Fuel tank leak

[Dennis Y]

I discovered that my fuel tank is leaking.  The leak is cracked at the toe of the weld attaching one of the angle iron mounting tabs.  I am thinking about removing the tank to have it welded.  Has anyone done this?  Is there anything I should know?  How much does it weigh, can two people man-handle a mostly empty tank out of the drivers side? 

Dennis Yeats

2004 HR Ambassador

[gdroberson]

I used a motorcycle jack to lower mine and raise it not to bad if you get most of the fuel out

[Dennis Y]

Mine does not look like it can be lowered.  It is setting in an angle iron frame with a couple of bars below the tank.  Everything appears to be welded.

[Chuck B 2004 Windsor]

You will be lucky to find a welder who would weld on a fuel tank.  Chuck B 2004 Windsor

[Dennis Y]

What are my other options?

[klcdenver]

.You can just weld it in place. Disconnect all batteries and place welder ground close to where it needs repaired. Open fuel cap and run a car exhaust to it running with a semi enclosed hose. After about 30 minutes it should be pretty warm and you can weld on it. Talk to a few welding shops in your area and I am sure you can find one that knows how to do it this way.

If you are scared to have it welded on. Another solution is to use an epoxy steel product by JB Weld where you clean the area and just press it in place even with a leaking area.

[WayneC]

JB weld or find a place that sells spill kits for fuel and they will have an amazing sealant that works fantastic, we use it on tanker trucks/ skid tanks for the back of pick up trucks (contractors) for portable fueling, it can be leaking and this stuff will stop it.

Wayne

1999 Signature Caesar 

[Yoaks5]

I had a leaking fuel tank on another coach and tried a couple different epoxy type repairs with no luck. They stopped it for awhile but in the end it started leaking again (the last one on the day the new owner came to pick up the coach). I was able to find a shop that would weld it but I had to remove the tank and take it to him. 

 

[dl_racing427]

The problem with the epoxy stuff is it doesn't stop the crack from propagating.

It might work better if you drill a small hole at the end of the crack to relieve the stress riser.
This should be done whether epoxying or welding.

[Ivylog]

If you are in a rural area…farming, I would find a repair shop and see if they would weld on it in place assuming you can get a rod to the crack. After leaning the coach so no diesel is on that side and gassing it like Ken suggested, I would weld on it in place.

[Paul J A]

On 9/12/2021 at 5:29 PM, Dennis Y said:

I discovered that my fuel tank is leaking.  The leak is cracked at the toe of the weld attaching one of the angle iron mounting tabs.  I am thinking about removing the tank to have it welded.  Has anyone done this?  Is there anything I should know?  How much does it weigh, can two people man-handle a mostly empty tank out of the drivers side? 

Dennis Yeats

2004 HR Ambassador

Here is a site that you can go to, to calculate the approximate weight of the tank.https://www.chapelsteel.com/weight-steel-plate.html  Many fuel tanks where/are weld repaired in the Military.  Also construction equipment repair Co.'s do it all the time.  Ask around at TRUCK repair shops.  I would not patch it. 

Edited September 15, 2021 by Paul A.
grammer.