Small cracks in plastic tank, what to do?

TTperra
Posts
311
Joined
9/15/2015
Location
SE
Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 12:47pm
Today i saw there is a lot of small cracks in the tank, havent seen them before.
Tank come from a cr250 1980, it stood under a pine tree when i picked it up and i belive it have been in that place for at least a decade, maybe two..
I clean the tank with soap and water, then wet sand it and finaly a little polish with "Jif" a cleaner/polish for plastic, its for home/kitchen use so i dont think there are strong chemicals in it.
It's been on the bike with gasoline in it for two weeks.
Can it be the plastic have aged so it cant handle todays petrol?

I drained the tank and washed it with soap and water, think of trying to rinse with acetone.
Any one have some tips or ideas?





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4/16/2016 6:34pm
It seems like over time, the oils present in the plastic from manufacturing / molding seem to leech out, causing the tank to become dry and brittle. They seem to lose their flexibility .

Have had a 1983 PE 175 Suzuki tank split all the way down the LH side, from front to back. This bike had not run in years and sat with no fuel in the tank. After a freshen up, put some fuel in it, and within a week, it had split as mentioned above.

Have also had bad luck with a few used tanks bought from my dealer that have sat dry for a few years. Put the fuel to them, and they split within weeks.

Luckily Clarke Mfg had tanks that fit my older bikes.

TTperra
Posts
311
Joined
9/15/2015
Location
SE
4/17/2016 12:47pm
newmann wrote:
I have an 80 CR125 tank doing the same. Hasn't ever leaked though! If it gets too bad, check out the tank Peter at VMX has...
I have an 80 CR125 tank doing the same. Hasn't ever leaked though! If it gets too bad, check out the tank Peter at VMX has.

http://vmxracing.com/vmx-main.htm
If this tank is toast, I get on and fix the original aluminium tank.
But for the cr250 -80 I will restore when time permits, it´s a good option, comes with seatfoam and cover also, but I would like to se some pictures of it on a bike.

I read somewhere (here on vital I guess) that Acetone dissolves the plastic if it is in contact long enough, and rinse the tank with it would create a "refreshed" surface inside. But I don't know if I misunderstood it?

I thought about tank sealer for plastic, think Caswell have a product, but if the tank falls apart no sealer will hold the gas..

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