Petrol Tank Repair/Fuel pump & pipes Replacement

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cljcars

Active Member
Posts
328
A few weeks back I changed the Fuel filter and noticed that the pipes that come from the top of the tank off the fuel pump and sender looked like they where made from copper (Strange) then I noticed that there was a material change just before the end of the pipe back to steel.

Put the new filter back and couldnt get this pipe to seal, in the end it seemed to be comming from the join between the copper and steel, note there was no change in OD, so there must have been something inside joining them together.

Ordered new pipes, took the tank off on the weekend, the pump had also been modified and had copper elbows where the orignial ones used to be, So ordered a New pump.

The main reason for this post is I found a load of silicon around the lower vent insert which is plastic welded into the tank. I think this must have a leak because the silicon was wet with petrol and broken down. Silicon is no good at all for petrol. The leak must be on the original weld because I can find no defect or crack. So the weld mustn't have been effective.

So in order to repair this is it a plastic welding jobbie or is there some sort of material patch I can put on. I believe there is a fibre glass type repair that can be made?

No matter what I do it will be tested afterwards to make sure it is sealed.

Anyone done this before?
 
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At work and photobucket won't work, will post some tonight when I get in.

Anyone know what type of plastic is the tank made from. Most are made from HDPE!
 
A few weeks back I changed the Fuel filter and noticed that the pipes that come from the top of the tank off the fuel pump and sender looked like they where made from copper (Strange) then I noticed that there was a material change just before the end of the pipe back to steel.

Put the new filter back and couldnt get this pipe to seal, in the end it seemed to be comming from the join between the copper and steel, note there was no change in OD, so there must have been something inside joining them together.

Ordered new pipes, took the tank off on the weekend, the pump had also been modified and had copper elbows where the orignial ones used to be, So ordered a New pump.

The main reason for this post is I found a load of silicon around the lower vent insert which is plastic welded into the tank. I think this must have a leak because the silicon was wet with petrol and broken down. Silicon is no good at all for petrol. The leak must be on the original weld because I can find no defect or crack. So the weld mustn't have been effective.

So in order to repair this is it a plastic welding jobbie or is there some sort of material patch I can put on. I believe there is a fibre glass type repair that can be made?

No matter what I do it will be tested afterwards to make sure it is sealed.

Anyone done this before?

Not bad with proper petrol, but no good with unleaded **** with all the chemicals they put in it. Providing you give it a good key two part epoxy putty should seal it.
 
Ha Ha, Gone are the days of using proper petrol unless you have a prop plane then there is no alternative hey. We still make that stuff.

Epoxy putty, right, I have some of that to hand, I was woried about flex, epoxy tends to be quite hard. Like you say Key is the bond to plastic.

Cheers Wammers
 
I have just taken my tank out as i had a fuel leak, to find that the fuel pipes where they come out of the top of the pump had rotten. The return pipe had totally seperated!! So i have ordered new pipes and a pump. There are a few tanks on ebay for not alot of money if you fancied just pulling a decent 2nd hand one in. No chance of a repair failing in a few months time then thats all.
 
I had a look on eBay, first place I looked. Most of them looked well knackered with bits hanging of them. I am looking at doing a plastic weld type repair before anything else now after researching it. But as you say I want it to be permanently fixed. I am going to fill the tank with water and see exactly where its comming from. later on. I hope its a defect I found before after having a better look in the light on a weld. Might warm it up and see if I can seal it with a plastic welder I borrowed from work today after googling plastic repairs after Fanatic put the link on above, cheers Fanatic.
 
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Photos of the leaking breather/balance insert in the tank, and the pipes.

I Got my hot air gun last night and heated up the insert and surrounding area, then went at the weld with a small plastic welder/soldering iron, Making sure there was contact of two plastics, not tidy by any means. I warmed the insert up and moved the pipe attachement up slightly out of the way to gain access to the unbonded weld, then put it back afterwards. Batteries ran out on my phone so I couldn't take any photos of the finished item, messy fiddly little job.

Oh, I made sure all petrol was out of the tank before I started any of this.

Left it full off water overnight and no leaks this morning, I will check again when I get home from work. Tilted the tank up to put more head pressure on the insert.

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Put the tank back last night, no leaks at all. New lines and pump came from bearmach. I forgot about the fittings for the pump. You only get two pipes comming off the pump that need an olive and a nut for connection to the hose end. I ended up getting them from a local hydraulic supplier because I couldn't be bothered with the delivery time. They are only about 3 quid delivered from most places, just remember to buy them.

Jobs a gooden.
 
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