Post by Peter HillPost by Cursitor DoomOn Thu, 23 Jul 2020 12:28:29 +0100, "Jim GM4 DHJ ..."
Post by Jim GM4 DHJ ...Post by Fredxxwhat is the best stuff to patch a hole in a petrol tank ?
You can't. Any MOT tester worth his salt will spot it.
When my Mk 1 astra petrol tank started leaking from the
seams it cost me £50 to have it lined with something at
a company in Brighton, plus the cost of removal and
replacement.
Can you please cite a section of the MOT test that would fail a repaired
fuel tank? One that has no holes and no leaks.
Crossposted to uk.rec.cars.maintenance
depends how good the repair is I suppose.....
The correct way is to remove the tank, fully empty it, purge it with
steam and then weld a suitable patch of steel at the site of the hole.
Not a cheap process.
I'd silver solder - being advertised on FB etc as easy home "welding".
All you need is a plumbers propane torch. Flows better and much less
chance of a porous weld or pinholes.
I'm going to bite. There are so many materials labelled as silver
solder. In the electronics industry it is sometimes use to include
tin/silver alloys with a melting point lower than tin but often still
higher than eutectic tin/lead. It will often have small amounts of copper.
Brazing rods can include silver but these are devilishly expensive.
Standard brazing rods less so. Propane can get a lump of steel up to
temperature but has to be a good lamp.
I thought the normal way to repair steel was to use tin/lead bars, with
a composition a little away from eutectic so to enter a paste stage?
Post by Peter HillSteam is supposed to heat remaining fuel in seams and drive it out.
Takes time and time is money. Steam condenses leaving the tank damp and
draws air in.
Water and tanks sound a bad combination for future rust. Another way is
to fill the tank with water and displace the fuel. I guess that become
a disposal issue for a business.
Post by Peter HillBetter and quicker to fill with CO2, fuel vapour can't ignite in CO2.
It's denser than air so will fill the tank. Should be available in any
any good welding shop, home brewing supplies, fire extinguisher.
Sometimes used in boats and other places where heat is applied and to
prevent fires from starting.
Post by Peter HillNone of this works when the filler cap comes off with the rusty filer
neck attached on your Niece's Micra. Lucky the filler pipe was separate
to the tank and joins to the tank by rubber tube. Scrappy £10, only one
good one out of 5 cars, so I think this one had been replaced in last 5
years. E-bay £50 s/h. Nissan new well over £100.
More painfully I've come across tanks that are £450 from a third party
where second hand is still in the £200 region.