Gas Tank Hole...WHAT is the FIX?

Just as I missed the part where the OP said anything about HOW the hole got there. For all we know it could very well have been a thief.

 

take a torch and melt the plastic around it till the hole is filled








DON"T ACTUALLY DO IT!!!!


call a junk yard bud <== do this one

 

How else would one get a perfect 1/4" hole in a gas tank?

 

Or an alien, hell, as long as we're guessing, let's make it fun.

 

Not sure, but I didn't jump to conclusions.

 

It doesn't say how it got there I didn't suggest fraud that mite be how it got the. But u would just run out and spend the $920 cause what's a quart of oil to a sheik like u. I'm just tryin to help the guy.

 

Alien anal probe?

 

This seems like a pretty extreme position to take.

A "perfect quarter inch hole" is pretty clearly not a mechanical failure, and comprehensive insurance is there to protect you from weird shit that happens to your truck when you're not driving it.

Ocam's razor says somebody stole the gas or vandalized the truck.

Looks like a fully legit insurance claim to me, not even a bit shady.

Would you call filing a claim on a broken window fraud, since you didn't actually see someone break it with a bat?

 

Well lets say it happened while driving you are still able to make an Insurance claim ur just gunna pay the higher deductable. And it sounds to be tampered because remember the is nothing perfectly round or straight in nature. So unless some kind of man made product flew up and hit the tank perfectly square pieced it and fell back out i'm not sure vandlism is really out of the ?.

 

I agree that it is odd that there is a perfect 1/4 inch hole in the tank but at the same time, if I were going to drill into a tank to steel the Gasoline, Id use a bigger bit... 1/4 in hole would take a long time to drain 20 ish gallons through.
OP, care to chime in with how the hole got there? Or how you think it got there?

 

That dirty gas-hole........

 

You sure jumped to the conclusion he was suggesting insurance fraud.


I suggest we wait to see what the OP says before anyone gets pissy over what may or may not have happened.





BTW, from their site:

WATERWELD will plug or seal practically anything that leaks. It will patch holes and cracks, and mend almost anything that is broken. It is excellent for rebuilding or fabricating parts, and as an all-purpose adhesive for metals, wood, fiberglass, masonry, ceramics, PVC and ABS. Permanently repair holes, gouges, cuts ... even seals rot in fiberglass and wood. Cures under water. Safe for use on lines carrying potable water. We should really call this amazing product "The Miracle Welder," because you can use it to plug holes and make permanent repairs under water and in gas tanks -- while they're still leaking. No exaggeration -- this is the best epoxy putty you can use.

I carry a tube of this stuff and normal JBWeld in my toolbox in the truck for trail repairs.

That being said I'd still explore my options with a used tank. Probably cheaper than insurance, and better than patching.

 

You can get your plastic tank welded. A plastic welder does not use flame just heat. I have done it before when I worked at a radiator shop. fixed plastic gas tanks, diesel tanks, plastic radiator tanks and metal tanks also, I silver soldered the metal tanks, all that I did to prep them was rinse them out with water real well I never had one blow up or catch on fire, when I finished I would rinse them out with gas to get the water out, never had anyone come back bitching about water in there gas. anyway try a radiator shop they will more than likely have a plastic welder cause almost all automotive radiators have plastic tanks on them. good luck Oh yeah dont waste your money on jb weld or any of that gas tank repair epoxy it will not work, gas eats everything sooner or later it will be leaking again.

 

I want to get this, just to keep in the truck for wheeling / if something weird happens.. sounds like it would be really helpful.

Now for the hole.. I have a short story kinda..

We had a power outage and my neighbor had just bought a new generator. Due to Murphy's law, he had no gas cans in his house to fuel his generator and the gas stations were clogged with people. He decided he'd get his syphon ( that he uses to remove gas from his dirt bike engine when he's not riding ) and stick it in his new f150's gas tank to steal some gas from his truck. He goes to look at the fuel nozzle on the truck and realizes it's essentially impossible to syphon the gas. He then called Ford and explained his problem, their response was that there is no where to remove gas from the trucks tank without drilling a whole in the gas tank. So.. he looked around on the internet just to make sure this was valid, that you couldn't remove gas any other way, and he found many posts about people that had had their gas stolen by people who drilled holes in their gas tank. I imagine the their used a 1/4" bit because he was too stupid to know larger bits existed than what came with his drill.

Gas tanks are extremely engineered devices, go read about them. I'm not sure if the Tacomas up there, but I've heard of gas tanks on european cars that are completely over engineered. They have special tops that drop with the gas level so that the gas isn't sloshing around like crazy while you're driving. Even ones that transfer the gas from side to side to aid the cars momentum (this was on some sort of competition / race car.) I would not recommend Jerry Rigging a fix for your problem.

 

Sounds like a real winner!

 

I used JB weld on my old civic and never had any issues for 2+ years then I sold it.

 

Drill the hole to a 1/4 pipe tap size tap it buy a plastic plug put some instant glue on it screw it in call it good nothing gasoline or other wise will bother the instant glue.

 

Hi all,

SUPER thanks for all the feedback. Check back on the original post. I added the entire story about the gas tank & PICS. Why, how, what about the hole. Sorry I didn't anticipate all the insurance debate. I was just trying to keep my question uncluttered.

Thanks again,

Tom

 

Looks like you didnt follow the directions on the first patch attempt. Tank looks dirty as hell and it isnt even scuffed up.
I fixed a tank on a back back blower with that stuff. The tank around it eventually broke years later.

 

File the insurance claim and get full-boat replacement cost for the stock Toyota tank. Then buy this:

http://www.thelongranger.com.au/hiluxlongrangefueltank.html

And tell us all how you like it!

Kidding. Sort of. Good luck...

Pat in Menifee, CA
http://www.patcarnathan.com