A big woops...

LMcD · Post by **LMcD** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:18 pm

So I had a little drip coming out of the sending unit on the rear tank....eventually the little drip turned into a bigger drip.
I happen to have another tank that still had the sending unit in place, so I figured I would just swap gaskets.
I started by the removing the sending unit from the spare tank. I sprayed the bolts with liquid wrench, lightly tapped then, sprayed some more...tapped some more; the nuts came right off - easy peasy. Removed everything, checked the gasket, cleaned the gasket which in good enough shape that I could use it.
I figured I would try the same procedure on the leaking unit; spray, tap, spray, tap and remove.
But no such luck, as soon as I wrenched on the first nut...snap. The bolt broke off.
The pic cleanly shows my handy work.
https://goo.gl/photos/rvfJjzrLeAF57xcy6
(sorry for the link, I could not figure out how to resize the pic to make it fit in the forum)
I tried Seal All to stop the now bigger leak...but no such luck.

Im not sure, but I think the other tank (tank body itself) I have is in worse shape then what I have on the vehicle...and I think it would be a LOT of work to check it for leaks.
Realistically though, I am sure my only option is to swap tanks, but I am wondering if anyone has a magic solution or some kind of snake oil goop I can put the sending unit to seal it up?

LMcD

lrp374 · Post by **lrp374** » Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:02 am

This stuff says it will work. http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/seal- ... 0808p.html

I've used it for lots of other things but never on a tank. It may @ least slow your leak while you come up with a better plan.

Good luck!

LMcD · Post by **LMcD** » Sat Mar 25, 2017 2:54 pm

Tks lrp374, I tired that stuff. It did not work.

Post by **Growlerbearnz** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:05 pm

I don't like your chances of finding a sealant that will work for long. On one side you need a stiff sealant that'll take the fluid load while remaining bonded to the steel, on the other side you need a flexible sealant that'll bond to and move with a rubber gasket that's impregnated with diesel.

I think the tank has to come out, and that stud replaced. It's a shitty job because the original stud is welded into place. I would drill the stud right through into the tank (5mm drill bit), tap an M6 thread into it, and screw an M6 bolt through it from the inside. If the underside of the bolt head and internal surface are smooth, you could use a copper washer under the bolt head to seal it, but I'd also use an epoxy sealant on the bolt threads and under the head to lock it in place and help with sealing. Hang on, I'll draw a picture:

: stud.JPG (222.18 KiB) Viewed 5225 times

LMcD · Post by **LMcD** » Tue Mar 28, 2017 3:12 pm

Oh man...that does not seem like any fun at all.
Thanks for the input, If I could draw a sad face I would.
I think I will try and switch out the tanks, and if the other tanks is crappy then I will attempt something like your wicked drawing.