1980's Ariens / Tecumseh fuel tank leaks

F

Fordiesel69

Joined
Sep 10, 2005
Messages
1,864
Location
Erie, PA
The plastic tank attached to H60 engines and also H50 engines, the bottom two bolt holes are leaking badly. What is the best fix? Mine will leak all fuel in approx 5 minutes.

I've never been sucessfull in fixing a plastic tank on anything.
 
Neither have I. tecumseh h60 gas tank. I googled that and got all sorts ads selling the tank. A bodge would be cable tying a tank from any thing else above the engine in the handles. please report your fix
 
I have had FAIR luck using J-B weld to fix some plastic tanks. But it needs to be cleaned and scuffed very good. Even then if it flexes it will pop off.
 
A couple options...

Have you tried Craigslist in your area or a local small engine shop? I did a quick search and found several on eBay for ~$30 +/-. Last resort would be to find a similar tank and make a bracket to hold it.

Just my $0.02
 
Clean it super good. Different ideas:

1. Drill a round hole at the leak. buy seal-all on Amazon, massage it into the hole and a nut and bolt. Put the nut-bolt through the hole, slathered in seal-all, and tighten it down pretty snug.

2. Try to gently melt the plastic with a low heat soldering gun and “weld” it shut.

3. Do the JB weld idea from the post above, but also drill the small hole at the leak and get JB weld both inside and outside the tank, through the hole.
 
I actually had great success with 'shade tree' plastic welding. Go on you tube to see a guy do it. I used a soldering iron to melt a v down the crack and melted the tank around it to fill it in. Depends on how thick the tank bottom is. It worked for me. If you lived in the Omaha area, I'd hook you up with a different tank (maybe the exact tank) and some large zip ties!

 
I looked into this in the past on my snowblower. Be careful with a replacement tank, a handful of amazon reviews talk about them leaking at the seams. So I'd buy from a reputable seller who will accept returns if there's a problem. Turns out mine isn't actually leaking so I haven't tried a new one yet, but I foresee a replacement coming in the next few years.

Amazon.com : Tecumseh 34156A Fuel Tank With Cap : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Tecumseh 34156A Fuel Tank With Cap : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com
 
It won't help now but I remember a recall on those Tecumseh plastic tanks. Maybe the new ones have been improved.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Gas Leak
Replies
10
Views
841
borgward
1 SX
EPA charcoal filled gas caps for small engines - (small story and fix)
Replies
12
Views
4K
ragtoplvr
9
Craftsman Push Mower Starts and Stalls
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
99Saturn
1 SX
"Revived" two Briggs and Stratton quantum push mowers
Replies
18
Views
3K
oldcodger
NormanBuntz
Update: 2006-14 Honda Ridgeline recall for frame & fuel tank corrosion
Replies
11
Views
2K
dfarr67
Back
Top