Rusted Tank- have a welder patch or get it RENU-ed

[TechTMW]

7 pinhole leaks = paper thin metal on the tank. I'm betting the rear left of the tank right behind the petcock... stupid tank design

Anyway, if you are planning to keep the bike, renu it. I do think looking for a used tank is a good idea, but the tank design on the Vision was fundamentally flawed. I think it's riskier to buy a used vision tank sight unseen than most other tanks because the water collects in a vision tank and rusts it out in no time.

The other possibility is to make sure the inside of the tank is clear of rust and POR it again, this time, do more than one coat, and let it collect down in the bottom of the tank where the leaks are. It will reduce the capacity of your tank, but it's alot cheaper.

[storysunfolding]

Yeah.

I wasn't too happy with my last experience with POR. I called them a few times to make sure I did it right, but then the tank started leaking after a week and their guarantee didn't hold up

[xsyamahadg]

A lot of restorers use a product called "Red Seal" to seal a tank. The tank is cleaned inside with an acid treatment and then the red seal applied. It seals all pin holes and stops any further rust. I've seen some of the completed tanks at swap meets, and they are done well. The treatment carry's a 10 warranty. Some of radiator repair shops can do the treatment for you. I was quoted $ 35.00 to do my 77 XS650 tank.

[storysunfolding]

I couldn't find anything when I googled it. Is it a common thing?

[xsyamahadg]

I don't know where you can buy the sealer, but I think this is the same product.http://www.hirschauto.com/sealer.htm

[Lewy987]

What is POR and RENU? Where can I go get them? I have the same problem with my 1982 Yamaha XS400RJ... I tried getting a new tank but Yamaha stopped making them.

[storysunfolding]

POR-15 is a liner kit you can get online, google it.

RENU is a process where a shop cuts open your tank, blasts away any rust, fixes leaks, then coats both the inside and outside with stronger liners than POR. One type on the inside, one type on the outside. Somewhere along the line they put the tank back together. This also destroys your paint. However it seems to be the best fix if there are no radiator shops anywhere near you that want $70 to do the same thing.

POR costs about 10% of what RENU does

[Lewy987]

POR-15 and renu sound like miracle workers from the reading I've been doing. I'm gunna look around my area for a radiator shop. Renu sounds like the best way to go.

Hirschauto.com seems to have a product very similar to POR-15. Hirsch is a lot cheaper. But its not about the money, its about the quality.

What an awesome forum

[storysunfolding]

Careful about other products. Kreem is supposedly like por but it comes off if you put a fuel cleaning agent in your gas. All that gunk will either block your inline fuel filter or your carb... depends if you have an inline filter or not

[storysunfolding]

SON OF A BISCUIT!

The renu shop that said the most a tank would cost is $285 called to tell me that my tank with a few small pinhole leaks is going to cost ~$350. Almost $70 more than they said a severely "fudged" tank would cost.

Definately looking for something else now. What a waste of time.