The bike is a 2003 California. I started to smell gasoline in my garage when I opened the door. After several tests and observations I am convinced that fuel is weeping from around the fuel outlet stub. What would be the best repair? Tig weld,? gas braze,? jbweld steel stick or 8217? I believe that I am the third owner. There is also evidence to suggest that a jbweld product may have been employed in the past. Has any other owner experienced this and what was your solution?
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Fuel tank leak
- Thread starter James A
- Start date
Your best bet may be to find another tank. The difficulty of getting all the gas fumes out of the tank make welding or brazing tricky. I would not recommend JB weld of any type for this. If you do decide to make a repair, I'd recommend treating the inside of the tank with an ethanol resistant liner after the repair to prevent the repaird area from rusting. Something like the Caswell product would be good.
Thank you for your reply. I am still inclined to have a weld repair done. I am an Airmarshal In the Airheads club and I am not the sort of owner to pass along a problem without full disclosure. I want this issue to be solved without regard to my cost because I can not stand the idea of any buyer not knowing the full history of any bike that I may want to sell. I bought this bike with the notion that it might be my "forever" bike. It is outfitted with a Motorvation sidecar.
I am confident that I can find a custom weld shop to handle this.
I am confident that I can find a custom weld shop to handle this.
I know many people don't think much of JB Weld, but I had to use it on my Quota recently, due to the tank being made out of plastic or fiberglass ( i'm not exactly sure) but not steel anyway. I would have replaced the tank if I could find one, but they are unobtainium it seems. JB Weld is impervious to fuel, so it works on tank repairs and there is a JB Weld fuel tank repair kit at Autozone stores and it comes with a piece of fiberglass that helps reinforce the leaking area. So far mine is holding the fuel without leaking and it's been 3 weeks.
Sometimes, your only option available is modern chemistry. I think JB Weld makes several high quality specialty products including the specific fuel tank weld product.
JB Weld (when properly applied) is strong enough for these types of repairs. FWIW, the clear JB Weld does not seem to be as strong as the original black and white (turns gray when mixed) formula. My brother and I sealed a cracked cylinder head (external water jacket leak) on an old farm tractor many years ago (used original formula JB Weld). The repair was still holding cooling system pressure without leaks when my Dad sold the tractor at least 20 years after the repair.
Thanks for the replies. As shown in the posted photo, it appears that some kind of epoxy filler has already been applied to the outlet stub, and failed. The "build up" was flaking off and wet with gasoline underneath. I would really prefer to not have to have a weld repair due to the fact of the chance of the paint being blistered. To find a suitable replacement fuel tank and have it paint matched would easily cost more than a thousand dollars. I would like to avoid that option.
If you are going the JB weld route, the key is to get to clean metal. So some paint will be destroyed. The key is thourough prep of the area. The previous repair probably failed due to poor preparation.
Depending on colors, Cali tanks(new!) can be had at older dealers or from ones that buy old stock from closing dealers. They are relatively cheap. $3-600.00. I don't think Todd here has any but remember Hamlin in CT bought a bunch of NOS Cali tanks. I remember our shop got a notice they were blowing them out of warehouse.
That is a good thing to know. Hamlin in CT. I'll use Google to see if I can get contact info. Many thanks.
Amboman
Cruisin' Guzzisti
Mark @ Moto Guzzi Classics (562)986-0070 has used tanks, not sure if he has one the color you need though. You might also check with Harper's Moto Guzzi.
Many thanks for the advice and insights offered here. I decided to take the fuel tank to the top weld shop in my area. I will post the results of this exercise when it turns out to completion. Suffice to say that the fuel tank had been repaired before I became the owner, and, as it turned out, the repair was the kind of effort to push the bike down the road to someone like me. When I am done with this, it will be the kind of thing that I can live with, and the next owner will be given the full disclosure of what has been done. I might pursue a NOS tank if I can justify the expense.
Stay tuned for the "rest of the story".
Stay tuned for the "rest of the story".
It's been a while since I posted a follow up on this topic. Here is a picture of the repair after I retrieved it from the weld shop. (Bessler Welding, East Peoria IL.) The process used is silver solder, which the weld shop said was the same as the original process from the factory. The shop soaked the tank in what they called a steam bath, and used a wire brush on a die grinder to remove all of the previous repair. Then they put low air pressure to the inside of the tank to identify the 2 cracks that were found just inboard of the outlet stubs.
It appears that you found a competent repair shop!
Congratulations.
Hopefully, the repair is solid and will last fir many years!
Congratulations.
Hopefully, the repair is solid and will last fir many years!
T
The fuel tank as returned from the paint shop.
The fuel tank as returned from the paint shop.