dpuma8 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 My garage smells like gasoline right now and I see that I have a gas leak coming from my tank. I see that I can buy a fuel cell but I am kind of not too into cutting/welding to get it to fit unless someone tells me it is an awesome alternative. So will any S30 tank work fine? Is there a more desirable year? Stock or fuel cell? Cost of getting someone to put in the fuel cell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oddmanout84 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 My garage smells like gasoline right now and I see that I have a gas leak coming from my tank. I see that I can buy a fuel cell but I am kind of not too into cutting/welding to get it to fit unless someone tells me it is an awesome alternative. So will any S30 tank work fine? Is there a more desirable year? Stock or fuel cell? Cost of getting someone to put in the fuel cell? Best bet/lowest cost is to bring it to somewhere like a radiator shop where they can chemically remove the rust inside and out, then braze or weld the leaks shut. Stock tanks are very hard to find in good condition at a low price, and a fuel cell will be a bit of a pain and also expensive to install (especially if you're taking it to a shop to do it)CORRECTLY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I have read that the rubber hoses (filler, vent, return, outlet) tend to crack and leak due to age. Worth checking. I plugged a pinhole leak on the bottom of a Pathfinder tank with that two-part epoxy gas tank sealer you can buy in the auto parts stores. It's worked for about 1 1/2 years so far. They changed the shape of the tank in 1978 and went to the mini-spare tire. I think you'll need a 1975 to 1977 tank, for the EFI lines, if you decide to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharaohabq Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 YEah that epoxy sealer stuff works great. I plugged a hole in my 91' D21 pickup tank about 5 or so years ago, and it's been fine ever since. it's certainly cheaper than a used tank. but it's worth inspecting your tank anyway. One hole from rust means more isn't far behind. Check those hoses too like NewZed said, they are 30+ years old. Hard to find to replace tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 They changed the shape of the tank in 1978 and went to the mini-spare tire. I think you'll need a 1975 to 1977 tank, for the EFI lines, if you decide to replace it. Mid-77 I believe, they changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 YEah that epoxy sealer stuff works great. I plugged a hole in my 91' D21 pickup tank about 5 or so years ago, and it's been fine ever since. it's certainly cheaper than a used tank. but it's worth inspecting your tank anyway. One hole from rust means more isn't far behind. Check those hoses too like NewZed said, they are 30+ years old. Hard to find to replace tho. FYI, I bought new, bulk, straight fuel hose, in the correct sizes, at the local parts store, and replaced EVERY fuel hose without kinking. No need to search for expensive, original hoses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpuma8 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Ouch! One radiator shop said that it would cost less than a hundred to weld, clean, and coat the inside but they need to see it first. A second shop said they would do the same for $225 since the sealant in the tank is so expensive. How difficult is it to do it myself and how much in supplies would it set me back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I had a tank cleaned for 80 bucks. However that just loosened all the rust near the outlet. I ended up replacing my entire tank with another 77's I got for cheap. I drained the gas on this other tank, washed it out with water, poured some muriatic acid from Ace in it, swashed it around, poured it out, rinsed it out with water again, poured some alcohol in it to try and more of the water out, and then drained that and put it in the car. Been fine for a couple weeks now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 You never said where it was leaking. I just replaced my vent lines off of the top of the tank. The 1/4" hose had a hole in it. While I had it apart that far replaced the 5/8" hose, made the return bend out of 1/2" copper fittings. If your tank is only leaking when full I bet that the vent lines are leaking. I have soldered up gas tanks before. I washed out the tank several times with hot soapy water and filled the tank with soapy water until just the area that I was soldering was not in contact with the water. Clean the area shinny and used 50-50 solder and a paste soldering flux and a propane troche. The idea is to have as little volume of the tank with air in it as possible. The only place to find 50-50 is at a stained glass craft store. I put 20 years in the pipe trades as a welder and fitter so I had some experience dealing with this type of thing. Or use Double Bubble Bubble Gum I have seen this work on a side of the road gas tank leak 40 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelsonian Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 This might not be the cheapest route, but one of the more in depth complete options to eliminate any chances of more holes forming. http://www.gastankrenu.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Where the leak is will be the biggest consideration in repair costs. Underneath where you can slap a penny on a red hot soldering iron and do a solder job with jas pouring out (seriously, been there, done that!) is a total different thing from having to drop the tank to fix it. One takes 10 minutes, the other...."more" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.