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Fuel tank sealant

Technical issues not related to a DLOC car marque, eg tyres, ethanol, other car makes, etc. and legal, political and insurance
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Alpine Daimler
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:17 pm
Location: A tad west of Hamburg on the Elbe River

Fuel tank sealant

Post by Alpine Daimler »

Hello everyone
Yesterday being crisp, dry, sunny and cold here in Munich I took the Daimler out for it's last run of what has been a very good season of Daimler motoring, also made a nice change to operate and enjoy the heating system overhauled two years ago...it was almost cosy!

I reluctantly bid the season farewell untill 2019 and raised the saloon on the car lift in our workshop and got stuck into the first of the winter projects, removal of fuel tank.

I have obseved for too long the rust inside the tank when refuelling and I believe has already caused fuel pump failure 3 years ago so it was time to act.

The tank was removed without drama in about 30 mins, I was amazed and very pleasantly surprised to discover no rust present in the floor/luggage compartment pan from below upon removing tank.
A sort of underbody treatment has been applied at sometime and has been very effective as with the rest of the underbody. I would be interested to know if that was applied during manufacture or subsequently by someone before me who did a very good job. I believe I have just removed the tank for it's first time, when installed on the production line they clamped the vent pipe between one of the mountings and tank, no wonder there was often a smell of fuel in the passenger cabin, should I bring it to their (Jaguar's) attention regarding guarantee or compensation?!

Sender unit was removed as was filter assy, latter was no longer performing its function as filter had partly detached itself from plug and pick up pipe was full of rust, amazed car actually ran.

The amout of rust inside tank is not as bad as I was expecting and not too much came out during flushing procedure.

I am very tempted to attempt repair of tank by relining with "POR 15" Fuel tank sealing kit, it got a good write up in Practical Classics a while back, have any of you experience with this or altenative product?

I shall be sand blasting the exterior of tank which has same underbody treatment previously desribed to assertain all round integrity or presense of near penetrative rust holes etc before proceeding or making a desision.

Having read on the old forum more that once of the quality of very expensive replacements which sometimes do not fit!!! I want to attempt a rescue of original tank by chemical relining unless you fellows have had an unsatisfactory experience with these kits and would counsel caution.

All the best and much success with you Daimler tinkering this winter!

Rob C.

A.N.Other
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by A.N.Other »

The POR15 is a good product. It usage is supported by videos on the web. The only thing is that it is time consuming and must be followed to the letter. It is also cheaper to buy the three part kit rather than the individual components.

I would strongly advise not to sandblast the exterior of the tank. It is too severe and you may finish up with a tank like a pepper pot. If you do want to sandblast it then do that before making a final decision on the inside. It may be that you have to get a new tank after seeing what is left.
Colin,
I may be slow but I’m rough as well !

classiclife
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by classiclife »

Hello Rob,

I can certainly approve of POR15 for sealing the fuel tank, in addition I also concur with Colin's observations / recommendations.

A couple of years ago I sealed both fuel tanks in my Sunbeam Alpine, the end product was well worth the effort.

On completion I did an article on the process for another classic car magazine. It is in odt. format, so cannot post on here but will see if John can provide access to the upload and if so the article may be of interest to you.

Regards.

Richard.
1968 Daimler V8-250 Saloon
DLOC East Sussex Branch Secretary
DLOC 2.5L V8 & V8-250 Registrar - https://www.dloc.org.uk/v8-250
DLOC 2024 International Rally - https://www.dloc.org.uk/rally-2024

classiclife
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by classiclife »

Hello Rob,

John has given odt. access, so here is the attached article I mentioned earlier.

Best wishes.

Richard.


John - many thanks for sorting my request. R.
Attachments
Sealing Fuel Tanks.odt
(29.85 KiB) Downloaded 163 times
1968 Daimler V8-250 Saloon
DLOC East Sussex Branch Secretary
DLOC 2.5L V8 & V8-250 Registrar - https://www.dloc.org.uk/v8-250
DLOC 2024 International Rally - https://www.dloc.org.uk/rally-2024

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Alpine Daimler
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:17 pm
Location: A tad west of Hamburg on the Elbe River

Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by Alpine Daimler »

Hello again.

Colin, thank you for your tips, you've left me wondering about an alternative method of removing the paint/underseal covering instead of sand blasting, any ideas? Chemical paint stripper, messy?

There is near me a sand/plastic/glass blasting specialist, amongst other things, where one can perform the blasting oneself for a reasonable hourly cost.

