Hole in my gas tank. Dealership wants 700 bucks

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My daughter car has a hole in the gas tank. It is in the middle. I don’t know what cause the hole. It’s a little dribble.
It is the 1993 Toyota Corolla. It has 80,000 miles on it.
The dealership wants about seven hundred bucks to replace it. I don’t want to do that. What do you think. That’s way too much money for that. Drain it, Dry it and then JB weld it?
 
I'd go someplace else. I'd think a decent mechanic could patch it, or replace it with a used tank for far less.
 
Any special place that I have to go? or just the local shadetree mechanic.
 
The best gas tank repair I ever had done was at a radiator shop. They positioned leftover radiator header tank material over the hole (looks a lot like expanded metal screen) and then filled the whole area with solder to reinforce around the hole and prevent it from cracking through the solder due to vibration. Its lasted over 25 years (so far...)
 
Google "fuel tank repair kit" there's all kinds of fixes. Don't remember the name anymore but I've used the epoxy type a couple of times over the years. In both cases they worked just fine.
 
I have used the "gas tank repair" stuff (similar to quiksteel) which is a puddy you smash over the hole. It did well, but then about a year last the fuel tank sprung another leak, tried the same thing, but never could get it to seal. I was surprised when i could just buy a whole new one.

for kicks I looked up your app on a few places. You could either do it yourself and save some serious coin, or I bet a mechanic could put in your part for cheaper.

Rock auto has a new fuel tank for $117

Autozone has the same spectra premium for $159. If you order online you will get free shipping and a $15 gift card.

These come unpainted. I bought a spectra prem. a few months ago for our deviile. It fit good and the baffels inside were metal instead of plastic (which were broke in the original one, common problem)

autozone also lists a dorman that seems to be painted for $200 (rockauto has the dorman for $122)
 
Thanks for all the suggestions . 700 bucks!. [censored], I thought I would just screw in a stainless steel screw and spray it with some undercoating and call it a day.
 
If the hole is large or the metal weak around the hole you could possibly get one of the drywall things-forget the name. Anyway you push it through and it expands two prongs on the inside. It has a large washer which is screwed down on capture the hole. Maybe under the washer you could use some anti-leak calking. Ed
 
Maybe a little JB weld around it too
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My Triumph had a gas tank leak....good ol' British steel.
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Anyway, one of the older "don't call me no technician, I'm a mechanic" guys saw me stressing about how I was going to get a new tank for a 20+ year old Triumph. He produced a bar of Ivory Soap....I kid you not....and rubbed it over the pinhole.

It stopped the leak.

To this day I do not know how. Seems like the gas would make quick work of bar soap even if it is "99 44/100% pure"

I eventually got around to using a Kreem tank sealer kit, sanded off the area of the hole, JB Welded it, and repainted the tank. It was still holding when I sold the car.
 
so is it rust or did a hobo pop a hole to steal your gas?

Up here I'd just get a new tank from rockauto without a 2nd thought as rust gets everything. Junkyards often poke holes upon vehicle intake for environmental reasons.

If RA has two different brands pennies apart in price try getting a shipping quote: sometimes the more expensive one is cheaper after shipping.

Changing a gas tank is usually about a 4 out of 10 in toughness. Not mentally taxing, just physical stuff and of course you'll want a shower afterwards.
 
I think that my teenager just ran over something. I may be wrong. We are lucky down here in Dallas Tx. It only snows one day per year. So they only salt the roads once per year. No rust on the outside. Now there may be rust on the inside. I don't know.
 
My last gas tank (for the wife's 99 Sentra) came from a salvage yard in San Antonio, TX. It looked immaculate, inside and out. $100 labor at my independent mechanic (mostly sending unit fun).

It would have been only $50 for the tank at the salvage yard, if I were local. Check out your local salvage yards.
 
a product called "seal all" is excellent, and has worked on leaks that were much worse than a dribble.it's in a yellow tube with red lettering, and sold in all auto shops, and hardware stores.cost is about five bucks. good luck.
 
If it's only a small leak, I would clean it, sand it, clean it again, and use some JB Weld. I've seen this stuff used on cracked blocks before with good results.

I also like the ideas of getting an old tank from the junkyard. Bottom line: Don't pay the 700. Any decent mechanic or weekend warrior should be able to patch this up / replace it for under 250.
 
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