What to do if you punch a hole in your fuel tank miles from nowhere

[Chadlyb]

I actually did this in of all things a 1999 Mazda Protege. I was on a full day trip coming up the back side of the Blue Mtns. Got into some really nasty sharp rock. Was all over the road trying to avoid these when Bam...nailed one...hard...of course I had no tools, no jb weld...gas leaking quickly out of small hole. Just wondering what can or could be used in the future...

 

[Boort]

@Chadlyb

I actually did this in of all things a 1999 Mazda Protege. I was on a full day trip coming up the back side of the Blue Mtns. Got into some really nasty sharp rock. Was all over the road trying to avoid these when Bam...nailed one...hard...of course I had no tools, no jb weld...gas leaking quickly out of small hole. Just wondering what can or could be used in the future...

Permatex has an epoxy that is designed to plug a hole in the gas tank. (I think JBWeld does as well) It runs about $10-$15 at the local farm supplier so cheap insurance. I've not used it but I have used their radiator kit and that worked well. I've also used Hi-Temp JBweld to repair an intake manifold once upon a time. That repair held up for a year or more and was still going when I got around to replacing the manifold.

Boort

 

[Chadlyb]

@Chadlyb


Permatex has an epoxy that is designed to plug a hole in the gas tank. (I think JBWeld does as well) It runs about $10-$15 at the local farm supplier so cheap insurance. I've not used it but I have used their radiator kit and that worked well. I've also used Hi-Temp JBweld to repair an intake manifold once upon a time. That repair held up for a year or more and was still going when I got around to replacing the manifold.

Boort

Thank you for the info

 

[slomatt]

Supposedly you can use a bar of ivory soap to temporarily seal a hole in your gas tank.

http://www.ttora.com/forum/59-newbie-tech/75551-ivory-soap-gas-tank.html

 

[Chadlyb]

Supposedly you can use a bar of ivory soap to temporarily seal a hole in your gas tank.

http://www.ttora.com/forum/59-newbie-tech/75551-ivory-soap-gas-tank.html

Thanks...thats a funny read

 

[Quicksilver]

I've seen this used on an oil pan, not sure if it would work with gas. But Permatex makes something similar that's designed for fuel tanks. Might be what @Boort mentioned above. Never used it, so not sure how well it works.

 

[Winterpeg]

I actually did this in of all things a 1999 Mazda Protege. I was on a full day trip coming up the back side of the Blue Mtns. Got into some really nasty sharp rock. Was all over the road trying to avoid these when Bam...nailed one...hard...of course I had no tools, no jb weld...gas leaking quickly out of small hole. Just wondering what can or could be used in the future...

Looks like you drive a toyota... there are a few options for gas tank skids for you out there.... ounce of prevention and all that.

Some good ideas in this thread already though!

 

[Chadlyb]

Looks like you drive a toyota... there are a few options for gas tank skids for you out there.... ounce of prevention and all that.

Some good ideas in this thread already though!

Oh I plan to protect the Toy, just like being prepared for the wild and crazy

 

[Quicksilver]

Same here. One of the reasons I bought the Pro-4X is that it comes with factory skids. They're not quite as good as some of the after market options, but they're a nice intermediate piece of kit until later. Even so, you never know when some stray rock or branch is gonna take a bite out of something. These items have a variety of potential uses, and take up very little room.

 

[Sparky]

So I set out to find the solution until I realized how long this list was.. I'm sure it's in there someplace! though:http://macgyver.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_problems_solved_by_MacGyver

..it all seriousness though, the tanks do tend to hang low on the 4Runner's, not sure about how it's set up on the Tacoma. I literally just took delivery on an aluminum gas tank skid this week, RCI had a group buy running. I usually wait for those cause armor isn't cheap.

 

[Chadlyb]

So I set out to find the solution until I realized how long this list was.. I'm sure it's in there someplace! though:http://macgyver.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_problems_solved_by_MacGyver

..it all seriousness though, the tanks do tend to hang low on the 4Runner's, not sure about how it's set up on the Tacoma. I literally just took delivery on an aluminum gas tank skid this week, RCI had a group buy running. I usually wait for those cause armor isn't cheap.

Totally making rocket thrusters from flares

 

[Mike W]

I saw a movie about a guy who punches a hole in his tank and blew up his fuel injection manifold. Here is what he did.

 

[Chadlyb]

I saw a movie about a guy who punches a hole in his tank and blew up his fuel injection manifold. Here is what he did.

Start working on that right away because that solution is so much easier than making rocket thrusters from flares..haha

 

[000]

I used a hand whittled stick to do this before but it was a messy bastard and leaves crap in the tank to further screw up things later. A very small hole could be sealed with a screw or even possibly a Tire plug until it melts. There’s a product called plug n dike that fire departments tow companies etc use that is made for this and is pretty inexpensive. I have a decent skid on my tank but am considering getting a more solid one to avoid it all together.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Chadlyb]

I used a hand whittled stick to do this before but it was a messy bastard and leaves crap in the tank to further screw up things later. A very small hole could be sealed with a screw or even possibly a Tire plug until it melts. There’s a product called plug n dike that fire departments tow companies etc use that is made for this and is pretty inexpensive. I have a decent skid on my tank but am considering getting a more solid one to avoid it all together.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

I'll have to check that stuff out

 

[OffRoadAcc]

Flexseal!!

 

[Overland USA]

I actually did this in of all things a 1999 Mazda Protege. I was on a full day trip coming up the back side of the Blue Mtns. Got into some really nasty sharp rock. Was all over the road trying to avoid these when Bam...nailed one...hard...of course I had no tools, no jb weld...gas leaking quickly out of small hole. Just wondering what can or could be used in the future...

This was definitely helpful! Thank you and all of the members who contributed.

 

[LandPirate]

I appreciate this thread. Adding JB Weld to the recovery kit.

 

[Taz.beast]

In the fire service, I kept a medicine bottle full of golf tees in my pocket and a tube of epoxy!!!

 

[ovrlndr]

I've seen this used on an oil pan, not sure if it would work with gas. But Permatex makes something similar that's designed for fuel tanks. Might be what @Boort mentioned above. Never used it, so not sure how well it works.

This stuff works great. I have personally had to patch a hole in my oil pan with it. From that moment forward, QuikSteel (and JB Weld) went into the recovery kit.