The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi,
Anybody got any tips for welding a plate on my diesel tank
Got some small pin holes, tried fibreglass but no joy, thinking now of welding a small plate over them, with a mig welder set very low

Any advice would be gratefully received

Thanks
Jim

Hi Jim, you could fill the pinholes with solder if there aren't too many, clean the area thoroughly and use a punch and very carefully tap the holes inwards to give a small dent to fill (stops the solder running away). If you have pinholes the chances are that the metal in the tank has gone very thin and you could end up in world of hurt with a mig welder, unless you cut all the thin metal out and butt weld a new plate in. Without cutting the old metal out it's hard to judge how thick it is and where it's strong enough to take a weld
John
https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/thr ... nk.103722/

I have an International 475 that had a leaky fuel tank. My son cut out the rusty parts and patched over the holes by mig welding thin steel sheet over the holes, it didn`t look too pretty but its a working tractor and didn`t matter. Then he treated the inside of the tank with Por 15, followed the instructions, and it made an exellent job but wasn`t cheap. The biggest hole was about 3"or 75mm square. When he chiselled some spilt sealer off his floor a day later it took some concrete with it - he was quite impressed.
If you go the sealer route remember to block the return pipe just inside the tank filler cap and put a bolt or plug in the fuel tap hole, on a used PM tank I bought someone forgot to do this and it and it caused all sorts of problems.Good Luck.

Before you try any repair do ensure the tank is absolutely clean and dry, as otherwise you'll find the leak is still there. Be careful with heat to avoid any fuel catching fire as that could be pretty unpleasant. I think someone on the forum successfully used the soap trick, but I don't think that will last very long.
Sandy

all depends on the place of the leak.
But for safety: drain all the fuel and fill the tank with water before welding.