Fuel Leak, Need Advice

[Guest]

Hey guys new to this website but i recently just bought a 1982 GS850L, bike is sweet, but the only problem ive had is one day i came home and there was a small puddle of fuel underneath it and my garage reeked. There was fuel all over the left cylinders and the spark plug wires were covered in fuel. I bought the bike and the front part of the gas tank there was no paint and it was rusted and the right side of the tank always was moist with gasoline. I checked the petcock and gaskets seem fine and no signs of fuel leaking from there down to the front end of the tank. Also inside the tank i cant see any rust anywhere. I have inspected the tank and i can seem to find any sign of small holes that could have a leak or anything. But one thing i have noticed was the seam were the upper part and the lower part of the gas tank was welded together seems to be kind of split apart not so much where theres holes but kinda open, would it be coming from the welds? or could there an actual pin hole that i just cant see where the fuel is coming from? Also whats some advice to diagnose and fix this problem? Thanks guys

[Steve]

First of all, welcome.

Next, in what position did you leave the petcock lever? If it was pointing to the back, you left it in the PRIme position. That will allow free-flow of gas into the carbs, asking the float valves to hold it back. Since there was a leak, it's obvious that they can't, but that situation can be remedied by simply leaving the petcock lever in the DOWN position.

.

[Sandy]

99% sure your tank is rusted through in spots. If you drain the tank and turn it upside down you'll see lots of bubbles in paint and if you scrape the bubbles off you'll see little tiny little black marks in the metal. Poke them with an oring pick and I bet it goes right through. If the carbs haven't been cleaned pop a float bowl off and you'll see rust residue in the float bowl.

[hadenator124]

thanks guys. its definitely not coming from the carbs, how would i restore a tank thats rust through or should i just look into buying a tank online somewhere?

[bccap]

Just as a precaution. Check your oil level. If it's above the site glass and smells like gas you've got a petcock problem. Needless to say if that is the case don't run the bike until it's been replaced and the oil changed....

[Frank Z.]

Follow Sandy's advice, then post a couple pics of the troubled area. There's quite a few forum members here who've repaired far-gone tanks, and will be able to help with your assessment; e.g., weld, tank liner, and/or replace. Caswell is a great tank liner product and may be a solution if holes aren't too large. Good luck!

[Frank Z.]

Just as a precaution. Check your oil level. If it's above the site glass and smells like gas you've got a petcock problem. Needless to say if that is the case don't run the bike until it's been replaced and the oil changed....

And, this. ^^^

[GSX1000E]

I would find a replacement tank as it costs less in the long run. L tanks are cheaper too.

[chuck hahn]

As Frank Z said...there are some of us that are rather crafty. Heres a Cooley tank that I repaired for Frank Z. Once the patch welding was done we lined it with a Caswell liner kit.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?192039-Cooley-gas-tank-saved&highlight=tank+saved

[Kiwi Canuck]

+1 on Caswells, I used it and it worked well on one of my tanks that had a pin hole leak in it.

Pretty easy to use but read and follow the instructions with the kit.

I did thin out the mixture as I did mine in the summer and wanted as much time as possible before it set.

[eil]

I would find a replacement tank as it costs less in the long run. L tanks are cheaper too.

I always thought replacement tanks in good shape were rather expensive? More expensive than a liner kit? They are at least not at all cheap to ship.