Leaking gas tank question

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YellowDart69

YellowDart69

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When I went to move my car, to prepare for winter storage, I noticed a puddle of gas below the tan k[that explains the poor gas mileage]. I have a spare tank, from another '69, that has been sitting in my garage since 1976. Is there a way to check, if it's any good? I don't really want to deal with this till next summer.
 
You've got a fuel hose and a sender seal under there that can leak also. One of these is more likely the cause of a small leak. A rusted through tank wont leak a little, they leak a lot. If you have confirmed the leak is definitely the tank itself, those above "soft part" items should be replaced before testing or installing the tank.
 
YellowDart69 said:
When I went to move my car, to prepare for winter storage, I noticed a puddle of gas below the tan k[that explains the poor gas mileage]. I have a spare tank, from another '69, that has been sitting in my garage since 1976. Is there a way to check, if it's any good? I don't really want to deal with this till next summer.
Click to expand...

Yes, you could temporarily seal up all the holes in the new tank with tape and plastic. Then blow some air into it at low pressure while another person is spraying a solution of water and liquid dish soap all over the tank. Look for bubbles to show up on all surfaces. No bubbles? Then it's a good donor tank.
 
RedFish said:
You've got a fuel hose and a sender seal under there that can leak also. One of these is more likely the cause of a small leak. A rusted through tank wont leak a little, they leak a lot. If you have confirmed the leak is definitely the tank itself, those above "soft part" items should be replaced before testing or installing the tank.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I can't see a leak. All I can see is the bottom of the tank is wet.
 
Siphon the gas out of it and put it away till next summer.

(The car, not the gas:D)
 
The weather has been good, and I have taken the car out. The tank has a tiny hole in the bottom. Can tanks be repaired? Does anyone have experience with gastanks.com? Thank you.
 
You can solder the hole up but the preparation will often make more holes and you will have the tank down anyway. Any epoxy type repair is very temporary. The other option is the special thick liquid sealant that is poured into the tank to coat it. Again the tank is down already and you have to let it cure after moving the tank in every direction to make sure you have good coverage.
 
I have an internally coated tank that has been good for several years. But that is for internal rust and corrosion; I have some doubts how well that would seal up a leak.

For a temporary fix, if it is a pinhole in the tank, then try some of the tank sealer epoxy. Get the outside of the tank good and clean first; pretty easy to apply. But if three is one pinhole, there are likely more coming.....

BTW, pulling and installing these tanks is pretty darned easy....
 
Another temporary fix is to put a machine screw into the hole.

I bought everything brand new at Gastanks.com Save your old sending unit ring, the new ones aren't as thick and it will leak.
 
I JB welded the crap out of one when I was in college and it worked for a few years...
 
So the weather has been good. I drove to my mechanic's. Eventually, with the car on a hoist, we found a pinhole at the bottom of the tank. New tanks, made by Spectra , in Canada, were to my surprise, readily available. How many of these things can they sell? When the old tank was lowered, I looked inside. I couldn't believe the sludge in the bottom. Disgusting, But I guess its 46 years old. I replaced the sending unit, but used the original lock ring. Thanks to everyone. My Dart is back in the garage for the winter.
 
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