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Epoxy-ing TBI fuel tank Plastic Baffle ? ? ?

combatmatt

combatmatt

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My OE fuel tank busted the baffle. So i go out and find one off of a parting out 88 Blazer. Stupid me for not checking the baffle before i paid and left but once i got home and shined a light in it i find that this baffle is cracked and it wont be long till it busts loose as well. Now not being one to spend $120 plus shipping and wasting more money on the problem is it possible to coat the bottom of the baffle with some sort of fuel-proof glue or epoxy? does such a product exist. sorry for the noob question but i spend most of my time bolting and welding, not much experience with adhesives.
 
You could try something like JB Weld I suppose, but a friend that worked with plastics for quite some time said that after being submerged in gas as long as it had, and the type of plastic it was, getting something to adhere would be near impossible, so I gave up on the idea.

If you feel the plastic, I think you'll notice how "slick" it feels. Not sure if that's from being impregnated with fuel, or just the type of plastic.
 
I would look for something specifically designed to adhere in the presence of gasoline, if there is such a thing.

My car has the equivalent of the baffle built into the sending unit. It is like a small resevoir around the pump/pickup which is spring loaded to press it against the bottom of the tank. The bottom of this resevoir has it's own pickup sock and a check valve. I wonder if something like this could be retrofitted into a TBI tank?
 
Probably could, but it could only be as large as the diameter of the tank opening for the sender. Car stuff might be small enough to fit, but whether it was free or cost what the new combination sender/pumps cost, in the end, it would be more expensive and time consuming than simply shelling out $120+ for an aftermarket tank.
 
The aftermarket tank I have just has a sort of pan welded into the bottom with two small holes in it. I thought some had complained of this in the past. Are there some with steel baffles thar are comparable to the OEM plastic ones?

If there was a car sending unit deep enough it wouldn't be a lot of work to retrofit. They are round and designed to load through the top hole of the tank. Plus, you can usually swap pumps from sender to sender. It was just an idea. He has to drop the tank again at some point anyway.
 
Look at Autozone or somewhee for a sealer called SEAL-ALL. It's usally a yellow tube. it works great on gas tanks. The gas will not eat it. I've used it on a few tanks and never had any problems.
 
Spectra tanks (at least) use the metal pan with two holes drilled in it. Personally I don't see it being anywhere near as effective as the GM design (short of the plastic problem) but that really doesn't matter here.

I wonder if there are any sending units out there such as you describe, that are designed for the attachment to tank method that our sending units use.
 
If the plastic is made from polyethylene, then nothing will stick to it very long.

If the part was made in the last 10 years or so, look for some markings stamped into it like "PE", "PS", "PC+ABS" or something like that.

You might try to mechanically fasten it back together with screws or metal straps. You could also try heating up the edges of the broken pieces with a heat gun very hot until they start to melt and stick them back together.
 
Problem is, you have to work through the hole in the tank, since the baffle is many times larger than the opening in the tank. I've got fairly small hands and *I* can barely get my fist through the opening.
 
They sell an epoxy type coating for metal tanks that are rusted inside.
Not sure where you would get it. Last time I saw it was J.C. Whitney.

You mix the stuff up and slosh it around inside the tank. It coats the whole inside and plugs any holes plus stops the rust.
I'm guessing that it would not mind the gas<G>.

I saw it used on a 40's model Jeep, and has been holding fine for 5 years now.
I don't know if it would stick to the inside of your tank, but I suppose if you sloshed a thick coating all around inside, it would not matter much.
Since you would have basically a "tank shaped" piece of epoxy inside with the baffle embedded.
Not really anywhere for it to go.
Just an idea.

J.
 
Thats what i was kinda looking for too. Power block this weekend had the same "gas tank sealer" type coating. And many hours searching CK5 while i should be working :D has lead me to the cheapest, *new* tank with a welded baffle at rockauto http://www.rockauto.com for 120-ish shipped. The tank sealant is about 60 bucks and may or may not work. so i guess the smart (ie:less stupid) thing to do is just gut it down and spend the extra $$$$ and not have to worry about it. :doah:good bye beer money.
 
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