Little hole in oil tank - what to do

[Eddyvdw]

Today I removed and cleaned the oil tank of my 72.
I found this little hole right next to the fuller opening.
Thinking about fixing it with some exhaust paste.
What do you guys think, is this a smart idea?

Ed

[john walker's workshop]

clean the tank inside. cut out the bad section and weld in a new piece of metal. clean and flush the inside. or, have a radiator shop lay a piece of metal over the lace and solder it in. then clean the inside. that's steel by the way, not copper.

[Mitch Leland]

Ed,

A big NO on the exhaust paste... Do what John says. You've already done the hard part, removing the tank, don't chintz it up now. If you wanted you could take some JB weld and go around the patch and grind/sand it off to blend it into the tank, use some rust proof primer, check to be sure that your primer and paints can handle the temps.

[Eddyvdw]

Thanks.

Why is it so important to clean the tank on the inside and what do you recommend to use?

I want to repair the hole myself (live as expat in he Czech republic, finding a radiator shop is a challenge...). Using JB weld is a good alternative for a hole this size?

Ed

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Eddyvdw

Thanks.

Why is it so important to clean the tank on the inside and what do you recommend to use?

I want to repair the hole myself (live as expat in he Czech republic, finding a radiator shop is a challenge...). Using JB weld is a good alternative for a hole this size?

Ed

Use "Marine Clean" from POR to clean the inside... (or something similar)

You could try patching with JB weld because of were it is but lets face it that's a temp fix at best.
Do you know someone with a MIG welder? Patch over the "laced" area then clean the inside with "Marine Clean".

[Mitch Leland]

Ed,

You might take a piece of sheet metal and use a stainless steel pop rivets to attach the sheet metal to the inside of the tank. Then use the JB Weld to fill in the holes. All of this is after you have thoroughly cleaned the inside and outside of the tank for good bonding.

What I would worry about is that some of the JB Weld could fall into the tank and get into your oil system possibly blocking some of the oil passages. With the sheet metal plate now you'll have some backing tos support the patch. It's not the best, but maybe under your circumstances it's better than just putting the JB Weld directly on the tank.

[Sunroof]

I had an issue with my 73.5T oil tank (leak was coming from a crack at the support flange). As with my gas tank I took the tank to the radiator shop where they cleaned it in a vat of light caustic solution. They welded the crack and I coated the tank with POR 15............perfect.

I highly recommend that you take it to the radiator shop and let them make the repair as John recommended. The repair will not be expensive and you know that they will do it right.

Bob

[304065]

Mail the tank to Pacific Oil Cooler Pacific Oil Cooler Service, Inc. - Home. Even if it costs you money for freight it is better to have the tank repaired correctly, ultrasonically cleaned and painted. If it were an older tank I'd say just buy a good one, but 72, 73 tanks are so rare it's worth doing right.

Remember if you do it wrong, you'll stroke out the engine. And THAT is hard to fix . . .

Good luck!

[docrodg]

Weld it. Find a good welder there and have them put in a patch. There should be a welder around somewhere that can handle this. Need not be a radiator shop, but it must be done well. Try asking around anywhere tanks of some kind are repaired - all those guys can weld it leak free.

[RWebb]

no no no - do not patch with JB weld or anything else that MIGHT EVER break loose and fall into the oil, where it could go thru the motor

[rgrimm]

I had a local radiator shop take care of a small leak on my 68...years ago and still going strong.

[carrera turbo]

It is amazing to me on how many threads there are that people think jb weld is a good repair for so many things along the lines of the oil system. there is another thread with a golf ball size hole in the bottom of a case and jb weld is recommended there as well.

listen to the ones that recommend cutting and welding.


cheers ed

[Eddyvdw]

Decided to solder a small copper plate over the little hole. Worked out fine!

First cut the copper plate. Heated it red hot and cooled it with water. Made it easy to mold it exactly to the shape of the tank. Took some tin. Melted on both sides. Put the plate on the tank. Heated the plate so the tin melted. Left it to cool down.

Ed

[Mitch Leland]

Ed,

Here's a reminder about Galvanic action between dissimilar metals. It's probably not going to play a big part in the life of your tank since it's seen better days anyway. Here's some info on Galvanic
action: Understanding How Metals Corrode Can Help Build Better Structures