TO-20 gas tank and repair questions?

[Mad Farmer]

Making slow progress on my Ferguson, I get one thing fixed then find another repair that needs fixing...

Latest one is had to replace manifold which required removing the gas tank. Tank started to leak after reinstalled.

Overall tank is in good shape and rust free inside and out except for a few spots exterior where paint had been scuffed. And it has a dent.

First question is inside the tank there seems to be some sort of baffle which is loose to move around. Was the baffle's purpose to deal with sloshing fuel? And is it loose due to damage?

The tank has a large dent in the bottom, in the area covering the valve cover. It seems to have been caused by someone pounding the bottom from the inside through the filler? How it happened or why I have no clue.

The leaks are tiny cracks on a portion of the dented area. I've cleaned these up and the metal is very sound, inside and out. Pictures are included.

Current plan is to make sure drained tank is free of fumes, flush it with an argon tank, and braze the cracks. I have gas welding equipment and I'm good at brazing thin sheet metal, have brazed on entire auto quarter panels seamlessly. I have no electric welders. Any thoughts on this?

This may just be a quick fix to get things up and running before the snow flies, paint over the repair. Other thoughts are to paint the whole tank while it is out and adjust the valves. Tractor lives outside so weather will determine the latter.

Pictures. Note cracks are pictured looking from different side of the tank from dent pictures. The cracks are over the valve cover area behind the center of the exhaust manifold.

Any ideas how/why dent got there? Tank is bulged outward from the inside, not dented from the outside.

 

[Tom H.]

I would invest in a new tank, less headaches, just a little lighter wallet. The tanks available on the parts site are good. Ive purchased two
from here.



Tom.

 

[Duner Wi]

My TO20 tank the baffle is spot welded and sloshing caused spot weld to break thru to the exterior.
I removed the fumes and brazed mine which has worked for quite a few years now. Your dent I can't figure out.

 

[olddavid]

(quoted from post at 19:07:38 12/03/23) I would invest in a new tank, less headaches, just a little lighter wallet. The tanks available on the parts site are good. Ive purchased two
from here.Tom.

I got a new tank for my TE-20 from YT and it is good. Just be aware that often the tanks are for different models as well. The outlet was a few inches farther back than the original. No real problem, I just got a steel brake line from NAPA and slipped a longer line in between the sediment bowl and an inline filter. It was also a bit taller than the original tank. The hood hit the gas cap. I put some spacers in the hood assembly to get more clearance. It still hits but closes all the way.

 

[Mad Farmer]

(quoted from post at 19:07:38 12/03/23) I would invest in a new tank, less headaches, just a little lighter wallet. The tanks available on the parts site are good. Ive purchased two
from here.

Tom.

Plan is to fix this tank. I need tractor running asap to move snow and haul firewood.I have gas in my tanks and fluxed brazing rod so cost will be some paint and my time. I think I'd be into ~$300 for a tank depending on shipping.

I just don't want it to turn into an IED (boom!) welding it.........still wondering what to do with the loose baffle inside?

 

[olddavid]

Could an inside coating job be the answer? Or, the outside tank repair kits for automobile gas tanks? Just a thought.

 

[Mad Farmer]

The inside of the tank is really clean no need to coat it. Coating inside also prevents any welding as a future repair.

I did think of JB weld or similar for a quick fix/patch on outside.

 

[olddavid]

(quoted from post at 08:12:37 12/04/23)
The inside of the tank is really clean no need to coat it. Coating inside also prevents any welding as a future repair.

I did think of JB weld or similar for a quick fix/patch on outside.

Thanks for the info on the inside coat. The coat I have is also advertised to seal pin hole leaks. Maybe not a solution in this case. I have heard of JB weld repair but I think the auto repair kits are better. They have a fiberglass mesh to better hold it. I used one once with good success on a '73 Chrysler.

 

[Mad Farmer]

(quoted from post at 08:56:04 12/04/23)

(quoted from post at 08:12:37 12/04/23)
The inside of the tank is really clean no need to coat it. Coating inside also prevents any welding as a future repair.

I did think of JB weld or similar for a quick fix/patch on outside.

Thanks for the info on the inside coat. The coat I have is also advertised to seal pin hole leaks. Maybe not a solution in this case. I have heard of JB weld repair but I think the auto repair kits are better. They have a fiberglass mesh to better hold it. I used one once with good success on a '73 Chrysler.

