Fuel Tank Leak
I gather this is a common issue, looked under my W460 280GE LWB today and it's dripping out! Did a little research on here, notice there's a few companies that can refurb the tanks... I've not got the tank off yet to see where it's coming from.
Is it worth refurbing/patching or buying new? Best place to buy new? £700 is the cheapest I've seen :(
I have a 280GE LWB in west Pembrokeshire and had a similar problem. The holes were where the rubber hoses connect to the tank (hoses plural as I have auxiliary tanks which have also suffered the same problem). Water and dirt get trapped under here resulting in small holes that are not visible until the tank is removed. Easily soldered with the tank out (and filled with water to prevent any vapour explosions). Best to remove the sender unit for the fuel gauge as moving the tank around when empty can break the delicate wires inside the unit.
I have just had my tank repaired for the second time (230 GES) in 12 years and have not attempted to do any of the work myself.
A new plastic tank with the associated fitting kit which you must have is very very expensive. If you can get it all for £700 its a bargain. I think the steel tank is no longer available and a bespoke one fabricated to fit would be difficult and expensive. It is an awkward shape.
The first time was by the "RE NU" system from a radiator repair company which lasted eight years. Once out only a pressure test will reveal all the holes and I expect there will be more than one.
This time I had the tank professionally welded by a company specializing in classic car restoration and fuel tank repairs. Painted and wax oiled it is now back under the car and hopefully will last at least another eight years.
When you replace the tank a new set of new straps is a good idea stainless ones from Gordon sound ideal.
i am working on G CONVERSION KIT PLASTIC TANK petrol / deisel
should know the price next week
adrian
tanks rot from the top down due to the exhaust insulation material holding water and facilitating corrosion, lower your tank thru the access hole in the floor under the carpet, take care petrol is nasty stuff
Try Cropper and Jones on the wirral, i have been using them for 12 years now for a repair to your tank, probably around the £140-ish mark , 01513272560. They can also recore rads too
Find your local Radiator or heat exchanger specialist. I think it was a £40 cash folding the first time (mind I had stripped it, hot pressure washered inside and out and wire brushed it .. so it was easy to fix) They brazed up wee holes and brazed repair strips over the bigger holes. One car is about 20 years old with this repair ('70s Lancia) and the G is 8 years or more. If properly treated with water proof paint (so do not get the Rad boys to paint it.. but use Epoxymastic 2 part paint) and then waxed (Dinotrol 3210?) and finally black death waxed (Dinotrol 4910?).. then it will last for decades.
You will need new tank straps, you may need a new tank bash plate, you will need new stick on insulation from the dealer .. and maybe the rubber strips for the chassis/tank interface.
Insulation for the passage above the tank of the exhaust - made my own with many layers of fibreglass chopped strand mat stitched together with stainless steel wire and fixed to aluminium sheet trimmed from a disposable barbeque tray.
Plumbers soldering mats can be used - good for 750C
I'd recommend re- routing the exhaust rather than insulating
£700 will be the tank alone. You will need sender and fitting kit. More like £1200 all in.
IMO its worth it - more capacity (96l from memory) and once its rotten, its rotten. Plastic tank conversion sorts it once and for all, properly.
Don't worry about re-routing exhaust. It makes clearance worse and is unnecessary; exhaust header wrap is cheap, easy to install and will give you complete protection against heat transfer (esp important with the plastic tank!).
Some years ago, I had a very poor example of a petrol SWB. The leaking tank presented a real problem for me in that I had no intention of spending an exorbitant ammount of money on a new fuel tank for a vehicle I planned to replace. An elderly gent , who did little repair jobs in his spare time, coated the outside of the tank with fibreglass for ...as I remember...the sum of £30. He explained that there was a lot of work in the preparation and that was why it was so expensive!!!! Sprayed black before replacing, it looked the part and.....most importantly, did not leak petrol. I was so pleased with the job, the old G wagon was kept for longer than I intended.
