Poly GTank Repair

OK,,,, I admit it,,, I was a BONE-HEAD!!
While drilling through the floor of the cargo area to mount a tool & Parts box I punctured through the top of the tank (yes, I did have tape on the bit to use as a depth guage, but yes Murphey and his da*#ed Laws kicked right in. monkeys

I used a large sheet-metal screw and RTV to plug it (a repair I once used to fix the tank in one of my cars which was punctured in a lower corner when I ran over debris , worked so well it was still in place and leak free when I sold the car 3 years later), but once I had remounted the tank and filled it up it was still leaking, just not so badly.

So, this morning I drained the tank (again) pulled it and cleaned it up and am now looking at options for repairing the hole. I am thinking of JB Weld, having used it to fix a crack in my TC pan, worked great. Will it adhere to the plastic well enough to make a permanent repair? I have been told by dirtbikers it works great for fixing cracks in the plastic tanks on their bikes. I have also seen in the local FLAPS a fiberglass resin- fibers pre mixed in a can, is fiberglass a better option?

Any other ideas??? Give me a good idead that works permanently and I'll buy ya a nice cold

 

JB weld is probably ok, but it's not flexible so it might crack. If the bikers use it, and it holds up, I'd say go ahead if you're in a hurry. I'd buff up the area around the repair, and use the sheet metal screw again.

Ideally You'd want something that will stick to the poly and be a little flexible, but I don't know what that would be. There are lots of links for "flexible epoxy adhesive patching compound" in Google. You might call a couple of those companies and see what they recommend for patching polypropylene.

I have used fiberglass to repair a leaky steel tank, and it worked ok. Lasted for a few years, till I sold the Jeep. I'd worry about the generic fiberglass resin softening from long exposure to gasoline though.

 

fiberglass will not soften from gas. I have seen gas tanks in old boats that were made of fiberglass.

 

You Might try this stuff

http://www.toolsource.com/problem-plastic-repair-material-p-58330.html?sourceid=bizrate

 

Well, whichever option I chose (still checking out options) I have learned 2 valuable lessons from this;

1) Slide a piece od scrap plate steel on top of the tank prior to drilling through the floor,
and

2) FILL the repaired tank with water to make sure the repairs are doing the job BEFORE all the hard work of reinstalling the tank, finding out it leaks the hard way and having to do EVERYTHING AGAIN!!!

 

There are places out there, at least in my area, that advertise "plastic welding".
Google this, and you will at least see what it is and how it is done. The machinery for doing it is not cheap.
There are commercially available repair kits specifically for this.
The other alternative is to check at an RV repair facility. RV's use all kinds of "plastic" tanks, and most should be able to repair. If they want to sell a new tank, try elsewhere.

 

I have had amazing luck with this stuff

http://www.amazinggoop.com/amazinggoop/index.html

They make several different formulations, looks like the RV stuff would work well for you. The first thing I used it on, a thick plastic "skid" under the engine of my old Pathfinder, is still holding up, years later, even after regularly getting crunched on rocks and such. Saved me about $250 in replacement cost.
I used the same stuff on the gas tank of my cheapo MTD riding mower. The tank vibrates like mad and gets bounced around pretty good when I mow the meadow, and it has also been holding fine for years.

The stuff works so well, its kinda creepy.
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