My recently rescued 74 Sequoia 260 came with one fuel tank removed. The PO said the main tank was removed long ago due to a leaky seam, and that was
why the generator doesn't work.
After using a boat tank to bring the coach home, when I crawled under it to drain the 6 year old "gasoline" from the remaining tank it turns out the
main tank is still there, the removed tank was the auxillary. It was removed well before the coach was last used 6 years ago, and sat leaning up
against the outside garage wall ever since. Going to have to start from the ground up on the generator I guess.
Pulled the auxillary tank sender, and the tank was very rusty inside but clean on the outside. Figured it was worth a try to clean it, so went the
muriatic acid route since it's easy to clean and neutralize. Since the tank was supposed to have a seam leak, I laid it flat and poured 1.5 gallons of
pool grade acid in and let it sit a few hours. After finding that it did a great job cleaning the bottom of the tank, I tipped it up on each edge for
a couple of hours to clean further up.
Since one of the seams is supposed to have a leak, I made sure to put some baking soda down so any leak would be obvious and neutralized but nothing
happened. A slight drip where I plugged the fill tube, but no sign of any seam leaks.
So now I'm wondering if one of the hoses on top was actually leaking, and then dripping down to the seam where they saw it. Now that the tank is
rinsed out, I'm planning to put a couple of gallons of gas in and rotate it and check for leaks again. The only other thing I can think of is to take
it to the shop that recored the radiator and have it dipped and leak checked. But if all it needs is cleaning, reinstalling, and all new hoses that'd
definitely be the cheaper way out.
I've read lots of posts on fuel leaks, but most have been from hoses, charcoal canisters, separators, or rusted out tanks. The seams look really
solid, and the exterior surfaces look great. Has anybody run into seam leaks on these tanks?
--
John in Omaha, Nebraska
74 26' Sequoia
why the generator doesn't work.
After using a boat tank to bring the coach home, when I crawled under it to drain the 6 year old "gasoline" from the remaining tank it turns out the
main tank is still there, the removed tank was the auxillary. It was removed well before the coach was last used 6 years ago, and sat leaning up
against the outside garage wall ever since. Going to have to start from the ground up on the generator I guess.
Pulled the auxillary tank sender, and the tank was very rusty inside but clean on the outside. Figured it was worth a try to clean it, so went the
muriatic acid route since it's easy to clean and neutralize. Since the tank was supposed to have a seam leak, I laid it flat and poured 1.5 gallons of
pool grade acid in and let it sit a few hours. After finding that it did a great job cleaning the bottom of the tank, I tipped it up on each edge for
a couple of hours to clean further up.
Since one of the seams is supposed to have a leak, I made sure to put some baking soda down so any leak would be obvious and neutralized but nothing
happened. A slight drip where I plugged the fill tube, but no sign of any seam leaks.
So now I'm wondering if one of the hoses on top was actually leaking, and then dripping down to the seam where they saw it. Now that the tank is
rinsed out, I'm planning to put a couple of gallons of gas in and rotate it and check for leaks again. The only other thing I can think of is to take
it to the shop that recored the radiator and have it dipped and leak checked. But if all it needs is cleaning, reinstalling, and all new hoses that'd
definitely be the cheaper way out.
I've read lots of posts on fuel leaks, but most have been from hoses, charcoal canisters, separators, or rusted out tanks. The seams look really
solid, and the exterior surfaces look great. Has anybody run into seam leaks on these tanks?
--
John in Omaha, Nebraska
74 26' Sequoia
