10-4 to that. There is only 2 thing that make holes in a tank, rust and something got shoved though it. Only one of these worth fixing.

 

Yea u right

dont ya love a show with a good ending :cool2: :laugh:
made a good call
wish i coulda been there to see his EYES :dizzy: when ya cutter open

BIG BIG EYES

What did the clown want you to do remove the whole bottom of the tank and weld on a new bottom? Would be cheaper to get a new tank. Plus he really might want to look into why it rusted and pin holed so bad so he can prevent that in the future.

Wasn't just bottom, the reason I cut back wall is because that was where the pinholes he could see was. He had no idea bottom was bad, as well as the the seams.

Great picts! I'll have to remember these for the next time someone here asked about welding up a leaky gas tank.

The reason for the heading is in case someone does a search contemplating repairing a tank!
Peter

 

dont ya love a show with a good ending :cool2: :laugh:
made a good call
wish i coulda been there to see his EYES :dizzy: when ya cutter open

 

What did the clown want you to do remove the whole bottom of the tank and weld on a new bottom? Would be cheaper to get a new tank. Plus he really might want to look into why it rusted and pin holed so bad so he can prevent that in the future.

 

Great picts! I'll have to remember these for the next time someone here asked about welding up a leaky gas tank.

 

There is a way to repair that tank but it does not involve welding,..

There are many "gas tank liners" - that is a chemical that will reline the tank, covering and sealing the fuel from the metal.

To cover the pinholes - using a high temparature soldering iron and some lead to melt a lead coat on the outside and then a bit of body filler.

The reason for doing this is sometimes the bike is old enough that you can't find a suitable tank.

Cheers

 

My brother had a small engine sales and repair shop for many years. He soldered and lined many tanks with all of the miracle pour in liners. These cures usually failed within a year or two.
Peter

Sometimes you gotta do what you can to save what you have. This was a tank from an older Kawi KZ 750. I didn't want to reuse it, but had no choice, as another one was not to be found. As you can see in the pics, I cut the bottom out inside the pinch weld, sandblasted the inside and welded it back together. Afterwards, I used the Kreem liner to prevent the inside from rusting again. Been 10 years and still holding up.

In the tank you fixed I see no through pin holes. You opened a rusty tank, blasted and cleaned which was the only way to reslove that problem. Tanks that are rusty inside will let rust into the carb or fuel injectors which causes problems. Blasting rust out is fine if there is enough wall thickness left. My point was- this particular tank was junk. The pinholes customer could see was in rear of tank piece that I cut out. Just wire brushing bottom produced pinholes. Blasting would have blew the bottom out, as well as the seams at least halfway up the tank (thats as far as I could see). Could I cut and patch- sure! Patch rear, bottom, and seam area at least half way around tank? At what point do you decide if its worth repairing? If it were a Curtiss yes, late model crotch rocket-no! My point is, if its replaceable replace it. Spending mega hours on this POS was senseless.
Peter

 

You are my hero!

 

Sometimes you gotta do what you can to save what you have. This was a tank from an older Kawi KZ 750. I didn't want to reuse it, but had no choice, as another one was not to be found. As you can see in the pics, I cut the bottom out inside the pinch weld, sandblasted the inside and welded it back together. Afterwards, I used the Kreem liner to prevent the inside from rusting again. Been 10 years and still holding up.

 

The rest of the pics.....

 

OH and by the way, if this was a Curtiss tank I woulda posted pics patching the tank!
Peter

 

You did the right thing recommending the tank be replaced. For one thing, I noticed the newer bikes are built with tanks that are just about as thin as they can make them. That old Kawi tank I fixed was pretty beefy. Even so, if I could have found a replacement, that's the route I would have taken.

The tank was water rinsed several times, then filled to the brim with water before cutting. The cutting was performed with a whiz wheel on a pneumatic die grinder. It was a bit messy with the water spraying everywhere, but there was (apparently) no danger of ignition. Once the inside of the tank was blasted clean, there was not the slightest hint of any residual fumes. The biggest challenge was refitting the bottom of the tank, as it sprung a bit out of shape after cutting / blasting.

I am NOT suggesting or endorsing anyone else doing what I do, only telling what has worked for me more than a few times. Who knows, maybe I just got lucky. Maybe next time BOOM!

 

You did the right thing recommending the tank be replaced. For one thing, I noticed the newer bikes are built with tanks that are just about as thin as they can make them. That old Kawi tank I fixed was pretty beefy. Even so, if I could have found a replacement, that's the route I would have taken.

The tank was water rinsed several times, then filled to the brim with water before cutting. The cutting was performed with a whiz wheel on a pneumatic die grinder. It was a bit messy with the water spraying everywhere, but there was (apparently) no danger of ignition. Once the inside of the tank was blasted clean, there was not the slightest hint of any residual fumes. The biggest challenge was refitting the bottom of the tank, as it sprung a bit out of shape after cutting / blasting.


I am NOT suggesting or endorsing anyone else doing what I do, only telling what has worked for me more than a few times. Who knows, maybe I just got lucky. Maybe next time BOOM!

Yea they sure do spring when you cut a window! A few guys have cut and cleaned then brought in to weld, all sprung to shee-it.
Peter