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
welding a gas tank is an automatic free ticket ride to the hospital, if not worse. there is no safe way to do it. i have seen "professional" welders do it, and on average 1 of 4 tanks will blow up on them.
if it is just a single pinhole in the top of the tank and you only want to fix it to get rid of the truck, or make it last a few months, there is a gas tank sealer epoxy stick that works pretty well. but if it is leaking in one spot, it will start to leak somewhere else soon.
if it is just a single pinhole in the top of the tank and you only want to fix it to get rid of the truck, or make it last a few months, there is a gas tank sealer epoxy stick that works pretty well. but if it is leaking in one spot, it will start to leak somewhere else soon.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 389
Likes: 4
From: Visalia, California
I spent a decade as a welder. There's only ONE WAY to safely weld a fuel tank: fill it with water and weld a patch over the hole.
There can be NO AIR in the tank -- period! It's better if the water is running while you weld, just to make sure it stays full.
I've done this several times. Use a MIG with a CO2 gas shield...not flux-core...for best results.
There can be NO AIR in the tank -- period! It's better if the water is running while you weld, just to make sure it stays full.
I've done this several times. Use a MIG with a CO2 gas shield...not flux-core...for best results.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
I have done some cheap repairs to keep a vehicle on the road, especially when living in Maine. One of my best was Seal-All and paper towels to fix the seam on an 80 F-100. I cleaned the tank, put on a layer of seal-all, a layer of paper towels, then another coat of seal-all. Lasted as long as the rest of the truck.
