Is this gas tank salvagable ?

[candymancan]

Dropped the tank on my J10.

Its in good shaoe exceot the top 1.4 section. The section thst sat directly on the rusted out bed. Which in turn rusted out the tank. Inside the tank looks clean shiney metal.

But this outside is bad.. but only in this section.

Could i just drain this tank fully... and cut the bad part off.. and weld in some new 20/22 ga steel to salvage this tank. Id rather do that then soend 500+ for a new tank.

What do you guys think

[tgreese]

You are not usually one to take advice. There are alternatives. Which do you prefer?

Welding on a gas tank has obvious risks. Soldering would be better (no warping), but the prep is similar. Tin can metal would work - it's typically tin coated - solders well, cheap and available. Avoid any plastic-y coated steel. Something like a paint thinner gallon can will be painted tin plate, no plastic like food containers.

Some kind of putty would work. The body man at the Jeep dealership used Bondo to repair gas tanks. This seems like the least suitable material possible for this, but it worked for him.

[SJTD]

Idunno about Jeep tanks but steel tanks are usually lead coated, no? My ole Ford's was. The filler on my Wag is. I believe it's for spark resistance, maybe for corrosion resistance, maybe both. Would make welding problematic and soldering doable.

[letank]

JB weld used to work, but w newer gasoline formula, it has failed on motorcycle gas tanks. Napa or others for sure, have a specialty gas tank repair putty that has worked for me.

How thin is that metal?

[OldFarmTruck22]

Drop the tank. Fill it up with water all the way to the top. Empty it out. Fill it up with water again and empty it.
There's no fumes left in there after that.
Cut out the bad section and weld in a new piece.
Hope you can airtight weld.
I'd pressure test it afterwards.

[candymancan]

Wait sokder ? You cab sokder these tanks lol ?

Ya the fumes im trying to air it out. But i might have to do the water thing or take the sending unit out somehow with all that silicone from factory on it.

Obviousky gas fumes are worse than gas itself ? Wouldnt the water flash rust the inside though ?

[candymancan]

JB weld used to work, but w newer gasoline formula, it has failed on motorcycle gas tanks. Napa or others for sure, have a specialty gas tank repair putty that has worked for me.

How thin is that metal?

Its thin. The tank itself seems like its 20/22ga ? Not positive. But the spot my hand is on.. is all pitted the rest of the tank has zero pitting. So this entire spot i could stab wuth a knife and probly make dozens of holes if i tried. Which is why i was thinking of cutting the section out and tack welding.

Honestly.. im almost wonderinf if i could clean the whole thing up.. and tack weld a plate over top of it versus cutting and welding.. my flux welder gets hot so its deff hard to weld thin metal like this. Even if i tack it.

Or maybe jb weld a plate on it. I dunno

Also tgrease i do take advice sometimes.. but often times if i took everyones advice all the time i wouldnt have any Jeeps. You guys are too pessimistic and not optomistic about things that can be fixed. Seen this for any Jeep forum for the last 15 yesrs now. Guys say it cant be dkne or dont do it.. and i manage to do it ??

Also asking for opinions.. or what not doesnt mean im asking for you ti tell me what to do.. its more of a options or other opinions route if i chose that direction someone suggested

[tgreese]

If you worry about JB Weld, go to McMaster-Carr and get an epoxy patch that's chemical resistant. Or, you could coat the inside of the tank with one of a dozen products ("tank slosh") and it would not matter what putty you used. I have used the Hirsch product with success.

https://www.hirschauto.com/ALCOHOL-RESI ... tinfo/GTS/

Yes, solder. If you had it professionally repaired, they would solder. Radiator shops do repairs like this. Solder is good. I would not remove anything but the rust. Buff off the rust and solder a piece of tin plated steel over the holes. Soldering is excellent for many mechanical repairs. A soldered patch would be a mechanically excellent and 100% fuel-proof repair, no cutting-out any old steel, and no danger of warping. Get the lead-free solder and paste flux plumbers use at the hardware store. You need a lot of heat; a propane torch might be enough. Plumbers (and radiator shops) use an air-acetylene torch for larger jobs.

[SJTD]

I left the water in last time I soldered in a filler neck. Positioned the joint at the highest point to minimize the air pocket in case it decided to ploe up anyway.

[Mopar_guy]

Here's how I fix gas tanks. Dump the gas out. Use dawn dish detergent or some other cleaner/degreaser to get the remaining gas out. with the sending unit out, use a hose or just shove a tailpipe from a running vehicle into the tank and let it run for 15-20 minutes. This will replace any flammable fumes with inert ones. Now you can solder or weld it. Most epoxies will fail over time in my experience. I worked in a radiator shop years ago and that how we did it and I still haven't blown myself up yet doing it this way. LOL In fact, I just fixed a tank a few months ago that had a few pin holes in the top of it.

[candymancan]

Thanks alot tgrease and mopar guy.. think ill do the welding/solder route.. Ill try welding since its what i know and what i hsve.. and see if that works or not. And the tailpipe thing is a good idea thanks.

