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Joe K · 12-16-2014, 06:54 PM

This may depend on the size of your hole.

A road debris collision in 1978 while driving my 1977 Isusu/Chevy LUV pickup caused me to put 3/4 of a tank of fuel on the roadway - it seemed like my rather economical truck was using gas at a furious rate. When I stopped to investigate, I found the smell of gas around the rear and a drip-drip-drip from the tank.

A quick drive the next morning to the Chevy garage for repairs (after refilling) indicated that a new tank was the preferred solution - and that a new tank was at least three weeks in the future - because - you guessed it - it had to be shipped from Japan.

"Um - what about simply soldering the leak shut?" I queried.

"We could do that if the leak isn't too big."

The tank was removed and examined and the leak (drip-drip-drip remember) seemed like it was where the piece of roadway steel had caught the turn of the back of the tank and dug in - a small leak as leaks go.

So the garage cleaned the paint off the tank, and used a LARGE soldering iron and fluxed and solder coated the leak spot - and added some more solder for good measure - all without flushing out the tank. The repair held until the truck was traded in for a better vehicle a couple of years later.

For yours you might even try soldering in a patch, providing you can get a good seal around the outside edges. And feel pretty confident about cleaning the gas fumes out from the tank.

The original tank material is so called "tern coated steel" which I take to mean lead dipped. Either way, I think the experience by most doing repairs around the steering column bracket has been good with solder.

Just one suggestion.

Joe K

12-16-2014, 06:54 PM	#3
Joe K Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cow Hampshire Posts: 4,188	Re: lead repair This may depend on the size of your hole. A road debris collision in 1978 while driving my 1977 Isusu/Chevy LUV pickup caused me to put 3/4 of a tank of fuel on the roadway - it seemed like my rather economical truck was using gas at a furious rate. When I stopped to investigate, I found the smell of gas around the rear and a drip-drip-drip from the tank. A quick drive the next morning to the Chevy garage for repairs (after refilling) indicated that a new tank was the preferred solution - and that a new tank was at least three weeks in the future - because - you guessed it - it had to be shipped from Japan. "Um - what about simply soldering the leak shut?" I queried. "We could do that if the leak isn't too big." The tank was removed and examined and the leak (drip-drip-drip remember) seemed like it was where the piece of roadway steel had caught the turn of the back of the tank and dug in - a small leak as leaks go. So the garage cleaned the paint off the tank, and used a LARGE soldering iron and fluxed and solder coated the leak spot - and added some more solder for good measure - all without flushing out the tank. The repair held until the truck was traded in for a better vehicle a couple of years later. For yours you might even try soldering in a patch, providing you can get a good seal around the outside edges. And feel pretty confident about cleaning the gas fumes out from the tank. The original tank material is so called "tern coated steel" which I take to mean lead dipped. Either way, I think the experience by most doing repairs around the steering column bracket has been good with solder. Just one suggestion. Joe K __________________ Shudda kept the horse.