2-piece gas tank reseal

[Bar Nuthin 3,334]

The 754 has had the fuel tank apart and whoever did it used some kind of gummy sealant on both sides of the gasket. I noticed that it randomly shed drips of gasoline. By randomly, Maybe a drop or two one day - then dry for 3 or 4 days, then a drip - not necessarily in the same location.

So, I took it off today and opened it up. The first thing I noticed is that none of the Allen head screws holding together were very tight.

The second thing I noticed is that one of the threaded holes appears to have been repaired with JB Weld (or something similar).

Perhaps that was their reasoning for not over-tightening the screws. The gasket is still perfectly flat with no indentation from being compressed, and the use of whatever kind of gasket varnish it was coated in.

 

Anyway, the repaired crack appears to be contained to the inner side of the tank and everything else seems okay to my unexperienced eyes.

I'm ordering a new gasket but looking for tips or advice from anyone who has had these tanks apart, or experienced anything similar.

 

EDIT: I see Lowell references "Permatex Aviation Sealant" - possibly the goop I found on my tank?  Anyone using something better?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Bar Nuthin

[Racinbob 13,203]

I've had several of those 2 piece tanks and never one that didn't leak to some extent. I don't think there's a gasket coating that exists that will permanently stop the issue. Really it's just a bad design. Wheel Horse came out with a service bulletin on it which involved actually installing an inner tank to solve the issue. I think I found a better method.

 

 

There's many fuel tank liners out there and they will likely work as well but I've never tried them so I can't vouch for them but I know this stuff works. I think I can say permanent  because I've never had one leak after using it.

 

The key to it is cleanliness. I removed the old gasket and cleaned everything until it was sterile. I reassembled it and did some more cleaning. I let it sit in the sun several days to make sure any trace of moisture was gone. I plugged the threaded hole with a nylon fitting. I used maybe a quarter cup of Red Kote and swirled it around the edge where the two pieces meet. It doesn't take much. You don't need to coat the entire tank, just where the seal is. I let it dry several days and repeated. When I was done with the sealer I let it dry for many days. The latest one I've done is my current 854 and that's been 8 years now.