New in Iowa 175 TXW

[RONALD CHEEK]

I'm new to the board, but been fishing and boat owning for 40 years. First time in an aluminum boat and looking for help.

 

[birda40]

Welcome , whats your boat doing? If I can't help some one else may chime in.

 

[RONALD CHEEK]

Welcome , whats your boat doing? If I can't help some one else may chime in.

I have a leaking gas tank. However, I found the problem last night. Took the back end apart and found a screw that was put in the metal battery tray had rubbed through the plastic tank. Luckily, don't have to replace the tank, but not sure what a screw was doing there. Also, have a leak in my livewell, a pretty bad one, so at least I can kinda access that area while everything is disassembled.

 

[birda40]

Thats a new one , never thought of some thing rubbing a hole thru the tank. Just wondering how are you going to seal the hole?

 

[RONALD CHEEK]

I have a leaking gas tank. However, I found the problem last night. Took the back end apart and found a screw that was put in the metal battery tray had rubbed through the plastic tank. Luckily, don't have to replace the tank, but not sure what a screw was doing there. Also, have a leak in my livewell, a pretty bad one, so at least I can kinda access that area while everything is disassembled.

Thats a new one , never thought of some thing rubbing a hole thru the tank. Just wondering how are you going to seal the hole?

I am screwing in a screw bigger than the hole as seen in pic.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

Just curious, but how does that fix the hole in the gas tank? Won't that eventually rub a bigger hole in the tank?

 

[DONAOL]

I have a leaking gas tank. However, I found the problem last night. Took the back end apart and found a screw that was put in the metal battery tray had rubbed through the plastic tank. Luckily, don't have to replace the tank, but not sure what a screw was doing there. Also, have a leak in my livewell, a pretty bad one, so at least I can kinda access that area while everything is disassembled.

Replace the gas is the safest route to go. Just an idea on protecting your gas tank. You can buy a rubber mat to put underneath it. It will protect the tank, cut down on noise and also keep it from slipping. The hole in the live well most likely can be patched. There are plenty of waterproof sealers out there.

 

[RONALD CHEEK]

Just curious, but how does that fix the hole in the gas tank? Won't that eventually rub a bigger hole in the tank?

The screw is bigger than the hole and the plastic is a little tacky. The threads on the screw screw into the plastic and make a seal. This wouldn't necessarily work on a pressure vessel, but the gas tank is basically a no pressure vessel. If bubblegum would stick to it, it would probably work. I've used this to fix little holes in glass boats and wood.

 

[RONALD CHEEK]

Replace the gas is the safest route to go. Just an idea on protecting your gas tank. You can buy a rubber mat to put underneath it. It will protect the tank, cut down on noise and also keep it from slipping. The hole in the live well most likely can be patched. There are plenty of waterproof sealers out there.

I researched online extensively and found polyethylene is almost impossible to get a permanent seal to adhere to. I read mixed reviews on ding a plastic weld with heat, you can mess up the tank and I'm not experienced in that. Replacing the tank would require completely disassembling the back deck - drill out rivets, pull up carpet, remove livewell, etc. It would be a 100 hour job. I called the dealer and they estimated $4000 to do it. I can fix it with a 50 cent screw, so, why not. I'll also add, I've never had a boat harder to work on than this. This boat was certainly designed to just stuff things into and screw whoever has to work on it in the future.

 

[DONAOL]

Seems like using a screw is the simplest way to go.