SirRobyn0
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2019
- Posts
- 6,741
- Reaction score
- 11,311
- Location
- In the woods in Western Washington
- First Name
- Rob
- Truck Year
- 1984
- Truck Model
- C20
- Engine Size
- 305
@Rusty Nail you might be interested in this story. So last week on Monday I smelled some gas just after filling up. My truck is a single drivers side tank, and has a dump bed kit so the fuel filler has been relocated to the front of the rear fender well. I have had fuel burp during fill up that ended up between the tank the skid shield, when I saw a little damp spot that same day on the shield I assumed that was the cause. The next day I realized I had a slow seep going on. Before today I never saw gas drip to the ground or evidence of a stain from gas hitting the ground, so it was so slow it was evaporating off before hitting the ground. Due to a work slow down I've signed up to drive my truck and trailer last week and next week helping farmers get their hay in, plus trying to keep an eye on the shop I run. Little free time, and lots of driving the old truck with little no time off. Yesterday was my last day with one farmer, and I start with the next on tuesday.
I've just been monitoring the gas seepage and hoping that it would hold together. First run yesterday I arrive at the field to be loaded, as soon as i opened the door on the truck i knew it had gotten worse. A quick look under it showed it was dripping. 15 miles from the nearest parts store. So while they loaded my truck and trailer I took the skid shield off my gas tank. Sure enough a pin hole near the front of the tank. I always carry jb weld with me. I know it'll patch a pin hole in a gas tank just fine but it's got to be dry. So I manage to find a roofing screw one of those ones with a rubber seal on it, and a bit of sand paper at the farm. I sand the area to at least remove the loose rust, and thread the roofing screw into the tank where it is seeping. Of course that is a pretty soft spot in the tank so it kind of more slides in rather than threading, but I'm able to get it in well enough to stop the dripping. Put a layer of JB weld over the screw and spread it out and inch or so from the screw. I let it dry and then put on another layer spreading it out further than the first layer. I didn't think to take a picture before I did the repair, but before I headed out after patching it and getting loaded I did snap a picture of my patch job.
The thing that gets me is this is a pretty rust free truck, but I think again possibly because of the dump kit there was a lot of build up of dirty and crap in between the skid shield and the tank. So this tank definitely rusted from the outside. I don't consider this to be a permanent repair, though it came out pretty well. I'll order a new tank during the week at work and replace it, but I think this will get me though the next week at least. I've long wanted to add a second tank and I think this would be the time to do it. I just need to decide if I want to add a second saddle tank or if I want the second tank to be rear mounted. In some ways it might be easier to add a second saddle tank, but as you all know the biggest saddle tank is 20 gallons, where as if I went rear I could install a 31 gallon tank, and have both the fillers on the drivers side of the truck. Being able to hold 51 gallons of fuel is pretty attractive too especially when I do a feed run and sometimes that's with my 18 foot trailer, which not only makes getting into and out of gas stations a bit harder, but also drops the mileage. The one single tank feels like it's not enough then.
I've just been monitoring the gas seepage and hoping that it would hold together. First run yesterday I arrive at the field to be loaded, as soon as i opened the door on the truck i knew it had gotten worse. A quick look under it showed it was dripping. 15 miles from the nearest parts store. So while they loaded my truck and trailer I took the skid shield off my gas tank. Sure enough a pin hole near the front of the tank. I always carry jb weld with me. I know it'll patch a pin hole in a gas tank just fine but it's got to be dry. So I manage to find a roofing screw one of those ones with a rubber seal on it, and a bit of sand paper at the farm. I sand the area to at least remove the loose rust, and thread the roofing screw into the tank where it is seeping. Of course that is a pretty soft spot in the tank so it kind of more slides in rather than threading, but I'm able to get it in well enough to stop the dripping. Put a layer of JB weld over the screw and spread it out and inch or so from the screw. I let it dry and then put on another layer spreading it out further than the first layer. I didn't think to take a picture before I did the repair, but before I headed out after patching it and getting loaded I did snap a picture of my patch job.
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The thing that gets me is this is a pretty rust free truck, but I think again possibly because of the dump kit there was a lot of build up of dirty and crap in between the skid shield and the tank. So this tank definitely rusted from the outside. I don't consider this to be a permanent repair, though it came out pretty well. I'll order a new tank during the week at work and replace it, but I think this will get me though the next week at least. I've long wanted to add a second tank and I think this would be the time to do it. I just need to decide if I want to add a second saddle tank or if I want the second tank to be rear mounted. In some ways it might be easier to add a second saddle tank, but as you all know the biggest saddle tank is 20 gallons, where as if I went rear I could install a 31 gallon tank, and have both the fillers on the drivers side of the truck. Being able to hold 51 gallons of fuel is pretty attractive too especially when I do a feed run and sometimes that's with my 18 foot trailer, which not only makes getting into and out of gas stations a bit harder, but also drops the mileage. The one single tank feels like it's not enough then.
