alloy tanks repairs

[paul]

ive got a alloy tank from a 79 maico and ive dicovered its had the bog job on each side  ,im a panel beater by trade and i know i can metal finish the thing if i can get at it but i dont want too cut a hole ,so what im asking is can the be split open and rewelded  or what else can you do .

[brent j]

Paul,

One of the guys on the English XT500 website makes his own shaped tools and works the dents out but does it all through the filler neck. He reckons the alloy tanks are soft enough to do this.

I'll try and find the thread and post a link.

Cheers

brent

[jimbo]

Paul, splitting a maico or Husky tank is easily done, make sure that the tank has been rendered non flamable [ including fumes ] ,a good flush with water and the use of a inert gas whilst cutting are my preferred methods.The inside will come away from the outer with not much fuss ,personally I use a small handheld grinder with a cutoff disc [don't go for a 1mm thin blade here] and whilst in a seated position I hold the tank between my knees and shave off the fused weld seam, then I pry the two components apart . In the past if the tank is really bad I have even cut the outer shell in half , having said that panel beating can usually be achieved without doing this .Once completed simply tack the pieces back into place and balance weld back together allowing for thermal expansion .Regards Jimbo.  ps, remember that fuel and ether heat or sparks are a mixture for disaster if safety measures aren't employed .

[paul]

thanks jimbo  i can repair it no prob but the welding of the alloy is not one of my good points  so i would have to get some one to put it back together

[Rossvickicampbell]

Geoff at GMC - just got my CR tank done - excellent job and a good price.

Rossco

[crash n bern]

 Note on rendering a tank non flammable, there's a trick my mate used to use. I can't vouch for it's saftey but I saw him do it a lot and I used to do it as well. He let the tank sit for awhile and dry out then just flick the oxy torch across the filler hole and ignite the fumes. Then he'd go at it. Some might deem it dangerous as hell, or just plain stupid, but we never had a problem with this method. Saved a lot of mucking about.

[Old Husky]

Paul, I am about to tackle a CR430 Husky tank which has a lot of dents in the sides of it, so I am interested in advice you are getting, Jimbo uses the method I was advised to do, open it up, repair the damage and reweld it.
What I would like to know is the welding process, I usually use the local specialist welder (at a high cost), I would like to know if it can be done at home with an oxy set, is anyone wlding alloy tanks by oxy??

[brent j]

Try this link, I don't know if you need to be a member of this site to see it.

http://www.yamaha-xt500.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2409

Got to be easier than cutting and welding. I'll certainly try it on my XT tank

Brent

[paul]

i made some levers and  long bent bars and just gently work away on it  to get the dents out  .the fuel cap hole was dented in a bit so i  bolted a bit of steel to the garage roof  it had a short right angle bit which i put in under the lip and gently put my weight on the tank and work my way around / out it came, its gone to be painted   ,frame next

[GMC]

Theirs a few different ways to repair tanks depending on various things, like do you want a metal finish job or just near enough so the bog is not too deep.
It also depends on the brand & model of the tank. I have got in through the filler neck on some ocassions, but these dents are rare. Elsinore tanks have small filler necks, YZ C/X tanks are very shallow & so the underneath hump comes up close to the filler neck restricting how far in you can reach. By the time you get a bar bent to reach the dent it can be too flexable to push out any large dents & you also risk distorting the filler neck.

Hey Paul, did you try the cap back on before you sent the tank off for paint?

Cutting them open at the seams gives you easy access to play with the dents but not all tanks come apart easlily. Elsinore tanks have too many welds around the front mounting holes for instance. It can also be a lot of welding to put it back together again.
I prefer "keyhole" surgery these days. An 1 1/8" holesaw through the under side somewhere is usally enough to let me get my dolly bars in to push the dents out, they are easier to weld up this way & can usually be hidden quite well.

Oxy weld a tank, yeah good luck.

And whatever you do don't use pressure to blow the dents out as it can distort the tanks really badly which is near impossible to get looking right again.

[paul]

yeah the cap fit s ok  ,ive gotto pull the cap apart too to get the top chromed wich seem to be pressed together in a couple off spots mmm  gently does it   
i looked at spliting the tank but 79 maico tanks have this section at the front that my small grinder just wouldnt  fit into so it was plan  b .
it will look good when its finished thats al that matters