Achto 31,589 #1 Posted 13 hours ago (edited) At the end of summer last year my D-160 started weeping fuel like a SR-22 Black Bird sitting on the tarmac waiting for take off. Today I decided to pull the tank & see what was going on. After a good wire brushing things did not look good. Figured that I would try silver soldering the holes & low spots up. Took some time, don't look real pretty but at this point I believed that I had it sealed up. Here is a trick to check your work if you do some thing like this. Make a paste out of water & baking soda. Brush it over your work and allow it to dry. Once it is dry put some gas in the tank and allow it to sit. If you have a leak the past will show exactly where it is. It will turn yellowish where ever the gas seeps through.. My paste stayed nice & white except for 2 little spots that were stained by left over flux. These spots did not grow when I put gas in the tank so it should be ready to install again. Just wanted to share this leak detecting trick with you all. Edited 13 hours ago by Achto 6 5 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 11,868 #2 Posted 12 hours ago While it's off, maybe time to slosh some RedKote or similar tank sealer on the inside.... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 31,589 #3 Posted 12 hours ago 31 minutes ago, ri702bill said: While it's off, maybe time to slosh some RedKote or similar tank sealer on the inside.... Gonna run it the way it is now. This tractor is far from original, it's our 2 seater butt buggy at shows. The tank is all beat to heck. If it leaks again it will be replaced with an 8x18 spun aluminum tank. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 8,783 #4 Posted 10 hours ago What tools and supplies did you use for silver soldering? I tried doing that on a model boat boiler. Couldn't get the solder to stick. I cleaned everything up and went to Stay Brite solder. That is more of a lead/tin alloy with a low percentage of silver added - lower melting temperature. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Achto 31,589 #5 Posted 9 hours ago 29 minutes ago, 8ntruck said: What tools and supplies did you use for silver soldering? After using a wire brush on a drill to get the metal super clean. I warmed the tank up & gave it a good coat of paste flux. Used a mini torch to heat the metal and used a silver bearing solder for metal work. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Harris-Products-Group-3-oz-Lead-Free-General-Metal-Solder/1000858196 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 11,868 #6 Posted 2 hours ago (edited) Oh joy! Working with lead free solder is a whole new animal...... much safer, but requires getting used to. Lead free does not go from shiny when wet to dull when solidified - it stays dull throughout the entide process. Tougher to gauge just what stage it is... Edited 53 minutes ago by ri702bill 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
