Total Motorcycle Community Forums

For a pinhole leak?

I'll check it out myself tomorrow. It seemed extreme to me too.

Welders wanted too much money to fix it. JB weld it is and JB weld is holding up nicely. I have a POR-15 kit on the way with a stripper to get rid of teh previous messed up coat. We'll see what happens.

Sorry to disapoint Zoo but hill billies must have had the right idea.

I'm surprised the welder wanted so much money for that. It shouldn't take more than, say, 20 minutes to fill the empty tank with an inert gas (water apparently doesn't work; I hear argon does), tack the leak shut then empty the inert gas from the tank.

A radiator repair place might be able to help as well. I'm not too sold on JB Weld, myself...

Skier wrote:I'm surprised the welder wanted so much money for that. It shouldn't take more than, say, 20 minutes to fill the empty tank with an inert gas (water apparently doesn't work; I hear argon does), tack the leak shut then empty the inert gas from the tank.

A radiator repair place might be able to help as well. I'm not too sold on JB Weld, myself...

it costs so much because it's extremely dangerous. With seam welded tanks they don't burn when they catch fire, they explode. Most places wont do it at all but for the ones that will 200 is a pretty standard price.

You can find fuel tank sealer putty at any autozone type place, it's usually a stick epoxy that you kneade together... it's supposed to harden when exposed to moisture(fuel) I shoved some in the leaking seam of my tank... although I can't really say how its worked since the bike hasn't had fuel in it much since then.

mysta2 wrote:

Skier wrote:I'm surprised the welder wanted so much money for that. It shouldn't take more than, say, 20 minutes to fill the empty tank with an inert gas (water apparently doesn't work; I hear argon does), tack the leak shut then empty the inert gas from the tank.

A radiator repair place might be able to help as well. I'm not too sold on JB Weld, myself...

it costs so much because it's extremely dangerous. With seam welded tanks they don't burn when they catch fire, they explode. Most places wont do it at all but for the ones that will 200 is a pretty standard price.

You can find fuel tank sealer putty at any autozone type place, it's usually a stick epoxy that you kneade together... it's supposed to harden when exposed to moisture(fuel) I shoved some in the leaking seam of my tank... although I can't really say how its worked since the bike hasn't had fuel in it much since then.

I tried that putty first. It didn't do that good a job as it doesn't stick to the metal at all (followed the prep religiously). I found the JB weld did the trick.

mysta2 wrote:

Skier wrote:I'm surprised the welder wanted so much money for that. It shouldn't take more than, say, 20 minutes to fill the empty tank with an inert gas (water apparently doesn't work; I hear argon does), tack the leak shut then empty the inert gas from the tank.

A radiator repair place might be able to help as well. I'm not too sold on JB Weld, myself...

it costs so much because it's extremely dangerous. With seam welded tanks they don't burn when they catch fire, they explode. Most places wont do it at all but for the ones that will 200 is a pretty standard price.

What's it gonna burn? The argon inside the tank will prevent any combustion inside the tank, therefore eliminating the possibility of an explosion due to extreme pressure inside a container.

My experience with POR-15 has been pleasant so far. I've had it in there for a year now and I dont seen any bad things happening.

HOWEVER. Using POR-15's tank sealer has some strict rules, and I know for a fact that if you dont follow them it doesnt work. I tried their rust sealer on some bodywork for my car and did it wrong the first time. Done right it worked like a charm.

So the procedure is long and painful. And you wont be able to put gas in your tank for at least 3 days. So if you can spare the downtime, that would be the best solution for the money. expect to spend upto 50-60 bucks though.

I used JB on old blues fuel tank holding great had a really bad leak. I also used it on my riding mower fuel tank working great. You just have to clean the surface really clean and spray it with carb cleaner and allow to thoughraly dry. Also give the JB plenty of time to cure. I think it is a good cheap fix.

essentially, jb and por-15 serve the same purpose. they solidify over gaps to seal them. if you know exactly where all the leaks are jb will work fine. POR is fluid and flows for longer, hence is easier to seal leaks you may noy knbow about.

im not sure how gas resistant jb is