Rust in tank? Low tech solutions

[JonW]

yeah you do need to make sure everything is full dry before you line it. there should be no doubt at all about how dry it is. I only do liners when its low humidity and very hot here, and I still dry them with a paint gun before I start after leaving them for days to dry in the sun...

The beauty of a liner thats done right is that it will be like a tank within a tank, but a badly done one is worse than leaving salt water in the tank as it also clogs the carbs and causes all sorts of grief.

[seahorse]

Yep my mistake john KBS gold.

Rory re being a non believer, I wish I could join you but having a good tank pin hole 6 months down the track after paint, is disheartening. I cant see any other solution to increasing the overall thickness of the entire tank wall.
I have stud pulled some big bar dents out on these things. By mig welding a rod to the side then using multigrips and a hammer to hit the rod outwards to pull the dent, even this occasionally will hole them, fortunately my cheapy mig set on 1 and 1 is able to weld these, but its gets a bit nervy when it happens for fear of blowing even bigger holes.
I don't think id like to try welding a pin hole around the seam areas as there is literally no metal left when they get like this, hence the reason I have lined a few. A metal coat solution would be awesome, Internal KBS gold is as close to the mark as I can find, a new tank solution as John campaigned for a while ago would be even awesomer. So yep I hear ya Rory but sometimes ya gotta do, what ya gotta do.

[hondaror]

I've had success soldering seams after cleaning them up. I'm not back on the bikes yet, but I'm interested in making my own tanks and rebuilding old tanks. I'm a machinist, and want to try my hand with extreme repairs and building from scratch. Not enough of this work is offered out there.

[two-stroke-brit]

if there was a budget ali tank made available i would thibk there would be a lot of takers .
all i have been able to find are beautiful tanks but priced accordingly.
i think a tank not an exact replica but one made 0in the "style of" would be easier/cheaper to make
just my 2 cents
mark

[ZedSledder]

Yep, struth on having all your ducks in a row, and not back tracking a fixing structural problems after you start the dryining.
I just did the por15 method on one tank. As well as using a heat gun I put it under a 300watt light over night. Just a regular hanging bench lamp with one of those bulbs they put over hatched chicks. 2 days and 2 nights. The thing is dry and seaLed. I also used some of the tank sealer and brushed the outside seams and entire outside bottom with it.
I usd a slurry of the evapo rust / metal rescue with a chain. Soaked the tank, then shook the tank then straained the liquid and repeated. Seems if there is liquid in with the chain it scrubs better. Water promotes rust the evapo shit kills it.
Wish I could get a good photo of the inside there is/was no rust left. I soldered one hole but it leaked so I used permetex cold weld to seal the big holes and the leaking solder fix and it worked no worries. I was able to sand down the fixes on the side to a smooth finish.
I'm getting ready to do a second tank I have and will follow the same process but I want to finish it with the Caswell epoxy just to check it out. Epoxy would work great IMHO. I poured some of the por sealer on plywood and on some metal flashing. That stuff won't go anywhere in my life time. Oxygen won't get in there and comtinue to Oxidize. The por ells to high hell so gotta do it before its tocold to work outside. I reckon I've got time to do another.

[JonW]

Ive soldered seams in old tanks over the years but it never really lasted. The metal was thin and rusty at that point and within a year they failed again. Plus heating up the old school soldering iron wiping it over the partially drained but not flushed fuel tank seemed, er, worrying... I was young and reckless LOL

I have welded holes in my tanks with MIG. It worked ok. I didnt blow many holes and since the tanks had been devoid of fuel for years and left with lids off, nothing remained to flash off. Doing that with a tank you just removed from a runner would mean you would want to fully purge the tank of course.

Welding a rod or even better a screw that you can get a slide hammer on works, but as SH says, you need to be aware how thin these tanks are. They are pressed from thin sheet and as such the dies pull the metal and stretch it at some points, that means it can be thin at that point even when new.

New tanks would be more than nice, as they would be a lot safer. They would also protect your investment in the paint work you put over the top of them. Id pay more for that peace of mind, but it seems not everyone would. Perhaps with the values going up on our bikes more of us would be willing to put up money for a real solution. We'll see I guess. Im game to place an order if someone else does the work, been there and tried that etc.

Until then I will also be the guy repairing my tanks, In fact regular readers may have seen that I'm doing it right now with the tank for my '83 build. Its a dent fest and its twisted, but it holds fuel nicely courtesy of KBS and the fact it didnt need much hole repair in the first place.

[waltmil]

A word of caution on tank lining. I have an '83 550 Yamaha Vision. I got it road worthy in 2003 and fixed the rusted tank with a redcoat epoxy from an auto shop. Looked nasty but it worked, until about 2 yrs ago. I had been running e10 fuel in it and noticed it started running worse and the throttle was getting sticky. Then I developed pinhole leaks in the tank. The redcoat has been dissolving in the ethanol and then coating the carbs. I am afraid to see what I will find when I pull them apart.

[JonW]

Ethanol is the devils worth on many a tank liner, Kreeme also fails like that and clogs your carbs. Hence you need a modern liner that will cope with the ethanol content in fuel, and also buy the fuel with the least of it in, but we do that anyway as we like octane dont we?!

While over time we can expect more ethanol in fuels I dont worry about it, i cant get a better version of my RZ tank as they all rust in the same place and are the same age, best we can do is reapair and line and enjoy the bike. if the liner fails in 10 years its been a fair go.

I also always run a filter on my bikes, early warning of any badness...

[ZedSledder]

Thats my worry with epoxy as well. Acetone which is an alcohol bi-product melts epoxy. Wouldn't ethonal which is basically corn alcohol do the same to epoxy? Its a bonus it only takes acetone to remove those lners instead of the napalm death stripper.
Finding a good system of repair which works easily for you I guess is the plus side of all these experiments.
Yes JonW, it does seem like they all have some level of rust. Teach a man to fix a tank he'll have a tank forever.

[OldTZracer]

Doesn't Caswell now make a product that is resistant to ethanol fuels?

[subxero]

ill probably look at cleaning my tank up a bit this winter. So it seems some people like the tank liners and some don't?

It's hard to get a feel for if they are worth it or not. Ill have to do a bit more research before i decide exactly what i am going to do.

[two-stroke-brit]

if there was a budget ali tank made available i would thibk there would be a lot of takers .
all i have been able to find are beautiful tanks but priced accordingly.
i think a tank not an exact replica but one made 0in the "style of" would be easier/cheaper to make
just my 2 cents
mark

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-YAMAHA-RD ... 20ee26bc14" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

450 pounds ..so about US $736.

Looks nice though

[JonW]

Does look nice, so whos gonna get one and try it out?

[hondaror]

I wish for the F2. Not polished though.

TZ250 tanks are aluminum. My 1983K's replacement was $3000 CAD back in 1986. That makes $800 CAD a "steel", if you'll pardon the pun.

[ZedSledder]

I think I remember some reproduction ypvs tanks from India. It was a couple years ago and a forum member had orderd one. I can't remember how well it fit the frame though.