Gas Tank Leaking

[SassyBikerChick]

So we found out last night that the top weld on my gas tank is leaking (it's right where the mounting bracket is welded on). It's not terrible, but it still needs to be fixed as I'm sure it will only get worse over time. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I'd rather not have to buy a new tank, one due to money, two due to the fact that my tank has a custom paint scheme to match my track plastics, ha! Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! We had a ride planned for this weekend, so I'm really hoping we can come up with a solution to fix it by then so I don't have to miss it, but at the very least we HAVE to have it ready by the end of May as we have a trip to Arkansas planned!

[Joe]

Do you want it fixed or a temporary bandaid? Fixed right you can count on getting a new paint job, depending on the talents of the person doing the welding.

Temp bandaid JB weld, but it'll make a proper fix that much more difficult, getting a new tank and into the paint shop asap, and a temp fix on the current tank would be the what i would do IF i could

[LaurenOE]

JB Weld on the inside?
I 'd say drain it and make sure there is no vapors/gas in there.
Then if JB Weld is gas-proof, maybe put a dab on the crack from the inside. I guess if you take all the stuff off the tank - petcock, gas cap - whatever, you might be able to see it. If that fails, maybe soldering the crack?
I've never done something like that, so take my advice with less than $.000002

[Joe]

2005 SUZUKI GSXR 1000 GAS TANK gsx r gsx-r : eBay Motors (item 250477202465 end time Apr-30-10 18:06:39 PDT)

[SassyBikerChick]

I'm not positive I'd have to get a new paint job. The leak is on the underneath side of the tank. I can't see a crack, but I can see the gas coming out. I'll try to get a picture of it tonight to show what/where I'm talking about. My husband was wondering if he might could just put some JB Weld on it, but I'd definitely rather have it fixed for long term rather than a quick fix. If I have to go the route of getting a new tank, I will, just trying to avoid it...partly b/c I'd have to find someone to match the paint colors and scheme since I'm not sure who originally painted it as it was done that way when I bought it. Or maybe this will be the kick in the butt I needed to save up some money and get a new paint scheme on my street and track plastics so everything on the bike will finally match even with the street plastics on ha!

[bumblebee]

If you want it fixed, you repaint

[SassyBikerChick]

I finally got to talk to a girl around here who does this sort of stuff. She told me I'm good to go with using the JB Weld to get me through the season (just to keep a close eye on it) and then she's going to braze the tank for me this winter and I'm going to go ahead and get her to repaint my track and street plastics so everything will match on my bike again (right now the tank and front fender matches the track plastics but not the street). I'm pumped about getting my bike painted! Now I just gotta nail down a paint scheme. I've got a few ideas, but making them come together is a whole diff story since I'm not very good in photoshop!

[Joe]

As thin as these tanks are I would be very leery about brazing, see if you can find someone who can tig weld it, much less heat = less chance of warping + it will also be stronger.

[SassyBikerChick]

The girl that's fixing mine has fixed quite a few tanks lately and said that due to the thinness it needs to be brazed instead of welded. I honestly don't know...I do know that she has fixed several tanks (a couple were her own) and they have held up fine. So I do trust her. I ride with her and she's the type that if she ends up totally screwing up my tank, she'll replace it.

[Joe]

your bike. I've been a welder for the majority of my adult life and I would beat anyone that got close to my bike with a torch.

best of luck with it