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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Kiwi_Roy on May 01, 2021, 06:31:23 PM
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I have one or two pinhole leaks in the tank of my 72 Eldorado, It has a bubble that appears on top of the tank in one spot.
I am thinking I might swill some sort of tank liner around inside the tank to address these leaks, does that seem like a reasonable course of action?
Any thoughts on the best tank liner to use?
Thanks
Roy
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Tank liners - ugh. If you must then I’ve used Caswells and Kreem with success.
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I'll only use Caswell. Sealed my pinholed tractor gas tank with it over 10 years ago, still looks perfect.
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Over the years I've had good success with the Kreem kits . Peter
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If you only have a few small pinholes, you might get away for now with some external sealer. Find "SealAll". most hardware stores and Amazon. Works wonders. Eventually you will need to line the tank. Stay clear of Creme and go for the Caswell.
Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA
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Following some leaks on mine I plugged 'permanently ' with jb weld. And temporarily with a green starburst. Lasted for two weeks.
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If you only have a few small pinholes, you might get away for now with some external sealer. Find "SealAll". most hardware stores and Amazon. Works wonders. Eventually you will need to line the tank. Stay clear of Creme and go for the Caswell.
Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA
Seal All is excellent! I externally sealed some pinholes in a customer's Le Mans III tank about six years ago and was shocked to learn that my "temporary" fix has been in use long term! Used it to seal a leaky float in the Sears/Puch carburetor as well. Amazing stuff.
http://eclecticproducts.com/seal-all.html
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When I restored my Eldorado I thought I had a solid tank, a pin hole showed up shortly after. The hole was on the underside so I scuffed around the hole and applied JB Weld. A week later another pin hole, then another. I took the tank to a specialist who had a rust removal dip tank. A couple days later I got the tank back, it looked like a spaghetti strainer. More pin holes than I could count. I found a solid tank and all is good. Since then I have found the same conditions on several bikes I have restored. Rare to find a tank with just one pin hole. I hope your situation is different but be prepared for mAny holes. The tank sealer only works well if the tank is really clean inside. You can get Muriatic acid at Canadian Tire in the plumbing section. If you use it outside to slog around the inside of tank you can get a lot of rust off but take appropriate safety precautions.
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I have used this and are very pleased. It can be used with alcohol in the gas.
https://www.hirschauto.com/MOTOR-CYCLE-TANK-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/CRK-01/ (https://www.hirschauto.com/MOTOR-CYCLE-TANK-REPAIR-KIT/productinfo/CRK-01/)
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Red Kote puts them all to shame. Not even a contest. Auto parts store in quarts.
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I see that POR-15 has tank sealing kits, you can get motorcycle specific or automotive size kits, anyone have any experience with the POR-15 product? DonG
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I've the "pleasure" of removing failed POR-15 and Red Kote, never want to have to do either again. A few years ago the dye would leach out of Red Kote and wreak havoc with carburetors, they've since changed the formula. Still wouldn't use either - Caswell for me. Much easier to use and the chances of it failing are far less.
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I see that POR-15 has tank sealing kits, you can get motorcycle specific or automotive size kits, anyone have any experience with the POR-15 product? DonG
I used POR15 10 years ago on my Eldorado tank when I found a bit of fuel weeping. I have not had any problem with it since. I have subsequently used Caswells product on several other tanks on the advice of this board, and again have had no problems. I think the key to all of them is to have to interior well cleaned up before application.
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I see that POR-15 has tank sealing kits, you can get motorcycle specific or automotive size kits, anyone have any experience with the POR-15 product? DonG
Had a Por-15 disaster last year when my painter sealed my Laverda SF1 tank while he was painting the tank. The tank fuel filler was sealed with masking tape to paint the tank and I think the Por-15 did not fully cure. I mounted the tank and filled it with fuel, ran the bike and soon after start up it was sputtering and died. When I pulled the float bowls they were full of Por-15 residue, the carbs were all plugged up, took a lot of work to get all that shit out of the fuel system. The painter had to use acid to get the crap out of the tank. I had not asked for a sealer and I don't care for the stuff. I have tried Red Kote and Caswell in the past both eventualy failed. I used muriatic acid to get all the rust out of a tank and then use a metal etch followed by a soapy hot water rinse. Tank liners are a stop gap measure, much better to get all the rust out of the tank and stop there. If there are pin holes then a tank sealer may be an option but only after all the rust is removed from the tank
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Caswell doesn't require that the tank be spotlessly clean, in fact it needs to roughed up for the sealer to adhere properly. Really no need to use acid.
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Speaking of pinholes I bought an old CEV headlight bucket that looked ok in picture, after stripping the paint off and giving it a thorough vapour blast these nasty pin holes showed up on the side
(https://i.postimg.cc/ZqVH3ZYM/9-EEAC8-F5-E298-40-C5-A996-F4-C92-BA0-AC98.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/mc17fvHY)
And at the back where there was surface rust on the exterior, a lot of rust worm holes!
(https://i.postimg.cc/8zdtpM2D/CAE295-AE-AF74-4-FE9-80-E8-5-AD9-DD9-D07-E2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Wd3MSFpf)
This has been my typical experience finding one or two visible pin holes in a gas tank, once the paint is stripped and the parts cleaned the metal is tissue paper thin in many places.