Its here although in german! : https://www.braeuer-sandstrahlerei.de/l ... erung.html

They recommend a more gentle plastic granule blasting for classic car parts, they come recommended.

Perhaps if I perform the job myself at their premises I can adjust the dosage and force to protect the tank?

Richard, many thanks for taking the trouble to arrange access to the piece you wrote, read it on the train to work today, this advice and Colin's convinces me its well worth an attempt to rescue the tank with POR-15 before splashing out on a new tank........and considerable international postage costs, but thats another story!

I attach some photos of the tank in question for your perusal!

Many thanks

Rob C.
Attachments
Tank sender location.jpg
Base of tank.jpg
Base of tank 3.jpg
Base of tank 2.jpg

classiclife
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by classiclife »

Hello Rob,

Thanks for the photographs.

I have seen many different fuel tanks in far worse condition !! Your situation seems straight forward.

Agree the plastic blasting will be far better and if doing it yourself you have full control - I reckon an hour should have the tank cleared of the old underseal which is what I think you are looking to achieve as a priority. The alternative is to brush it with petrol and scrape the underseal off - more time involved obviously but a gentler process again.

With regard to the areas not undersealed, I would rub that down with wire wool or a very light abrasive, certainly does not require blasting.

Having done that, you are probably in a situation that reflects my report for the final stages of proofing your tank, inside and out.

Hope that assists ??

Regards.

Richard.
1968 Daimler V8-250 Saloon
DLOC East Sussex Branch Secretary
DLOC 2.5L V8 & V8-250 Registrar - https://www.dloc.org.uk/v8-250
DLOC 2024 International Rally - https://www.dloc.org.uk/rally-2024

A.N.Other
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by A.N.Other »

It sounds like your blasting people are well experienced. Talk with them about the softer blasting mediums.
Colin,
I may be slow but I’m rough as well !

Petelang
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by Petelang »

The area to be most likely to be perforated would be the seam around the tank, especially the part facing the rear axle as this "ledge" can harbour Road deposits likely to allow long term corrosion. My tank had suffered in this area and was brazed after full de-gassing, by a tank repair specialist. It's been fine since.
Peter
Peter Langridge
Cloud Nine Classic Weddings, Nottingham.

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Alpine Daimler
Posts: 189
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:17 pm
Location: A tad west of Hamburg on the Elbe River

Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by Alpine Daimler »

An update.......

I hope you will allow me the indulgence to continue this post.

I think this is another carry out in the warm winter project with real reliability and financial benefits if the tank has not deteriorated too much.

I have performed the plastic granule blasting which took about 1 hour and seems to have worked really well and revealed some interesting and some quite dissapointing results. I don't feel too guilty about the use of plastic and the fact that it may well eventually end up in the oceans and a whale's stomach as most, if not all of it finally settled in my nose, ears and other parts of the anatomy as sand does after a sunny day spent at the beach.

As can be seen in the up to date pictures the top which was painted revealed "tolerable" rust, below, where undersealed is remarkably still recognisable as mild steel, the patch weld is ghastly and I do not not know how or why it got there. The welded seam struck by a stone/brick/lump of iron had not leaked nor had the horrible patch, the tank was free of leaks. The welded seam appears to have maintained it integrity over the last 51 years and 10 months.

I have decided to give the POR 15 treatment a go as its not too pricey when compared to a new tank and if it does not work the tank can be removed again and replaced without too much effort.

The outside of the tank will be treated, protected against further corrosion and sprayed with a modern type of flexible undersealer which also produces an attractive finish by an aquaintence who knows what he is doing.

I shall post further as I proceed, it may help someone some day!

Regards

Rob C.
Attachments
Tank cleaned 5.jpg
Tank cleaned 4.jpg
Tank cleaned 3.jpg
Tank cleaned 2.jpg

classiclife
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Re: Fuel tank sealant

Post by classiclife »

Hello Rob,

You have done a great job there, congratulations.

Yes the patch is rough and that's quite a ding, but if it is not leaking then I'd leave both well alone.

The POR15 will be an excellent addition to ensuring your fuel tank is further protected - do not forget you can apply it to the outside as well, but I note you have another option.

I look forward to seeing the finished project.

Best wishes.

Richard.
1968 Daimler V8-250 Saloon
DLOC East Sussex Branch Secretary
DLOC 2.5L V8 & V8-250 Registrar - https://www.dloc.org.uk/v8-250
DLOC 2024 International Rally - https://www.dloc.org.uk/rally-2024

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