Gas tank repair

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i8sand

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Has anyone successfully repaired a crack in their gas tank ? If so, what did you use ?
I have a crack at the base of my filler neck and was hoping to plastic weld it rather than drop $1100 on a new tank. Looking for proven suggestions before jus slapping some JB Weld on it.
It is located at the base of the filler, so it is not submersed or weight bearing. It is more of a issue when gas sloshes. Thanks
 
Radiator shops used to do this kinna thing all day. But all the ones I know stopped those repairs awhile back.

Maybe someone knows a shop still doing it?
 
Steve, aka OG gd.com fasthighjumper member #2, at Burbank Radiator can fix it. He brazed a hole on my Honda 6500 genney tank.
 
My Jeep LS fuel system adapter kit from Novak used Permatex #1 to seal a bulkhead fitting. Held fine so far.

Biggest question is: how’d it crack?
 
I did the one on my commander years ago, it cracked where the bracket was welded on. Pulled the tank, cleaned it a few times threw a match in just to verify it wasn't gonna explode.😁
 
Joe welds them at Glamis Fab. We would tell people to pull the tank, rinse it a few times then rinse it again!!! He would tell them we're going to put a torch in it and if it splits you are responsible for the damage so rinse it good!!!

Some would purge the tank by putting the neck up against an exhaust pipe (truck) after they rinsed it.

Some would go boom!
 
What type of material is the tank? Steel or Aluminum? Should be easy enough to weld it around the base of the filler neck. Although JB Weld would likely hold for quite some time if you get it clean first. Fill and rinse the tank several times if you are going to weld it. And I would fill it with water to just below the filler neck and leave the water in while it's being welded.
 
The gas tank is plastic and it is on a Polaris RZR 900.
 
i8sand said:
The gas tank is plastic and it is on a Polaris RZR 900.
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So your strapped in and sitting on it........

I think I might be getting new or at least a junkyard one
 
JB weld most likely will not stick. Try it on some other spot on the tank, after it cures hard you can probably just pull it off of the side of the tank.
Plastic welder should do the trick. It's just melting the plastic back together. Harbor Freight has a cheap one, I just use a big soldering iron using zip-ties as rod if needed. You can also get some metal screen (window or screen door type) and soften the area around the crack and push it in to reinforce the area kinda like rebar in concrete, then go over the top with more material.
Also no flame so very low risk of tank going boom, but I would still wash it out
 
MGMFRP said:
Thanks Robert, yes, we most likely can weld it up. The tanks are usually made of PolyPro or HDPE witch is a wax based plastic that nothing sticks to, but is very chemical resistant. If you get the tank out and get it to me, I can weld it up for you.
www.mgmplastics.com
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I run a fabshop that only welds plastic piping for Semi-Conductor production. For HDPE, Poly pro, ECTFE, PVDF we only use Infared heat no filler rod, really neat process mostly done in cleanroom environments.
 
MGMFRP said:
Thanks Robert, yes, we most likely can weld it up. The tanks are usually made of PolyPro or HDPE witch is a wax based plastic that nothing sticks to, but is very chemical resistant. If you get the tank out and get it to me, I can weld it up for you.
www.mgmplastics.com
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Thanks for the offer, however I am in AZ.
 
i8sand said:
Thanks for the offer, however I am in AZ.
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I have plastic welded 2 gas tanks, 1 fresh water tank on my RV, and 1 grey tank on my old weekend warrior that was split in 2. If you can get to it just order up a plastic wending iron kit off of amazon and go to town. It's not hard. It will work fine. Just need to use the correct filler rod.
 
r3meyer said:
I have plastic welded 2 gas tanks, 1 fresh water tank on my RV, and 1 grey tank on my old weekend warrior that was split in 2. If you can get to it just order up a plastic wending iron kit off of amazon and go to town. It's not hard. It will work fine. Just need to use the correct filler rod.
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exactly, if you cant find the right filler rod you can trim a piece off the filler neck and use that.
 
UPDATE - So I got lazy and did not drop the tank as that was too much work. Instead I syphoned the gas out and left the cap off for a few days to let it air out. Once I got into the repair I found that the neck of the gas tank had a crack almost 3/4 the way around right at the bottom of the threads. I began by shoving an old sock down into the neck to prevent any debris from falling in. I drilled a small hole on each end of the crack in hopes of stopping it from extending. I then took a small file and roughed up the entire area around the crack as well as in it. I then used Megadesertdiesel's suggestion and shaved off a piece of plastic from the inner rim of the neck. I used that and a wood burner to melt and weld the crack closed. I also threw in a few small pieces of a paper clip that I cut up and used as stitches for strength. I followed up with some JB Weld that is chemical and fuel resistant and covered the entire area just to ensure an airtight repair and some added strength. Cap goes on smoothly and there are no signs of vapor or smell of gas emitting from the crack while driving. I just need to be cautious when tightening the cap. Thanks for all the suggestions and encouragement. Here's to saving $1100 on a new tank !
 
Dockmaster said:
What type of material is the tank? Steel or Aluminum? Should be easy enough to weld it around the base of the filler neck. Although JB Weld would likely hold for quite some time if you get it clean first. Fill and rinse the tank several times if you are going to weld it. And I would fill it with water to just below the filler neck and leave the water in while it's being welded.
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Never use jb weld on something you intend to weld later.
 
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