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Leak in plastic fuel tank repair - Q

cuervo

cuervo

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My wife's Chevy Venture Van has a leak in the plastic fuel tank.

Has anyone ever had any luck sealing a plastic fuel tank? I've read all the JB weld threads and I can't find anything rated to work with gasoline.
 
I've JB welded plastic gas tanks successfully however never on a car.
Drained the tank, scuffed the area really well, cleaned with acetone and then slather it on.
 
there is plastic bond agents out there just for this repair .

as said tho run it almost empty / well below the leak point . let dry out / do as the directions say on product .

if easy tank to drop i would just swap it with a good used one my self . . . its a fuel tank . . .
 
I drilled one out and jammed a fender bolt in it with some silicone and it worked for years.
 
Yeah, this is leaking around the sonic weld at the filler neck inlet.

I've had a few different epoxy type things on it a couple of times but they only last a month or so.

JB weld is not rated for constant contact with fuel.

I'm going to try this next.

http://www.nslaerospace.com/aerospace-sealants/nsl1422-fuel-tank-sealant

It's repackaged and sold by these guys.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/prosealant.php

What sucks is the only place to get a replacement tank is from the dealer. Which by the way, has a recall on Chevy Venture Van 2001-2004 fuel tanks leaking at this joint. When I called GM and gave them the VIN number of out 2002 they said it wasn't covered by this recall. WTF?
 
Interesting, I haven't had that problem with JB

from thier site
Is J-B Weld resistant to water and/or gasoline?
When fully cured, J-B Weld is completely resistant to water, gasoline, and about every other petroleum product or automotive chemical. For wet-surface or submerged water or gasoline repairs, try our SteelStik or WaterWeld.
Click to expand...

Is it possible you have stress on the neck?
 
cuervo said:
Yeah, this is leaking around the sonic weld at the filler neck inlet.

I've had a few different epoxy type things on it a couple of times but they only last a month or so.

JB weld is not rated for constant contact with fuel.

I'm going to try this next.

http://www.nslaerospace.com/aerospace-sealants/nsl1422-fuel-tank-sealant

It's repackaged and sold by these guys.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/prosealant.php

What sucks is the only place to get a replacement tank is from the dealer. Which by the way, has a recall on Chevy Venture Van 2001-2004 fuel tanks leaking at this joint. When I called GM and gave them the VIN number of out 2002 they said it wasn't covered by this recall. WTF?
Click to expand...

Did you go to the dealership with a printout of the recall # and notice? And to speak to the manager and get loud in front of customers and see how fast you get taken care of.
Can you post a link to the recall for us to see?
 
skunked said:
Interesting, I haven't had that problem with JB

from thier site


Is it possible you have stress on the neck?
Click to expand...

Yeah, resistant to gasoline. It seems to fail with constant exposure to gas.

I've got the aerospace fuel tank sealer on it now. Van low on gas and jacked up so it's going to the opposite side the neck. This stuff has a 72 hour cure so I'll just leave it that way over the weekend and see what happens.
 
rampage said:
Did you go to the dealership with a printout of the recall # and notice? And to speak to the manager and get loud in front of customers and see how fast you get taken care of.
Can you post a link to the recall for us to see?
Click to expand...

I have the National Highway Saftey number and the GM recall number but my VIN is not included in the GM recall.

I did file a complaint with the GM customer service rep and the NHS office. If nothing else I hope it gets look at so others wont have to do this.
 
Did you try the Permatex plastic gas tank repair putty ?...
It is specially formulated for plastic..I had good luck with it on some lawn tractor gas tanks..

I have used a soldering iron to melt shut some cracks in plastic gas tanks on tractors also...or the "screw a bolt in it" method..
 
diesel4me said:
Did you try the Permatex plastic gas tank repair putty ?...
It is specially formulated for plastic..I had good luck with it on some lawn tractor gas tanks..

I have used a soldering iron to melt shut some cracks in plastic gas tanks on tractors also...or the "screw a bolt in it" method..
Click to expand...

That was one of the first things I tried. It's not meant to be used with gasoline. It worked for about 2 weeks.
 
ktmoutfront said:
Soldering iron. A piece of plastic mud flap. Melt the seam closed. Then add material from mud flap. Does take much.
Click to expand...

I've watched a couple of videos with this method. If I was going to do this I would pull the tank and make sure it's drained and dried, but at that point I'd probably just buy a new tank and install that.
 
You could have it plastic welded ,a body shop might have one ,they are often used on bumper cover repair..

Funny I never noticed the Permatex "plastic tank repair" does say "NOT FOR PLASTIC FUEL TANKS"...I used it and it worked on my tractor and mower tanks..

Another product I got at Autozone made by QuickSteel (see link below) worked well for me also,and it does say it will repair gas and diesel fuel plastic tanks..but in your situation where its a filler neck meeting the tank that is leaking ,a putty patch probably will not adhere for long due to constant flexing,a "weld" bead would be better..
Blue Magic QuikSteel plastic tank repair kit 6522KTRI - Read 2 Reviews on Blue Magic #6522KTRI
 
Plastic welding is a glorified soldering iron. If it is above a drained fuel level. Just fix it. Use the pen style iron. No open electrical systems.
 
ktmoutfront said:
Plastic welding is a glorified soldering iron. If it is above a drained fuel level. Just fix it. Use the pen style iron. No open electrical systems.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not going to take a soldering iron to fuel tank in a vehicle that hasn't been purged. That's just too sketchy.

If this aero space stuff doesn't work and I have to pull the tank then a new one will go in. Which I suspect will end up being the case. However, if this stuff works we will all know about it.
 
I built a CR500af (a CR500 motor in a CR250 frame) - and part of the process is melting the tank to create clearance for the motor. Routinely, you blow holes in the tank as you do this but it's not a big deal - from that experience I can assure you that welding plastic is easy. I used a heat gun to warm the plastic to shiney then used a putty knife to push the seam back together. Ultimately, that's what they do with sonic welding - they heat the joint up by rubbing the two parts together and apply slight pressure. The magic temperature is 400 degrees. Fuel doesn't flash until 700 degrees so you do have some wiggle room before it goes boom.

I'd avoid the solder iron - it's really, really hard to control and operates at 600 degrees (presuming the chinese thermostat is working correctly)... just sayin.
 
I'm more worried about the gas vapors then the gas itself.

There are videos of people fixing this type of leak with soldering irons but the tanks are removed and drained. So it can be done.
 
I let it sit up and cure for 3 days and it was leaking fuel in less then 48 hours.

Guess I'll buy a new tank.

edit - just got off the phone with the dealer, tank was discontinued in July 2015.
 
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