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The things you find under the bondo...

4K views 22 replies 18 participants last post by  DocS 
#1 ·
aka 'Things that make you go "Huh."'

Crappy phone pics, but you won't need hi-res definition to see why I don't even know what to say about this...





Doc
 
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#4 ·
No sir, that's metal.

My guess is the mount bung broke out so the PO welded it up and the weld leaked, so he ran another pass and it still leaked, so he ran another pass and you get the idea.

The profile shot I took was too fuzzy to post, but that glob of moose dung is damn near 1/2" thick. For reference, the bung takes a 3/8-16 bolt.

Doc
 
#11 ·
And probably one good hit with a chisel and a hammer knocks it all off.
It's actually burnt in deep enough that I'm not going to try to clean it up - I'm going to cut that whole area out and patch it.

I must be psychic - I ordered a set of top hat bungs from Lowbrow Monday. :D

I find the best thing to use is JB weld, a 2 part epoxy kit that you mix together. Even when I get a new set of tanks I reinforce with JB weld around all the mount point welds before paint, never had a problem since.
Oooh, yeah! These are '84 FLH tanks, which I gather are known for breaking mount ears. I'm definitely stealing that one!

So, do I want 14ga or 16ga for the patch? Looks like about a 3" x 2" oval-ish with some heavy forming...

Doc
 
#9 ·
Same kinda thing happened to me. I got my sporty torn down to send the frame in for stripping and powdercoat and when the stripping was done the guy called me back before coating it to have me come in to take a look at the welds that were hidden under a bunch of bondo. It was just a couple of buggers holding everything together. Had to send the frame out and have the welds ground out and redone. Ther are definately some shady characters out there. goes to show that bondo is a whole lot easier than good weling!!!
 
#17 ·
Ive used lead quite a few times to cover ugly shit takes good prep work but on tanks really like it dosent crack with vibration so much dont use solder have to use bar lead 50-50 works well with liquid flux and old lead irons can shape pretty easy like what they use on copper roof seams but a bitch if you ever have to weld on again
 
#18 ·
DocS: It's your tanks so do whatever, you posted this problem here so your asking for GOOD advice. I have repaired more of those 70-80ish fat bob tanks than I care to count. Do you know what JB weld is? It was designed specifically for this type of problem and is an excellent repair with no HEAT involved. If those are aftermarket tanks you can imagine the quality of metal they were using, I suggest grinding that ugly gob of crap down flush then cleaning with some MEK and putting a good fillet of properly mixed JB Weld around the mount, cure for 24 hours, prime and paint, your troubles are over. Or you can continue heating up some crap metal and waiting for more cracks and leaks, good luck.
 
#19 ·
DocS: It's your tanks so do whatever, you posted this problem here so your asking for GOOD advice.
I suggest grinding that ugly gob of crap down flush then cleaning with some MEK and putting a good fillet of properly mixed JB Weld around the mount, cure for 24 hours, prime and paint, your troubles are over. Or you can continue heating up some crap metal and waiting for more cracks and leaks, good luck.
Jonjon, you're right, and I'd love to do exactly that. The only problem is I already cut the tank...

No, seriously, the bung needs to be replaced anyway. The threads were trashed. And I already cut the tank. :p

Link-Belt nailed it. There was heavy burn-through all the way out to the edge of that booger, and all riddled with porosities and stress voids. I don't think I've ever seen such bull-headed determination to do it wrong.

It's been a long time since I did this kind of sheet metal work, but I used to be pretty good at it. It's not on the see-side, so I can make a backing patch instead of flush. That will be stronger and easier to get a good seal, plus it'll help the mystery metal issue.

Doc
 
#20 ·
There is nothing wrong with using body filler. It gets a bad rap because it really does a good job of what it is intended to do and is easy to abuse. The problem is not with the "Bondo", The problem is with the people who use it to cover up shitty, dangerous attempts at welding and fabrication. Filler is fine if you use it like it is intended.

I don't hate bondo, I just hate bondo abusers.....

The Gapwelder.
 
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