Leaking Fuel Tank...Help!!

[pkat696]

To all:

I have a 97 m750 with a leaking fuel tank.  It is leaking at the hinge.  It seems to be leaking where the hinge is welded to the tank.  I took it to Del Amo Motorsports and they said that it's not repairable and that I need a new tank.  The bill for this would be $2,200.  YIKES!!  What to do?!?!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Peter

[BribieDuc]

Leaking hinges are a common Monster issue and are generally repairable. Look for threads on leaking fuel or gas tanks.  They brase them ( not weld) to get the tin/lead down into the crack.

[Speeddog]

Most likely it can be repaired. 

[Howie]

Our very own ducpainter    http://www.frostysfinishes.com   is your man

[pkat696]

Thanks so much for your responses.  I tried searching for leaking fuel tanks, but didn't find anything that would help me.

Thanks for the reference to Frosty as well, but is there anyone in Southern California that can do this work?

Thanks again,
Peter

[Norm]

You can weld it or braze it but it also will need to be POR-15 coated on the inside when you're done. Nate and I have both done this repair many times and is not only 100% successful, but you end up with a better tank than OEM. I would think you could find someone local to do it, but make sure they follow the proceedure set out by Nate. If they go slowly and use a wet cloth on the paint side of the tank, paint damage will be limited to the hinge area and a repaint won't be neccessary.

[scott_araujo]

Don't panic!  There's plenty of info out there.  Here's a nice thread from another board:
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=1553

Try 'ducati hinge leak' in google, it will get lots of results.

This is a not uncommon problem with Ducs.  The hinge can be stressed at the welds if the tank is lifted while full.  The spot welds crack and you've got a leak.  This can be complicated further by rust in the tank.  If you're tank is not too rusty it can probably be repaired.  The entire hinge needs to be brazed.  Brazing is like soldering but with higher temperatures.  A brass/tin/silver metal is flowed into the crevices of the hinge area with a torch at about 1200-1400 F.  Since the steel is not melting this is not welding.  The brazing reinforces the hinge so this won't happen again and so the existing cracks do not spread.  

If you're lucky that will seal the crack as well.  If not, you'll need to get a gas tank coating.  There are several out there, DucPainter recommends POR-15 for ease of use and best results.

Any radiator shop that does fuel tank repairs should be able to handle this, check the yellow pages.  You'll need to remove all the guts in the tank, either yourself or have a moto shop do it.  Make sure to tell the guy with the torch that you DO NOT plan on repainting the tank so that they don't ruin the existing paint with the heat from the torch.  If they're not confident they can do that, thank them and find another shop.  Also, ask them to pressure test the repaired tank.  If it holds pressure you're good, if not you need a coating.

I think I'm looking at the same problem myself and I've been researching like crazy on the net for the last few days.  I live in Portland OR and a friend here who recently had this done said it was about $100 with the braze and a moto shop to remove and re-install the tank guts.  The braze did not damage any visible paint.

There, not nearly as bad as you thought, huh?

Scott

Ducati - Making mechanics out of riders since 1946

[pkat696]

Thanks again for all of the help.  I have many more references to read up on now.

[redxblack]

and I was going to suggest a tube of mighty putty.

[headingtonb]

I am having the same problem, When I took it into the dealership they told me it was an old leak and they couldn't find it. After 15 minutes of cleaning and investigation I found the leak now I need to find a local shop who can do the brazing for me. Needless to say that the dealship in my area will not be looking at my monster again.....

[scott_araujo]

Reminds me of a story.  My friend had an old Camaro.  One day while driving around it caught fire, big blazing kind of fire sending smoke way up in the air.  He calls the fire dept and gives them his location.  They get really picky, his cross street isn't good enough or something.  He retorts with, "Look for the burning Camaro with flames and black smoke coming out of it."

Can't find the spot where the tank is leaking?  C'mon.  Everyone knows where the leak and, oh yeah, there will be a bunch of gasoline coming out.

Scott

[headingtonb]

I fully agree Scott, I even told them what I thought it was. Looks like the tech took a quick look at it and got my bike out of there(took long enough). This forum is always more helpful than the dealership. Speaking of that, has anyone had any problems with coating the inside of their tank??

[scott_araujo]

Lots of people have with lots of different products.  I think the critical parts are thorough cleaning beforehand and strictly adhering to the application instructions.  Ask Ducpainter, I think he prefers POR-15 and he repairs plenty of tanks.

That said, a tank coating alone probably won't solve your problem if you're leaking at the hinge.  Hinge leaks tend to spread.  Shop around until you find a radiator shop that will agree to braze the hinge without destroying all your paint.  I had to go to a few shops.  The first one was going to caustic dip my tank destroying all the paint and then soft solder the hinge.  Brazing is hard soldering and considerably stronger and I didn't need paint bill for the tank.  In the end it worked out fine and wasn't too expensive.  Another shop barely harmed any of the paint and the braze worked just fine.

The braze reinforces the joint so the crack won't spread and then hopefully seals it.  Have the shop pressure test it after the braze.  If it holds you don't need the coating.  If you coat first and then need to braze later, the heat is going to make a mess of you newly installed coating as it burns off.

Also, if you remove and re-install the tank innards yourself, grease the fuel pump before putting it back in it's clip.  SaltLick told me that and I'm sure it saved me an hour or two.

This can be an intimidating problem to deal with but getting it done right is worth the money and peace of mind.  Here's my trip through the process: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22804.0

Scott

[ducpainter]

Lots of people have with lots of different products.  I think the critical parts are thorough cleaning beforehand and strictly adhering to the application instructions.  Ask Ducpainter, I think he prefers POR-15 and he repairs plenty of tanks.

That said, a tank coating alone probably won't solve your problem if you're leaking at the hinge.  Hinge leaks tend to spread.  Shop around until you find a radiator shop that will agree to braze the hinge without destroying all your paint.  I had to go to a few shops.  The first one was going to caustic dip my tank destroying all the paint and then soft solder the hinge.  Brazing is hard soldering and considerably stronger and I didn't need paint bill for the tank.  In the end it worked out fine and wasn't too expensive.  Another shop barely harmed any of the paint and the braze worked just fine.

The braze reinforces the joint so the crack won't spread and then hopefully seals it.  Have the shop pressure test it after the braze.  If it holds you don't need the coating.  If you coat first and then need to braze later, the heat is going to make a mess of you newly installed coating as it burns off.

Also, if you remove and re-install the tank innards yourself, grease the fuel pump before putting it back in it's clip.  SaltLick told me that and I'm sure it saved me an hour or two.

This can be an intimidating problem to deal with but getting it done right is worth the money and peace of mind.  Here's my trip through the process: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22804.0

Scott

I have to disagree Scott.

The heat from brazing will cause the tank to rust very quickly.

IMO, a truly lasting repair always includes interior coating.

[scott_araujo]

Thanks for the clarification.

Scott