By the time a pin hole breaks through the surface much of the surrounding metal will be nearly eaten through.
I have a 1/2 can of the Alvin Lab Metal left over from my Airone fender repair so I am using the Lab Metal to fill in the headlight bucket from the insde then sand it smooth.
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Canuck, I just looked-up Alvin Lab-Metal. Seems interesting. How do you find that stuff works? Others, any comments?
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Speaking of pinholes I bought an old CEV headlight bucket that looked ok in picture, after stripping the paint off and giving it a thorough vapour blast these nasty pin holes showed up on the side
(https://i.postimg.cc/ZqVH3ZYM/9-EEAC8-F5-E298-40-C5-A996-F4-C92-BA0-AC98.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/mc17fvHY)
And at the back where there was surface rust on the exterior, a lot of rust worm holes!
(https://i.postimg.cc/8zdtpM2D/CAE295-AE-AF74-4-FE9-80-E8-5-AD9-DD9-D07-E2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Wd3MSFpf)
This has been my typical experience finding one or two visible pin holes in a gas tank, once the paint is stripped and the parts cleaned the metal is tissue paper thin in many places.
By the time a pin hole breaks through the surface much of the surrounding metal will be nearly eaten through.
I have a 1/2 can of the Alvin Lab Metal left over from my Airone fender repair so I am using the Lab Metal to fill in the headlight bucket from the insde then sand it smooth.
I thought that removing "patina" from old bikes made them worth less.......
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Canuck, I just looked-up Alvin Lab-Metal. Seems interesting. How do you find that stuff works? Others, any comments?
Cant say I love the stuff! It air cures, no hardener, takes at least 24 hours to set, I find it takes at least 48 hours, and this is about 1/8” thick. I am trying this for powder coat because nothing else can take 400+ on multiple cycles. My coater says JB Weld can take the heat but all colours bleed out except for black and even then the JB Weld will slightly show. Still waiting to see how the test part comes out from powder primer coat. I think it’s ok for very small dents that can’t be worked out. I am using it on the headlight shell and will finish the piece with conventional paint.
Jim
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OK... Thx Jim.
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(https://i.postimg.cc/ZqVH3ZYM/9-EEAC8-F5-E298-40-C5-A996-F4-C92-BA0-AC98.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/mc17fvHY)
(https://i.postimg.cc/8zdtpM2D/CAE295-AE-AF74-4-FE9-80-E8-5-AD9-DD9-D07-E2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Wd3MSFpf)
Yeah, I remember when they came out with these "Disco Ball" headlight shells in the 1970's. Seemed like it might be a hot seller at the time....
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I have used Bill Hirsch sealer on several old bike restorations and very recently on my badly rusted 1974 Commando Interstate tank which I had never used. I cleaned the tank with ordinary vinegar (Oy, the sludge that came out!) and then two applications of the Bill Hirsch tank sealer. It's claimed to be the only sealer approved by the FAA for light aircraft use. It's very tough stuff. Pull the taps and any other pipes, plug the holes, put in a quart of this stuff and tape the tank's filler neck shut, then rotate the tank in every possible direction. I used it on a fiberglass BSA fuel tank 40 years ago and it never leaked again. Best to use the alcohol proof version.
Ralph
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I picked up a tube of SealAll, I will give that a try, if that doesn't work I'll do Caswell.
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I've the "pleasure" of removing failed POR-15 and Red Kote, never want to have to do either again. A few years ago the dye would leach out of Red Kote and wreak havoc with carburetors, they've since changed the formula. Still wouldn't use either - Caswell for me. Much easier to use and the chances of it failing are far less.
This. I've cleaned out failed coatings, too. It *may* have been bad prep from the DPO.. dunno. Caswell, for me, too.
Rare to find a tank with just one pin hole.
Words of wisdom there.. :smiley:
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I dug this old picture up of my 1972 Eldorado gas tank that started to leak from a pin hole after I had it repainted. One pin hole turned into two, then I sent it off to be dipped at the local paint and rust stripper shop (big dip tank takes a whole car).
This is what came out! I could take an awl to the bottm and push it straight through in many places. I cut out the tank bottom, formed new steel bases and welded the panels in, .... then it started leaking from the top of the tunnel.
I found a better tank and exercised a 10lb sledge hammer on the rust bucket original tank so it would fit flat in my garbage can! I don't even try to weld up rusted tanks anymore. I still have not learned the same should apply to rusted out fenders!
(https://i.postimg.cc/Xv9g0rYv/Feb-15-2012-045.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/wtTNXTJK)
My 68 Sears Gilera 106SS gas tank looked even worse after paint / rust stripping. The tank doesn't look too bad in this picture, look closely at the underside, those orange rust stains were coming through an endless array of pin holes only slightly blocked by thick rust flakes and crud on the inside. This tank made the Eldorado tank look 'good'.
(https://i.postimg.cc/3N9Grn9r/IMG-7571.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CnB5mCW9)
I am not trying to be a buzzkill, just being realistic as to what to expect from a 50+ year old gas tank that has been exposed to condensation.
Tank liners may buy time but if the rust remains under the tank sealer the corrosion will continue and work its way through the metal, rust is relentless, covering it up doesn't stop it.
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rust is relentless
Neil Young was right.. Rust never sleeps.. :smiley: