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I have used the Loctite epoxy sold specifically for gas tanks with OK success. It might be best if you ran the truck till the fuel level goes below the leak, spray the leak area with brake cleaner or similar and clean it up good, put the epoxy on, give it plenty of time to set up before you refill the tank.
You can get this stuff at any decent auto parts store, many discount stores have it too.
I have never used it on a Diesel tank, but have had OK success on gas.
If the leak is at a failed seam without structural issues, then it's possible to seal it externally with many of the rapid-setting epoxy products. Most of them are mercaptan based epoxies, such as the JBQuik, and will bond onto clean, dry, and roughed-up steel.
I've fixed a couple of hundred tank leaks over the years with industrial grade epoxies (which are much better performing but much more expensive and not available in small quanitites, ie Belzona or CIBA industrial products), but the key to a more durable repair is to get the tank surface clean and dry for a much larger area than the actual leak. It is essential that there be no diesel fuel at the repair site, because it is a bond-breaker. Aggressively clean the site, rough it up, and clean it with solvent that leaves no residue. I use Acetone, but there's lots of spray brake cleaners that will do the job.
Use a small amount of the rapid setting epoxy to seal the leak site and let it cure, about 5-10 minutes. Do whatever it takes, press it into the seam or crack if you can find it. This is important because you later want to verify that you've got the diesel fuel leak stopped so that you can prep the adjacent area. Scuff up the epoxy surface and steel with 36 grit abrasive, wire wheels, whatever it takes to leave it clean, dry, diesel free, and rough. Build up more of the epoxy around the repair site using the regular cure, higher strength epoxy (such as JB Weld). Depending upon how large the repair site is, you may want to do this a couple more times; it helps to use a fiberglass mesh cloth laid into the epoxy to build even more strength into the patch area.
Allow to cure at least 24 hours for maximum strength. Warmer temps are better, so if you have a heat lamp, that can help. Don't get the epoxy heated over 115F, you're just trying to accelerate the cure cycle. Of course, if there's any doubt about fire safety in the area, don't use supplemental heat.
If the tank has failed structurally, so that the seam is working apart while you drive, then an external epoxy repair at the seam will not hold it together. Most of the tanks I've fixed were damaged on construction, trucking, or machinery sites where the equipment downtime was critical and the fixes were reasonably simple for a field service call. But it's reasonable to fix holed fuel tanks, damaged oil pans, and so forth with epoxy for durable repairs.
It's been years since I tried repairing a tank, had very little to no luck. I found it better in the long run replacing. I found used tanks to be reasonable, even aftermarket tanks have been cheap. I found it a great time to upgrade to a larger tank, if going larger make sure to get a matching sending unit.
It's been years since I tried repairing a tank, had very little to no luck. I found it better in the long run replacing. I found used tanks to be reasonable, even aftermarket tanks have been cheap. I found it a great time to upgrade to a larger tank, if going larger make sure to get a matching sending unit.
It's an old Suburban with a 40 gal tank. New ones i've seen for $300.00 and
junkyard ones are impossible to find. Ha, I surely don't want a larger tank
I haven't used any "marine" epoxies, so I can't say if they'll work or not for your application.
The reason I suggested the "rapid cure" epoxies is because the mercaptan ... you'll recognize the unique odor to these ... based epoxies are the most surface tolerant to bonding to the saturated metal as you'd find in the leak area. They also bond and cure rapidly, so you can see your progress very quickly, but they don't have a lot of strength and bond adhesion compared to the regular cure epoxy formulations. So all you're trying to accomplish with the first application of the rapid cure epoxy is to temporarily stop the leak ... diesel fuel spreads very readily on the metal surface ... so you can have a perfectly prepared clean and dry surface for the real "patch" of the regular cure rate epoxy.
This is the type of work best accomplished in a slow, methodical, and tedious fashion. The folks who haven't had success doing leak repairs with epoxies have either not prepared the surfaces properly or used epoxies that weren't up to the job. Most of the retail stuff won't hold a candle to the industrial grade epoxy products, but I've used JBWeld products when that's all that was available, and it worked reasonably well. Loctite and Devcon have a number of similar products which are pretty good stuff, too, usually available at retail and over the counter at industrial supply houses. You might check at your local Grainger outlet or McMaster-Carr, or see their catalogues sonline ... they cater to the industrial trade with better products, and you may have to "qualify" yourself as an industrial buyer, but usually they'll sell to you at full list price and charge sales tax if you identify yourself as a small business paying cash (BBGal's Auto Shop). Of course, you'll be buying better products but in commercial size packaging ... which will be a lot more than you'll need for this repair. But it may be worth the better quality product.
Keep in mind that this type of repair work isn't written in stone at your first attempt. If you see signs of seepage or a continued leak after your work, there's nothing that prevents you from grinding or sanding the epoxy off to the metal and trying again. You may find that you didn't get the whole leak area the first time, or that you still had some diesel fuel keeping the epoxy from bonding. Patience will get you through this .... and you wouldn't be the first epoxy tech that needed to do some work a couple of times before achieving satisfactory results.
Sunsprit, what specific industrial epoxy would you recommend for general use, if you could only have one available which one would you want? I would be OK with buying a larger container than the usual consumer stuff, if it's that much better than J-B weld I would like to try it.
Are we talking like $100, more, or less, to buy the "small, industrial" size?
Sunsprit, what specific industrial epoxy would you recommend for general use, if you could only have one available which one would you want? I would be OK with buying a larger container than the usual consumer stuff, if it's that much better than J-B weld I would like to try it.
Are we talking like $100, more, or less, to buy the "small, industrial" size?
Thanks!
I'll PM you with the specific product number and source which is so far and away the "best" performing industrial paste grade epoxy material that you'd be shocked to know how much serious industrial repairs depend upon it ... like hydro power plants, or industrial HVAC facilities, or similar high horsepower rotating equipment.
Unfortunately, per "kit" of A & B, it's way way more than $100, and it's only sold in case quantities direct from the manufacturer/distributor. It is a USA produced and manufactured product, far superior to the stuff from England. The kits are packed at 36 cu in, and a "6 pack" was the smallest case size they used to put up. Well worth it from an industrial user standpoint, but for a simple repair on a car, may not be justified to make such a large purchase unless you are a professional who encounters these types of situations frequently enough to justify having the product on hand.
My g/f ran over something and put a hole about the size of a quarter in the bottom of the tank. I can't remember the name brand but it was a small black stick and a white stick that came in a package and you mash it around in your hand, (it will turn grey and start feeling warm) and then I put it over the hole and it worked. I drove that car for 2 years after that and it stayed on there. I got it at Advance Auto parts.
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