[SJTD]

Sand the coating off before welding. You can see the difference in the finish when you get it off.

[threepiece]

Like others have suggested I would not consider welding. I have been mig welding on a regular basis for well over 30 years but I still could not guarantee a leakproof mig weld.

Solder or braze if done properly is the way to go. This is why it is done on a regular basis on vessels like fuel tanks.

Brazing and soldering is not difficult to learn because the process does not happen fast like mig welding. You could tack weld a patch in place with enough tacks to keep the joint close then follow-up with braze or solder.

[candymancan]

So i purged the fuel line.. found out someone installed a electric fuel pump in the frane rail by the tabk. It works... but its inline with the mechanical pump.. which also works.. i disconnected the fuel line to the carb.. to crank and purge the line.

Wow.. i got rust chunks.. black fuel.. water.. varnish etc out... And the prior owner claims it ran 6 months ago haha.. lol this isnt 6 months of crud in the fuel line.. its years. This ebtire water bottle x2 was filled with this.. before i got to clean fuel.

And of course it had no fuel filter.. so disconnecting the line at the carb.. more crud came out..

I can get the engine to run great if i spray constantly in the carb.. but i cant get it to run even with clean fuek going through the line.

Si the carb must be gummed ul in the bowel/jets.

Guess its gonna have to be taken off and cleaned/rebuilt. Bubba also managed to cross thread/strip the oil pan bolt.. How ??? Bubba of course. Thankfully a new bolt threaded in by hand.. im shocked it didnt tear up the tanks threads.


Its amazibg how many lies im uncovering from this previous owner.. true epitome of redneck bubba country fixed.. the electric fuel pump isnt even fused.. its just plugged directly into the fuse panel.. and the wires... lol are taped.. not even using butt connectors..

Suffice to say to put a quick disconnect on it.. since the mechanical pump shoots gas out.. i dunno why an electric pump was even installed.. but hey ill use it if i ever need it.. ill just wire it to a 12v ignition and with a fuse.. and a switch to turn on and off..

There is no way though.. that this is 6 months of sitting.. this more like 6 years of sitting..

But hey at least he didnt lie about the engine running.. The 5 min i had it running squirting 500ml of fuel in it.. it warmed up fine. Choke actually worked good despite the wire on it. And it had 50lbs of oil pressure. Sounded good too..

[akguy09]

I would NOT weld that tank...if you do not have a lot of welding experience. Soldering if preferable

[candymancan]

Been welding for 6 years now. Never soldered.

How is soldering gonna fix a large section like this though ? It litterally needs cut out...

Ill just fill it with water to the top.. and at least clean the outer shell with an abrasive disk and see what i have to work with like someobe suggested. Maybe ill just leather a thick layer of bondo on it and call it a day.

[OldFarmTruck22]

Been welding for 6 years now. Never soldered.

How is soldering gonna fix a large section like this though ? It litterally needs cut out...

Ill just fill it with water to the top.. and at least clean the outer shell with an abrasive disk and see what i have to work with like someobe suggested. Maybe ill just leather a thick layer of bondo on it and call it a day.

CUT IT OUT. Do the job right. If you leave rusted metal UNDER a patch, all your doing is asking for trouble in the future. Clogged pickups, clogged lines and clogged carbs. Bad running engine, chasing your tail. Damn there are a lot of people taking short cuts on here. lol That crud you been pulling out, it's also inside the rusted area that needs removing.
If you aren't going to REPLACE the tank with a new one ... then fill the tank with water a couple times (filled to the very top of the tank however you need to make that happen) wash it out with soapy water if you want, rinse, rinse, rinse till no more soap bubbles at all. Then cut that shi out. lol Now, if you been welding for years, you know that you will need to use low heat and TACK TACK TACK for awhile. I like brazing too for thin steel. New steel is better than any other solution when it comes to gas and fumes.

[OldFarmTruck22]

So i purged the fuel line.. found out someone installed a electric fuel pump in the frane rail by the tabk. It works... but its inline with the mechanical pump.. which also works.. i disconnected the fuel line to the carb.. to crank and purge the line.

Wow.. i got rust chunks.. black fuel.. water.. varnish etc out... And the prior owner claims it ran 6 months ago haha.. lol this isnt 6 months of crud in the fuel line.. its years. This ebtire water bottle x2 was filled with this.. before i got to clean fuel.

And of course it had no fuel filter.. so disconnecting the line at the carb.. more crud came out..

I can get the engine to run great if i spray constantly in the carb.. but i cant get it to run even with clean fuek going through the line.

Si the carb must be gummed ul in the bowel/jets.

Guess its gonna have to be taken off and cleaned/rebuilt. Bubba also managed to cross thread/strip the oil pan bolt.. How ??? Bubba of course. Thankfully a new bolt threaded in by hand.. im shocked it didnt tear up the tanks threads.


