I have a very small hole in the '62 Galaxie gas tank. The tank is good otherwise. It just so happened that my wife gave me Mighty Putty for Christmas. I guess you can see where I'm going with this. I can get behind the hole as well as from the outside so it looks like an easy fix. The physical properties statement says it is chemically resistant to: hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols, esters, halocarbons (halo to you too), etc. Or am I a freakin' idiot for even THINKING this repair?
JMO, but if it were mine, I'd want to know more about what caused the leak in the first...
December 28 2008, 8:41 PM
...place. Is it a rust hole? Was it hit be something? Etc. If it is rust, you may have a bigger problem than what is initial showing up. If the leak is not from getting hit by some external object, I would personally pull the tank out of the car and have a closer look at the inside. They are easy enough to pull, as long as they are drained of any fuel lol.
1954 Ford Customline 2-dr. sedan 390 4-speed
1955 Ford Fairlane Victoria 2-dr. hdtp, 292
1962 Ford Galaxie 500, 4-dr. sedan, 292
1968 Ford LTD 2-dr hdtp, 390 auto. (rough but driveable)
1970 F-100 360 auto (owned since 1985)
if it doesn't work you still have to replace tank , might as well try it ...lol.... so your wife got you this huh ?? .... she obvious knows you better than us ...lol
I used a gas tank repair kit in my old truck. It lasted about 4 years. It started to leak and I used it again the second application lasted a few more years. The last time it leake I tried to repair it and the hole was huge I got a new tank
I took a gas tank to a radiator shop a few years ago to get it cleaned (boiled out). When i got it home, i looked it over, put in one of those "sealer kits", put it back in the car, put a few gallons of gas in it and then watched all the gas drain out on the driveway. I got it back out, stood it up with the bottom facing the sun and looked down the filler to see maybe a hundred very small holes. I took it back, they cleaned it out again and soldered up all the holes and then it was ok. The process of cleaning it out opened up all those holes. You would be surprized. Same thing with body sheet metal, i lightly sand blasted lower quarters and rockers on that same car. They looked ok till they were clean but they were full of very small holes not seen before.
If I were going to try MightyPutty I think I'd be sure to use it on both sides
December 29 2008, 8:29 AM
of the whole you nailed through the tank. On the other hand you have to think of the potential risk of that leaking in a closed garage (of course Murphy's law will kick in and it will be a full tank and while your away for a few days)
Then an oil burning furnace, gas hot water heate,HVAC kicks in or even a light switch is clicked and it blows the whole area to Hell in a HotRod. I'd almost imagine the 60-70s OEM car clocks are not explosion proof...........
I would use it under the head of a sheet metal screw. If there is not enough metal to grab the threads, I would get another tank. 20 gallons of gasoline is a bit much to take a chance with.
