I have a 2001 900 monster with a steel tank. It just recently started leaking real bad in the seams.
Does anybody know what kind of sealer I can poor in the tank to take care of this problem.
I know I will have to remove the tank take the pump and filter out. but what is the sealer called and where do I get some?
thanks
LYD
POR15
In the roughly 10 years I've been fixing Duc tanks, I've never seen one leak from a seam. I suppose there's a first time for everything.
They leak from the sender, cracked welds at the hinge, and rust perforations.
I'm thinking you either have a hinge or sender leak. Even if you don't have a hinge leak you should reinforce the hinge before coating because odds are it will leak there at some point.
I like POR-15 for steel tanks.
The sender, if leaking might need replacing or the o-ring could be bad.
The best way to tell is to clean the underside and test like an oil leak, with aerosol powder sprayed all over the area.
The source of the leak will be evident.
thanks [thumbsup]
One of my favourite meets is on tomorrow and lately my battery has been acting dodgy, so a few days ago I bought and installed a new battery, all is beautiful. Had to syphon out 5 litres of petrol into a container before I lifted the tank, good, need some fuel for my mower and brushcutter.
Today thought I'd do a preliminary spin around the 'burbs to make sure everything is OK for a 200 km round trip tomorrow. Monsta started superbly, on the way home filled the tank.
Chucked it into the shed and noted a petrol smell. Sure enough the Old Tank Hinge Leaking trick !! Saturday afternoon, no possibility of getting a radiator repair shop to do a brazing job. Booger, double booger. If I could only get my hands around the neck of the idiot who designed that tank hinge..............
Triple booger, full tank, full jerry can, need to drain 11 litres outa the tank.
Bought new bigger jerrycan ( which I'll never need again), drained tank, took it off, scratched paint off all around the stupid hinge plate and applied a great 2 pack sealer externally which I use for such repairs on all sorts of stuff ( water, diesel, petrol tanks, whatever ) on a rural property.
Knowing the sealer has no real strength I wanted to re-mount the tank without putting any strain on the damm hinge plate.
Cut a piece of wood to fit between the two tangs of the hinge, thick enough to extend past the tangs. Taped it into place. Got a piece of thin rope, tied it to the tankcatch and hung the tank from the shed rafters with the wood resting on the shocker hoop thingie, i.e. taking all the weight of the empty tank. Quadruple booger - the fuel injection hoses and the sender connection cannot be fitted unless the tank hinge is fitted with the pin, they're not long enough. With a bit of delicate rope work managed to put the pin in while taking the weight of the tank, connected everything and gingerly lowered the tank. Replaced the fuel, so far no leaks - yay.
Hopefully my description will be helpful for others who may need to do an urgent temporary repair.
J-B weld!!!
Did the 200 km run, came home with orange fuel light on, lifted the nearly empty tank gently, no fuel leaks, no cracks in the sealant, happy camper.
Next time it leaks I'll apply more sealer.
Your repair might work forever or not. A leak on the road would not be fun, even less so if a fire starts. I would have it brazed at my earliest convenience and treated with POR 15 at the same time. Then again, I am very conservative about these issues.
>>Then again, I am very conservative about these issues.
Same here, but it's an easy thing to check anytime if there's a petrol leak, and I feel that if I always lift the tank very carefully the repair will hold. The stuff I use sets fairly firm, not rock hard so it does have a bit of "give".
I bought the bike used and PO told me about the hinge leak. I rode it that way for a year, mainly because I didn't know better. I'd probably get it fixed sooner if I had to do it all over again. That said, I didn't spontaneously combust so...
My leak was minor and it discolored the frame at the "V" right below that part of the tank hinge. I took that to mean the drip was minute and evaporated before it could reach the ground---there were no other stains or discolorations below the "V" and it definitely wasn't leaving a stain on the pavement when parked. That would qualify as a very serious leak.
Oh, and I had some old guy in NH braze the hinge and POR15 the inside. It was beyond my skill set and he claimed he knew what he was doing. ;D