Knight fuel tank leak

[raysr]

Hi My name is Ray I am 64 yrs old and have been rving for about 8 yrs now with my wife Sharon we love it. I was happy to find this forum it look like it could be a great help.

I have a fuel tank leak right at the drain plug on my 40' 2007 Monaco/Knight and was looking for direction on how to remove the tank to get repaired.

[bsirby]

Welcome to IRV2 Ray and Sharon! Glad you decided to join us and hope you enjoy the people on here as much as I do. It's amazing all the new friends Frank and I have met on this forum. Can't answer your question, but wanted to say Hello!

[SkiPat]

Welcome Ray & Sharon! I'm sure someone will have an answer to your question. Lots of people in here with tons of knowledge.

Pat

[sdennislee]

Hi Ray and Sharon. Welcome to the forum.

[observer]

Ray,
This is not an uncommon problem. I have a 2007 Endeavor and had the same problem. Some suggestions for repair are to find a welder that will reweld the drain plug area while the tank still has fuel. Diesel is not volatile like gas and the volume of diesel will stay cool while the weld is being done. My leak was more of a seepage and I was able to stop it with JB Quik Weld (an epoxy). If you go the epoxy route mix small batches and build up a seal around the weld area. Clean and degrease the area before each application.

[Bighammer]

I had the same problem on a '08. I knew a "good" welder and he rectified the problem with the fuel tank half full. The subject has been debated a few times on the forum. Some would not think of welding it with fuel in the tank and several have. My has held for a year or more since welding.

[bborc]

I had the same problem and tried the jb weld thing but it still leaked, I ended up taking the tank out and welding a plate over the bung area and re taping it for the new drain. I did the work my self really not that hard but it takes 3 or 4 guys to carry the tank. It is heavy.

[Radarman]

As has already been said, this is a common problem, and not easy to fix. Leaks usualy are in the drain plug area, or where the tank is supported by 2 cross-members with only a thin strip of rubber between the metal tank and support. There are other threads here that address this also. I had 75 gal. of diesel in my tank while trying to repair a leak---not fun. Here is what helped me: Grind or sandpaper the area to smooth it as much as possible. Use a 1 Minute Epoxy to slow down-stop the leak until you can apply a more permanent epoxy mix later. I used the Plastic Steel Epoxy mix and JB Weld for the more permanent layers after the 1 Minute epoxy set up. Just keep grinding-sanding the area between applications of epoxy--the heat from the grinding/sanding helps "Fuse" the epoxy better and slow the leak. All epoxys were bought from NAPA.

[e8seabee]

We had a leak in the lower edge joint on the driver's side last year. Put a temp patch on til we got back home to Duluth, MN. I called Hanson's welding in Esko, MN. They had me put half a tank of fuel in it and then they welded it. It took half an hour total from in the door to out the door. Cost was less than $40 and no one had to wrestle that tank anywhere. Makes me wonder why I didn't check that out while we were snowbirding 9,000 miles sooner.

Good luck with your repair.

[gregk]

Here is my story. Discovered my leak after returning from a trip. Unfortunatly had just filled the tank for storage - 95 gal. Also leaked from the weld at the plug. Understand that this was a common problem for a few years. JB weld did not hold. I wanted a long term fix that I would not have to worry about everytime I went out on a trip.

Removing and repairing yourself is not doable unless you have plenty of help and time as the tank is heavy and you will have to have the capability pump out and recover the fuel.

I talked to a few welders but was not willing to risk welding. Did not want to test my luck.

Replacing with a new tank at Cummins would have been $3200. Remove, clean, weld, & pressure test was $2200. Ouch! They were able to recover my $350 worth of fuel and it was ran through filter when pumped back into the tank. I chose the repait route.

Good Luck