On the road again at 40.............the bike that is..........PART DEUX

After I flushed mine for rust treatment, there wasn't any issue with the tank blowing up when I had to braze it. I will say though that I was a bit worried...so I put it out in our yard and hid behind a wooden bench we have back there. With a broom handle, a coat hanger and a mini torch, I dangled the flame over the gas cap area and inside the tank...nothing happened of course, but I was glad to have taken the steps to verify that. I'm sure there's a better way to do that...but it worked for me. :)

I wish you had a video of that to post Brassneck........:D
 
If you've had acid in it and flushed with soap and water you should be OK. Smell it first. If you smell any gas stop. I know the shakes I got when I first put a torch to the tank helped the solder or brass whichever I was using flow better.
Big problem is the pinhole can be just the tip of the iceberg. Usually what I found on automotive tanks was that the surrounding metal around a pinhole was rotten. On those I would flow brass into a 6 inch or so circle around the pinhole. If it was a puncture then I would solder a patch over the hole.
 
If this a tank you you want a permanent repair on I would suggest as Jim said cut out the rotten metal and weld in new steel.
 
Ya, that also makes sense GLJ. I have to wonder about the integrity of the surrounding metal. Could only be a matter of time before more pinholes develop. Need to get some advice from some local pro's.
 
No gas smell now Bob, and I didn't stick my nose down there to smell the acid. :yikes:
Would have been tough with my respirator mask on anyways.....

I'll start by asking Terry eh? Dollars to donuts he knows someone after 40+ years around this industry.

Yup - I’d take it to Terry. I’m sure that Dixie likes your eye brows right where they are Robin....

Pete
 
I am not a fan of sealers, but your tank having a few pinholes is the one circumstance where I'd recommend a sealer.
Your nice original paint job will remain intact.
 
Thanks Dude. I may in fact go the sealer route but going to do some checking around and get some local pro's input.

This tank has to be stripped and repainted so if there is ever a good time to have this problem, I guess this is it.
 
Prolly gonna regret saying this..... but I've welded tanks by washing out with hot soapy water.... and then run a tube from my truck exhaust for 20min. Carbon monoxide is an inert gas after all.... Please don't try this at home. :yikes:

Had a tank neck shooting a pretty 2 foot flame with an accompanying howl that really scared the poop out of me using O/A while bumping dents. Tank had been "washed" clean. Nowadays it's lots of compressed air then an acetone rinse repeat the air, before torch heat applied. You need to dissolve the varnish, it holds gas. I'll opine that a pinholed tank is fit for wall art and nothing else. Got forbid you are ever in a crash but sure wouldn't want to add pouring gasoline from a compromised tank to the mix as you slide down the road. $100, $150 gets you an XS650 tank that aint rusted out.
 
I'll opine that a pinholed tank is fit for wall art and nothing else. Got forbid you are ever in a crash but sure wouldn't want to add pouring gasoline from a compromised tank to the mix as you slide down the road. $100, $150 gets you an XS650 tank that aint rusted out.

Well Gary, that's a valuable opinion, much appreciated.

Once again all you guys have been extremely helpful in providing all this info for me to consider and explore further. I'll do some digging around here and see what I find. I expect the cost to 'professionally' repair this tank would be in that neighborhood anyways.

Got a 78E tank in that shed of ill repute?
 
Hey Robin, with what did you dilute the acid with? Did you fill the entire tank up to the cap? I have some surface corrosion starting on the inside of mine and would like to do this. Dang, I should of drained it fully instead of filling before winter.
 
Well Gary, that's a valuable opinion, much appreciated.

Once again all you guys have been extremely helpful in providing all this info for me to consider and explore further. I'll do some digging around here and see what I find. I expect the cost to 'professionally' repair this tank would be in that neighborhood anyways.

Got a 78E tank in that shed of ill repute?
I have a '78 tank you may have. Don't know if its an E. I'll go out in the shed and check out its condition today.
 
I'll opine that a pinholed tank is fit for wall art and nothing else. Got forbid you are ever in a crash but..........
Agreed. I'd also opine that cutting the bad section out and welding in new metal is as good as buying a non-pinholed tank. Choice would come down to availability and cost of a good tank vs. cost of a "professional" welders repair.
 
Hey Robin, with what did you dilute the acid with?
Use it full strength. I did some pretty extensive rust removal testing ages ago and found that going below the 28% threshold really reduces the effectiveness.
Did you fill the entire tank up to the cap?
You just have to keep the rusted area wet... either by filling or frequent sloshing. When it's done it's job, pour it out (it's reusable) and rinse thoroughly with water. The metal will want to "flash rust" as the water dries. Best way to avoid that is to blast it dry with shop air.

As was previously said. It's nasty stuff. One wiff will have you choking. Wear a respirator.
 
Hey Robin, with what did you dilute the acid with?

Superjet, as Jim said, I used it full strength. EDIT: 31.45% strength.
Poured in a full 3.78l jug which was enough to cover all the rusted areas. As seen it worked amazingly well.
Washed out with water, blew out with compressed air, rinsed with alcohol, blew out again, coated with a liberal amount of WD40. In spite of doing all this very quickly with all the rain and therefore extreme dampness we've had for the last week it started to flash over rust quicker than I could get the WD40 in.

If this tank can be patched and salvaged, that doesn't really concern me as it is light surface flash rust that would be easily removed.

I have a '78 tank you may have.
Thanks Dude! That's very kind of you. Let's see how things go.

Agreed. I'd also opine that cutting the bad section out and welding in new metal is as good as buying a non-pinholed tank. Choice would come down to availability and cost of a good tank vs. cost of a "professional" welders repair.

Yup, gotta start with looking for a good repair option and cost.

Did that tank come with vacuum petcocks?

Yes it did Lakeview. Not a matching pair though, one had been replaced with a non XS (I believe) petcock. If they had both been original I would have rebuilt them using the info that Gary has posted here but since not I bought XS Direct non vacuum petcocks last year that I'll use.

As was previously said. It's nasty stuff. One wiff will have you choking. Wear a respirator.

YUP!
 
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it started to flash over rust quicker than I could get the WD40 in.
If you have the means.... rinsing it out with hot (and I mean HOT) water helps a lot. Gets the metal nice and hot so's the water evaporates quickly when you hit it with the shop air. I used to hook a garden hose to the hot water spigot at the washing machine...
 
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