Community Forums

rockintom · 08-02-2018, 10:07 PM

Don't let them deny it just for the yellow cement.....they did for sure use it at PI on assembly. Have them verify it thru Ralph or Curtis at the Service Center. They need to find something better than that.... just sayin'

rarebear.nm · 08-03-2018, 12:33 AM

For the repair: grind all old glue off the area, use abs glue and repair cloth if curved, or sheet if flat. To drop the tank cut the drain inlet and vent pipe mid. Section of a straight length, use rubber sewer slip connectors with steel bands to rejoin sections, use little silicone spray in the joint makes it easier. The black and grey tanks share a common steel length wise angle iron. One tank edge lays on the top of the other. Thus you may have to at least loosen both tanks. I used a siscors jack and long wide board for support to lift the tanks back in place. The outside edges slip in to space above a steel from member. That long center center brace is screwed at both ends. Add at least four long straps per tank and four or more cross straps. Leave about two fingers worth of gap between tank and strap. The tank needs some room to expand. I added two addition straps under the belly when all done.

Don’t rush the job it will take time. You might want to replace the gate valve assembly while it’s open. Got to unbolt that joint any how to drop it. Maybe you can repair it in place then all’s much simpler.

Hardface · 08-03-2018, 09:59 PM

Thanks for the detailed process rarebear I’m on it tomorrow. I don’t think the hassle of gs is worth the effort, I will fix it myself and save the misery.
Hardface even more

rarebear.nm · 08-03-2018, 10:15 PM

Let us know how it goes for you.

padutchmnm · 08-12-2018, 09:34 PM

don't know if it's available in your area, but there is technology out there called "plastic welding" and it's portable too. they can come to you. you might need to research it through industrial repair services. I recently had a plastic hydraulic tank from a tractor that was cracked around an outlet nipple repaired and strengthened with overlays. worked great and was 1/10th the price of a new one....

Hardface · 09-03-2018, 04:40 PM

Turns out all the yellow glue was an attempt to cover up a repair job the previous owner must of had done. Took the tank to a reputable repair shop that I have dealt with for over twenty years and they plastic welded the tank after grinding off all the garbage. I also modified the channel iron that supports the two tanks, down the middle with three 1/4 studs welded to the channel iron.
These were used to bolt down a clamp plate that will hold three inch webbing straps to run cross-ways under the tank for added support. Straps were from an old ratchet strap that I never use. The idea is to maintain the shape of the tank and not let it flex especially near the repair area which was on the bottom near the outlet. I know many will disagree here but I am taking the advice of someone who has repaired 100's of tanks. I also modified the bracket that holds the channel iron because in a attempt to offset the holes in the bracket to keep the wood from splitting they actually missed the wood altogether because of a bad spot in the wood. The pictures aren't great but hope you can see the mods.

Hardface · 09-03-2018, 04:50 PM

I guess the pictures aren't uploading, I guess if I ever get it figured out I will re-post them

rockintom · 09-03-2018, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the update. I see no pix. I think I have an idea of what ya did. I do hope it works out for ya. I'm not being critical on your repair, but when you don't let the tanks flex some you lose a lot of volume. I know I did it and then went back and allowed for "some flex". As I said in previously, the issue in my opinion is both the mounting and a weak-ass tank design. Again, travel with little as possible in both the black and grey and you should be OK. It's too bad they didn't use flat bottom tanks and a flat floor under the tank. Sure would have been more robust.

On the pix...go to Advanced and scroll down to manage attachments. It's self explanatory from there. Don't use anything bigger than a 1060 X 760 size. You put in one pic at a time.

Hardface · 09-03-2018, 06:33 PM

First pic is of repair job, yes they put abs glue on it to protect the repair
2nd the studs I added for the strap
3rd shows how the bolt holes were just offset enough to not hold securely
4th Bracket I cut off and made longer to avoid the bad spot in the 2 x 2
5th Strap clamp I believe this will flex but limit the flexing
6th Straps have a little slack

Max1 · 09-04-2018, 05:12 PM

Any suggestions how one finds where to put straps on outside of belly blanket for black and gray even just positively locate tanks without dropping blanket?