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Dented tank...ideas?

Alex E

Alex E

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bay Area, California
I have an 87 XJ with a dented tank from wheeling it on rocks. No major creases but they are long smooth dents from dragging it. I could get a pick n pull tank or order a new one for 140 but I was hoping to salvage this one if possible. I'll take pictures once I get the skid plate off. I just want to get some gallons back in the tank so my range doesn't suck so bad.

Any ideas?
 
You should double check the local pick and pull rules on gas tanks. The local guys in Houston won't sell a gas tank and in fact, they knock holes in them before putting them onto the lot. It might save you some time to check first.
 
I'll try that. Hopefully I can do it with out messing up the opening where the fuel pump goes.

I think a lot of pick n pulls around here ruin the tanks now that you mention it.
 
I've popped a lot of door dents using a Football (high speed trees are dangerous). Larger panel dents using an old inner tube. Maybe buy one of those big exercise balls and try that, a basketball may even be big enough.

If I was trying a gas tank I'd use the argon/C02 from my MIG to pump it up, just for safety. Air and gas fumes are dangerous.

It really doesn't take much pressure, surprising little actually, a tire will lift your XJ some with very little pressure in it.
 
You guys might laugh but I filled mine up to the top with gas, used a body shop pin welder to attach some pins, then pulled the tank back in shape. I finished off by snipping off the pins.
 
old_man said:
You guys might laugh but I filled mine up to the top with gas, used a body shop pin welder to attach some pins, then pulled the tank back in shape. I finished off by snipping off the pins.
Click to expand...

Old_man, you are one of the forum members that I respect the most and I have always followed the advice you give. Forgive me if I don't follow your lead on this one ;-):flame:
 
I was actually thinking of trying one of those stud guns that body shops use but seeing how I'm dealing with fuel I didn't want to end up on the evening news.

I have a skid plate now but these dents are from years ago. I'm sick of filing up my tank every 190 miles on a road trip.
 
How much fuel does it take to fill the tank now? Even with large dents in my old 95, I only lost like 2 gallons out of the 20gal tank and it never really bothered me on long trips or anything. And yes, i dented mine with a skid. Collapsed both of them in from abusive wheeling
 
I've only lost 2 or 3 gallons but that's an hours worth of highway driving. I guess it's no big deal but that's the difference from stopping once for gas on my way to LA or stopping twice. No biggie but it's annoying non the less.
 
It will be a total PITA for you, but we used to take dents out of steel motorcycle tanks by filling them with water and freezing them. Water expands when frozen...

Barring that, drop the tank and flush it VERY VERY well, and if you think you need to, purge with argon. It SHOULD be safe enough to use a stud weld dent puller.

HF has one for 100 bux.
 
that sure is alot of work just to put a beat up stock tank back in place.
Old_Man has the best "easy" fix. a few quick sparks to attach a few pulling pins is pretty safe, as long as you make sure the tank is full and not leaking anywhere, and the vent lines are in good shape. i helped a buddy do this once and the pucker-factor is pretty high even if you are confidant you are doing it right. we had a couple shop fans blowing under the rig too just to make sure no vapor was hiding up in the body.
aside from that easy fix, it's wasted effort to take it all apart just to re-install a marginal old tank. if you can at all afford it, just get the new tank.
 
old_man said:
You guys might laugh but I filled mine up to the top with gas, used a body shop pin welder to attach some pins, then pulled the tank back in shape. I finished off by snipping off the pins.
Click to expand...

I assume you are filling it with an inert gas?
40 years ago, as a mechanical helper, I used to solder leaks in mower tanks, using a red-hot iron. The tanks were well cleaned and then filled with a continuous flow of CO2 gas.
Now, I just look back and shake my head. Guess i will never have to do that with my XJs plastic tank, the skid protects it well enough.
 
lazyxj said:
I assume you are filling it with an inert gas?
40 years ago, as a mechanical helper, I used to solder leaks in mower tanks, using a red-hot iron. The tanks were well cleaned and then filled with a continuous flow of CO2 gas.
Now, I just look back and shake my head. Guess i will never have to do that with my XJs plastic tank, the skid protects it well enough.
Click to expand...

I am sure that he filled it with gasoline. Safest way. Gas is not flammable. Gas fumes are explosive. Be careful out there.
 
I removed the tank from the rig. sealed off all the vapor and pressure lines, and applied a small amount of compressed air to the tank. Just a small amount is all it took to get the tank to expand. My problem now is that the fuel pump pick-up is bent up and I still run out of fuel at about the same point, around 190 miles. :D
 
Think about it. If the tank is full, there will be very little air in the tank, and even then the vapor pressure will be high and above the ignition point. How do you think they run an electric pump in the tank.

The pin welder does not penetrate the skin of the tank, especially when the other side is cooled by gas. A pin welder also does not normally cause any arcing. It simply heats up the junction of the pin and the metal until the pin melts and bonds to the tank.
 
Well the broom sick was so so, my buddy has one of those HF stud guns but taking my skid plate off is a PITA. Not so much that it's hard but how it's tied in to my rear tire carrier and what not makes it hard. Plus it's got years of wheeling dirt and grime on the bolt threads in the unibody that I know not to touch it. Haha I guess I'll live with it...
 
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