Tecumseh fuel tanks

[rugblaster]

I'm working on this Sears Drover I found and got the original motor overhauled and running well. The plastic fuel tank has cracks in the bottom where the screws go in. I have another H35 motor, but it is worse than the other one. Are there replacement tanks out there anywhere? Can these cracks be repaired? (doubtful) I have made a steel tank I'm using for the time being.

 

[owend]

If the cracks aren't too bad, meaning all the way thru. I have used some 2 part epoxy to fill in the cracks before and it has held up for several years now.

 

[markus]

I have welded them back together with a flat soldering tip on my butane soldering iron and pieces of donor material from another tank for fill. Melt small chunks of the donor pieces on the iron and then work it in. The one I did like that one bottom screw hole was craked and leaking under a pressure test, so I literally just filled that one in entirely and just used one bottom screw....Tank was in too nice of shape everywhere else to no try to fix it since nice replacements for the 1970's era tanks are hard to find and not paintable. The repair was hidden and also sitting solid on the lower bracket when it was all said and done. I pressure tested a few times while making the repair as well.

 

[Addicted 2 Minis]

If you have an electric soldering gun, I've used the smoothing tip like the one pictured below for plastic repairs, even looked like a weld when I was done. As Markus said, it helps to have some like material to use as your filler.

 

[rugblaster]

thanks for the repair suggestions....I do have 2 old Weller soldering guns, the good ones. There is nothing to lose I suppose. Both tanks have small cracks completely through the material. We used to have a repair compound that was a thick liquid, a powder that you mixed with the thick liquid and then a spray that would activate the first 2 parts. Can't recall the name of it. If anything could glue it, it would be that stuff.....I remember the kit of the stuff being stunningly expensive.

 

[DaddyJohn]

I'll third having success plastic weld repairing a fuel tank with a standard soldering gun.

 

[rugblaster]

I made this steel tank and clear coated it for a Steam Punk look while I'm waiting for something else to come along. I'm going to try the plastic welding shit, but I'll believe it when I do it. I hooked this steel tank on the frame with Adel clamps so I wouldn't dick the frame up in a substantive way.