Some years ago, I had a very poor example of a petrol SWB. The leaking tank presented a real problem for me in that I had no intention of spending an exorbitant ammount of money on a new fuel tank for a vehicle I planned to replace. An elderly gent , who did little repair jobs in his spare time, coated the outside of the tank with fibreglass for ...as I remember...the sum of £30. He explained that there was a lot of work in the preparation and that was why it was so expensive!!!! Sprayed black before replacing, it looked the part and.....most importantly, did not leak petrol. I was so pleased with the job, the old G wagon was kept for longer than I intended.
WHAT? Really? Seriously? Do you have any experience of how well petrol impregnated fiberglass burns? Clearly not.
What a terrible awful bodge and seriously dangerous.
This is BAD advice.
Just because you got away with it doesn't make it OK (and the whole 'sprayed it black and it looked OK' is a good illustration of why/ how easy it is to buy something on looks alone that is a POS underneath!).
For heavens sake, do the job properly. Buy a new plastic tank, replace it and know that 1) its fixed properly and 2) when you do come to sell, its the one thing that someone will/ should pay over and above for on a 460
Fuel tanks on w460's always seem to rot from the top as a result of the water absorbing heat protection for the exhaust. This usually means it only leaks when its full or if you are bouncing around off road. Take the tank off by lowering it on ropes through the access hatch, get it inspected before you go down the very expensive plastic route. I while it seems possible to heat wrap the exhaust, its still a convoluted route for any exhaust 2 take so either chop it [it wont make any difference to the noise in the cabin] and have it exiting under the car b4 the axle or mimic a 463 and go for side exit again b4 the rear axle. While you are doing this replace your tank hangers and the plating protection underneath, I made a replacement plate using stainless steel from a scrap metal merchant
Tank's off, no visible holes but when pressure tested it came back very pourous. Beyond a normal repair. I've found a company who specialise in coating tanks, they split the tank, apply a rubberized coating inside, seal the tank and apply the same coating outside, a proven method that they have guaranteed will last me years. Not the cheapest of fixes at around £400, but a better option for me than a new tank.
Thanks all for the help
Hi
Not sure whether this may help or not but some years back I bought a small reduced capacity tank for a swb g ready for an lpg conversion that never came to fruition. The people that supplied the tank are Tinley Tech 01767676181 don't know whether they do full size ones.
Anyone got any experience of using SLOSH fuel tank sealant from Woolies (Woolstenholm Classic Car supplies near Peterborough) if the tank is porous rather than obviously holed??
Hmm porosity......
The military use in some rubberised material fuel tanks that seal up if the wings/tanks should they get small pieces of uninvited foreign objects passing through them....
I think that you need to look at the reason for the porosity. The metal must be quite thin and tank sealant would line the tank ....but provide little strength to the tank material.
Welding AFTER the rubberised stuff has been sloshed around may be an issue....as the metal heats up.....Id be tempted to find the porosity areas weld then use the internal slosh around the tank !
Of course this may be academic if you have moved ahead in the meantime.
That 20 year old repair on the Lancia fuel tank which was brazed by the radiator lot and is still fine .. before that on another Lancia I had;
.. tried to braze it myself full of water (it went pop as the water just concentrates the vapours at the top where ignites.. so lesson is do not have it full of water but hot pressure washer + well ventilated is the answer).
.. fibre glassed it .. which worked..
.. finally "Slosh" sealed it .. which was belt to the braces of the fibreglass.
Now I would just braze it .. the Slosh lasted on that car but steel/brass outlasts the plastic/rubber. It may require external metal plates if too porous. In these of throw it away days.. you would need to find someone who can braze but it would be way less than £400 and way longer lasting. Most seem to go for the quick solution not the best solution and slosh/liners etc are not a great long term solution.
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Thanks for all the advice, think my first port of call is to get the tank off and assess the damage, then decide if it's a refurb or replace jobbie.
Appreciate the help!