Aarghhh...dirty words....hole in eBay tank HELP!!!!!!!

'k, bought a really decent looking tank off the 'bay, BIN of $60. The tank came with emlems, no major dents, just a small ding and surface rust inside. Shoulda been my first clue. So I get it, inspect, yep, a bit o surface rust inside, but my cursory check for holes or weak spots comes up good, no paint bubbling or rust spots anywhere. Install the tank on my bike and ride for a week. At the same time, against my better judgement, i install pods and rejet the carbs with the K&N Stage 3 kit. Bike goes vroom throughout the rev range with a big top end hit and a small putt and hesitation right in the flat spot at 5000 rpm's. I also notice a bit of fuel smell and a small amount of gas puddles under the bike on the left side. So I pull the tank, notice a bit of seepage on the left side of the tank, and feel along the bottom behind the petcock. Boom, there it is a nice little hole about the size of a pencil, maybe a bit smaller. So I get some Bondo tank repair, which is basically 2 part gas resistant epoxy. The directions indicate not using it on holes over 1/4" diameter, this hole as about that, maybe a bit smaller. So right now I am waiting to see if it works. I also noticed a few other small pits and spread the apoxy around a bit, covering all the suspect areas. Now, if this does not work, then what? I don't mind having it welded but don't know what it would cost, the tank is worth the effort in my eyes. anyone got any input, ideas or stories of there own, please shoot me a line or post here, sorry for the long story, just a bit too much caffeine this morning, cruzerjd

 

i was painting a old ford pickup once and the trim strips weren't going basck on which left about 50 holes
the Weller soldering gun some extra flux and 50/50 solder took care of that
i don't know if the lead free solder would work as well
if the hole isn't in a stressed area it might work, the soldering gun is safe on a tank but use some kind of inert ventilation anyhow

 

What is worse, is that one gets filled, then the next one crops up. I have sealed 4 so far, making sure to pressure test for more. The tank is holding gas well for now. Will think about soldering next, but have to have the bike to get to work in the a.m. cruzerjd

 

Sounds like a good candidate for soldering in a strip of brass along the bottom of the tank. One size fits all and it would re-enforce the lower 40.