Community Forums

BrewdogMN · 07-10-2017, 05:42 PM

I have a 2001 Mountainaire that we bought used about a year ago. 150 gallon diesel tank. The tank started leaking last Thursday and I dripped about a 2 quarts onto my driveway. I crawled under the coach Friday night only to discover that there was an epoxy patch on the tank already that was bulging and leaking. I drained the tank and pulled off the patch to find a 2" crack in the tank. I attempted to fix it with JB weld but that is already dripping after 140 miles. Here are my questions and I welcome all suggestions.
1. Has anyone else had this issue and how did you fix it.
2. Has anyone ever taken their tank out from under the motorhome. I would like to know if you can use the hydraulic jacks to lift the front end high enough to get the tank out.
3. Is an epoxy patch as good as pulling it out and welding a patch. Ie. would the weld weaken the whole tank.
Thanks in advance for any information.

Skip426 · 07-10-2017, 05:58 PM

Without , figuring out the cause of the crack , it's had to say if welding on a patch would be a good repair .
JMHO: I might be worth while to contact a mobile welding service to see if they would tackle repairing the tank in place.
I know that my tank has welded cross braces under it that would have to be cut out to remove the tank , and I'm pretty sure that the jacks wouldn't give the ground clearance required to remove it; and that would be scary to be under even with good jack stands to the frame.

NHRA225 · 07-10-2017, 06:19 PM

Removing a 150 Gal tank is a big job. But doable if the tank is empty.
Have someone experienced look at it first. Never heard of a crack or fractured Fuel tank before .

willipaul · 07-10-2017, 06:24 PM

my bet is that something was hit at some point and fractured it....

diesel is far less flammable than gas, but to weld on that tank, even empty, would not be something that a welder would want to do while the tank is in place.....

that is my guess.....

hillboy · 07-11-2017, 05:35 AM

I had the tank replaced on a 2001 Mountain aire. The brackets were cut and later welded back on. leak was caused by metal in the road.
My recollection is that the tank from Spartan was around $900 and labor was around $500. Work was done on using a lift. easy to get an estimate. My cost was paid by insurance but I would have spent the money if it wasn't.
Having the peace of mind provided by a new tank is worth it. leaking in the future could cost plenty.

1dutchstar · 07-11-2017, 12:58 PM

Not sure what chassis you have. But the FL dealer in my area can lift the Motorhome and drop the tank. He did mine 2001DSDP to clean the tank out. I looked into getting a fiberglass tank. The only think I wished I did while they had the tank out was to put a cockpit drain in.

BrewdogMN · 08-08-2017, 09:59 PM

Welllllll. Had the tank welded by a friend who builds large gas tanks. He put a patch on it and it supposedly is stronger than any other part of the tank. We jacked the front end up as high as it would go and he used a portable 110v wire feed and did the initial patch with the tank empty using CO2 in the tank itself. Filled and still had some dripping and welded with diesel in it. No problem. Still drip about 1 drop per hour. He will have to finish it this fall as we have trips and he fell and has some significant injuries. All in all not a bad job. $300. Way cheaper than $2,000 for a new one.

C.Martin · 08-09-2017, 07:10 AM

Wow...wish I still had some C-141 Starlifter Engineer friends. They used to carry a special epoxy stick designed to mix with Jet Fuel to repair leaks. They just rub it in the leak, it makes a goo and cures. Great patch until it can make it to a repair depot. Jet fuel and diesel aren't very different...

Anyway...I would probably try to patch it...and then schedule a repair at a facility like Freightliner Gaffney. They have lifts to pick the coach up safely, and drop the tank so it can be repaired.

BrewdogMN · 08-09-2017, 04:40 PM

I have a friend who may have that connection. Never occurred to me. Will check it out. Thanks.

Cminnie · 08-09-2017, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrewdogMN

I have a friend who may have that connection. Never occurred to me. Will check it out. Thanks.

I hope your friend comes through with a connection. If not, you may find what you need at the following link: EPOXY-TABSâ„¢ TYPE "O" | LA-CO

I purchased some of their products in the past from Grainger.

BrewdogMN · 08-10-2017, 11:28 AM

Since my current weld is pretty gnarly due to having to weld it face up on the ground, I think I am going to let it drip for the next month as I am not sure I can clean out other material if it gets into the weld cracks and that could prevent the next weld (to be done in Sept) from taking. I think I might just get some of the stuff to have on hand if a future problem develops. Funny thing is that I know several guys that just used a bar of soap to plug their holes and that was 2 years ago and still holding but theirs was a hole on the side and not a crack on the bottom and it is in their work trucks not a motorhome. Anyway, thanks for the information. BTW several other companies make epoxies for this issue and they can be found at NAPA. Tried one and the epoxy set faster than I could get it on the patch. I think it would likely work for a while also as that was on the gas tank when I bought the coach used last year. (unknowingly).

BrewdogMN · 08-10-2017, 11:37 AM

Cminnie, Just found the epoxy 2 miles down the road from me. Thanks. Good website for locating. This place basically said it was a permanent fix if on the side of the tank. Since the bottom flexes it is more difficult.