I patched a 69 Dodge Dart tank that was leaking on the bottom underneath the mounting strap. I got the strap off and sanded the bad spot clean then used regular autobody fiberglass and epoxy resin. It held until the car went to the scrapyard years later.

I got the outside of the tank cleaned up today it looks a lot nicer. I'll post more pictures as I get more work done on it. I can't get a decent picture of the inside with my camera or dumb phone, but it's all clean metal the best I can see inside.

 

[wjajr]

My TO-30 tank's tank's baffle was busted loose and sliding around around. I manhandled the tank shaking and rotating it until the baffle ended in the correct upright position against the far end of the tank. I gave the tank a few genital drops like one does to set an ax handle tight, and it has stayed put.

I purchased a new tank a few years ago, and will install it when I get around to an engine rebuild, and full tractor repaint.

 

[Mad Farmer]

(quoted from post at 11:25:16 12/05/23) My TO-30 tank's tank's baffle was busted loose and sliding around around. I manhandled the tank shaking and rotating it until the baffle ended in the correct upright position against the far end of the tank. I gave the tank a few genital drops like one does to set an ax handle tight, and it has stayed put.

I purchased a new tank a few years ago, and will install it when I get around to an engine rebuild, and full tractor repaint.

Maybe that is what a prior owner attempted to with the tank on mine?

I've a few more ides on cleaning the tank inside/any varnish before brazing. Give it a good spray inside with brake cleaner, blow dry, then run an old vacuum cleaner outlet into the tank to get rid of residual.

I'll still try to track down some argon for when I'm brazing.

 

[Duner Wi]

I'll still try to track down some argon for when I'm brazing.[/quote]
Take a look at Corivan or Airgone as used in wine and food industry for small quantity.

 

[Bruce(OR)]

welding gas tanks is not a problem when filled with water.
Tank expanding outward might be from expanding fuel and a non vented gas cap.
Wanna see it shrink? Put about four cups of water in the tank, place it over an open flame until the water is
boiling hard, install the cap and remove from the heat.
It should collapse to about 20% of it's size. Maybe less.

 

[Mad Farmer]

My gas cap sits kind of loose and it's not vented. I found this out a couple time when the tractor stalled out and carb was empty? Cap is loose but seems to sit flat and make a seal sometimes and inside make a vacuum. Happened to me yesterday when I was putting on tire chains. When I pulled off the sediment bowl you could hear air gurgling up into the tank. I need to fix that.

I got the tank cracks brazed and didn't blow up. Was too busy to get any pictures.

After the tank was drained and sediment bowl removed I let it set a couple days then rinsed the inside with brake cleaner. Didn't seem to have any varnish as the drained cleaner was still clear. After that cleaner drained dry I ran a shop-vac outlet inside the tank for ~1/2 hour. There was no residual smell of gas/solvents at all.

I prepped/cleaned the area of the cracks and again used the shop-vac when brazing it. Didn't get fancy painting it, just the brazed area and took a wire wheel to any areas with bad paint or surface rust.

Used some already 1/2 empty rustoleum rusty metal primer and enamel rattle cans to spot paint the tank. Was lucky it got up into the 50s oF Saturday so paint dried. Tank looks like a lepoard as just wanted it painted and not worried about colors. Will paint it proper when I get to adjusting the vales next spring and have the tank off again.

This worked for me, but do so as above at your own risk. Don't blow yourself up!

Yesterday I got the tank back on, then put on the tire chains and back blade just before the heavy rain hit here. We had potential for heavy snow changeover so needed to be ready. We only ended up with a few inches so no need to scrape the driveway, going to spend afternoon deer hunting instead.

Ran into a small problem putting on the tire chains, they seemed a bit too short? I've used the chains on my 9N that has the same size tires, 12.4 X 28 so that was a surprise? Had to do a quick run to the hardware store to get some 5/16 chain links and connectors. I just got the chains and blade on, the tractor parked and covered when the steady rain arrived, was a little wet by then.....

One other thing I found out. I need to use reading glasses for the old eyes now. It's hard to see what you are brazing well with the welding goggles on. Been a while since I used the torches except heating/cutting.

I'm wondering if I can fit a frensel lens to the goggles? The credit card size ones might fit.

This post was edited by Mad Farmer on 12/11/2023 at 08:07 am.