Fuel tank: replace or repair?

[draenog]

Hi,

Went out to drive the car on Tuesday and it smelt very strongly of petrol, and on opening the boot I found a small pool of fuel. Last night I had the "fun" of draining the tank and getting it out of the car. The tank appears to be in general good condition (a borescope shows it to be bright and shiney on the inside with no gunk). But moisture has obviously been trapped underneath, and it's rusted through in one place. I've taken a picture.

The hole was originally a pin-hole but I've enlarged it to get to good metal. As it's only in this one place I was wondering if it was worth repairing it with Plastic Padding leak repair/putty or if it's better to replace it with a new alloy tank? I'm aware that you should never try to repair a fuel tank by soldering/welding, etc.

Thanks for any advice!
Rob.

[alan.barker]

imho i would put it on your Christmas list and fit a new alloy tank. I would not take any risk

[Mazzini]

I've bought three Elan tanks from Andy Wiltshire and have found his tanks to be superb and he's a really nice chap to deal with. No connection just a very happy customer

http://www.andywiltshire.com/

[john.p.clegg]

but isn't there an issue re the filler tube angle?

John

[alan.barker]

but isn't there an issue re the filler tube angle?

John

for baby elan or +2

[john.p.clegg]

No,No,No, don't say that word...

For the plus2..

John

[Mazzini]

I had one issue with the location holes on my '65 S2, but the tanks for my S3 and S4 were a perfect fit. The S2 bodies were rather hand made, mine wasn't accident damaged just an odd shape. Andy at no additional cost sorted it, even though it wasn't his fault.

[theelanman]

No,No,No, don't say that word...

[cal44]

Get a new Wiltshire tank and be done with it. It's like tires.........buy new and buy the best..............your life depends on it.

[UAB807F]

Hi Rob,

I once repaired the tank on my S3, I can't recall what I used but it wasn't plastic padding. I think it was an epoxy called Petropatch or something like that. The external corrosion was a much wider area than you have and not surprisingly it wasn't a permanent fix. I probably didn't help by being much younger and in a hurry to get the car back on the road.

But what it did do was give me time to save/plan a replacement which I eventually did. So if you can get something designed for petrol resistance and can clean to bright metal, then there's no reason why you shouldn't have a go at it.

You've nothing to lose and you will be very aware of any fumes in future so I can't see it being any more dangerous than what's been happening until you found it.

If it works, great. If not, well you've bought time to plan a replacement tank.

Brian

[draenog]

Any idea what the lead time is on a Wiltshire tank? I see SJ Sportscars sells alloy tanks for 295 + VAT, but they're made to order and will take 3 weeks.

I don't know if 46 counts as young round here But I'm quite keen to get the car back on the road as the MOT runs out on the 20th! I'm tempted to order a tank and try repair leak as a temporary repair...

[draenog]

Hmmm. Yet another another variable. I see the Wiltshire tanks boast that their

tank is unique in that it is the only replacement +2 tank that allows for fitting of the original sender unit which is retained by locking ring

While the tank from SJ Sportscars comes with a sender already fitted. So what's the advantage of the original sender unit apart from cost? (and I see the SJ Sportscars tank is cheaper with sender than the Wiltshire one). I imagine the original tanks allowed the sender unit to be replaced. Does anybody have a tank from SJ Sportscars, and know if the sender is replaceable, or is it fixed (which is why it comes with one)?

Thanks,
Rob.

[Sea Ranch]

Can't tell a lot from the SJ photo, but looks like the fuel sender unit is screwed into place and therefore replaceable.

Perhaps more importantly, the tank appears to have butt joined welded edges, and not constructed like the factory original tank. Wiltshire tanks, from their photos, look to be made like the factory original and look gorgeous.

Just a thought. Also, Andy states on his website that he's focusing on fuel tanks, so perhaps his turn-around time is pretty decent.

I'd talk to both companies. But being the repairer-rebuilder that I am, I'd also try the repair root. The hole in your tank is not large. Patch it up, test it, and run it.

Just my 2 cents. YMMV . . . et cetera . . . .

[Panda]

Hi Rob,
If you have access to a good oxy welder, it's not hard to repair a fuel tank. Simply remove sender unit, completely drain all petrol and then connect tank filler tube to any convenient car exhaust pipe with engine running for about 30 minutes. The hot gas dries out the fuel and you then have about 10 minutes welding time before you may get a slight pop indicating it needs gassing again with carbon monoxide.
Back in the late sixties, I had the job of welding a connector into 50 Alfa 1750 GTV fuel tanks taken straight from the car in order to homologate and fit a long range tank for racing at Bathurst. So I know this works, I am living proof!! It may be hard to find a welder who believes me though.
Alan P

[Sea Ranch]

Love this scheme.

Don't know how to "test" it's safety . . .