Its amazibg how many lies im uncovering from this previous owner.. true epitome of redneck bubba country fixed.. the electric fuel pump isnt even fused.. its just plugged directly into the fuse panel.. and the wires... lol are taped.. not even using butt connectors..

Suffice to say to put a quick disconnect on it.. since the mechanical pump shoots gas out.. i dunno why an electric pump was even installed.. but hey ill use it if i ever need it.. ill just wire it to a 12v ignition and with a fuse.. and a switch to turn on and off..

There is no way though.. that this is 6 months of sitting.. this more like 6 years of sitting..

But hey at least he didnt lie about the engine running.. The 5 min i had it running squirting 500ml of fuel in it.. it warmed up fine. Choke actually worked good despite the wire on it. And it had 50lbs of oil pressure. Sounded good too..

I'd replace the hard lines from the tank up to the carb ... all of them. Replace all the little lengths of rubber fuel line too.
He lied to you. I had to do the same thing with my Chief when I got it. All the work you are going to put into fixing that tank, makes ZERO sense to hook it back up to full of shi fuel lines. Pull the sender and replace it and the seal at the top after cleaning out the gunk accumulated up there. Your carb will need a total tear down and deep cleaning or replace it.
Bad gas and tank/line gunk will never agree with a carburetor.

[threepiece]

Been welding for 6 years now. Never soldered.

How is soldering gonna fix a large section like this though ? It litterally needs cut out...

Ill just fill it with water to the top.. and at least clean the outer shell with an abrasive disk and see what i have to work with like someobe suggested. Maybe ill just leather a thick layer of bondo on it and call it a day.

Yes, the bad area should be cut out. The patch should be about 1/2” larger than the cutout all around. The interface between the two surfaces must be clean fresh metal.

I have never soldered anything like this but I have brazed. Basically, the braze/solder will flow into the seam if it is sufficiently clean and hot. It is a relatively slow process that is not difficult to learn.

[candymancan]

Been welding for 6 years now. Never soldered.

How is soldering gonna fix a large section like this though ? It litterally needs cut out...

Ill just fill it with water to the top.. and at least clean the outer shell with an abrasive disk and see what i have to work with like someobe suggested. Maybe ill just leather a thick layer of bondo on it and call it a day.

CUT IT OUT. Do the job right. If you leave rusted metal UNDER a patch, all your doing is asking for trouble in the future. Clogged pickups, clogged lines and clogged carbs. Bad running engine, chasing your tail. Damn there are a lot of people taking short cuts on here. lol That crud you been pulling out, it's also inside the rusted area that needs removing.
If you aren't going to REPLACE the tank with a new one ... then fill the tank with water a couple times (filled to the very top of the tank however you need to make that happen) wash it out with soapy water if you want, rinse, rinse, rinse till no more soap bubbles at all. Then cut that shi out. lol Now, if you been welding for years, you know that you will need to use low heat and TACK TACK TACK for awhile. I like brazing too for thin steel. New steel is better than any other solution when it comes to gas and fumes.

Yes i use flux too.. so welding this thin metal is gonna be fun.. lol.. I dont take shortcuts.. Just people on here are turning me off these forums. I do things good and i do em right.. i dont leave rusted metal i always cut out and replace.

The main reason i havent made a build thread for my j10 yet are the pessimistic dpshts that keeo saying oh no.. dont do that.. you cant do that.. drive it into a river.. comments like that piss me off.

And im not talkin abiut you.. just a few people.

Ive already cleaned up my frame. Cut what needed cutting.. and painted. I cut my floorboards out that needed cutting.. and im in the process of fixing the floorpan supports that did rust out.

None of this stuff is hard, i enjoy cutting welding.. shaping things.

In fact my bad frame in the last 2 feet that i thought was bad.. Only the drivers side was really bad. And after measuring the pitting i found the metak was still 1/8th thick in the lowest spots.. from the original 3/16th. Yea thats a 30-40% reduction.. but thats just pitting.. not tje entire peice.

The other side i though was bad is still .167 thick from the original .187. So it isnt nearly as bad as i thought.. and doesnt warrant dumping the Jeep into a rivee as one guy said. Nore does it require cutting or bracing its fine as it is. Cleaned it up and painted eith a rust reformer

I honestly just need a new rear cross member and i found a YJ front bumper will fit back there.

The hard part of my build is rebuilding the bed. I sourced some brand new bed floor peices.. for 30$ only need 3 peices.. i saved 30% of my original bed floor i can use for sectional stuff..

Then i gatta fab 4 new bed supports. The main part thats going to be hard.. Is Jeeps original bed wall design.. of folded metal from outer to inner shell.. thats all rusted and gone.. I litterally just have a outer bed shell and inner.. and nothing holding them together on the bottom. Since the original design is way too complicated to fabricate. Im just going to join the two peices with a flat sheet of 16ga steel. And weld the bed supports to that.. and drill a few breather/drain holes in that. This should be plenty strong. Well see.

If this works then i wont need to find an 8ft bed thats still rusted.. or and off color.. or go to a flat bed.. im trying to save the original bed shell which is actually still good