HELP: Anybody Selling a Fuel Tank?

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Hello All

I am a proud Daihatsu owner. I bought a Daihatsu Terios (registration: V517 HDW) two years ago and have never had any issues until now. Following an MOT in which repairs were carried out by my old garage they 'sealed' a hole in my fuel tank which had been caused by general corrosion. About four months on the leak has since returned i.e. when starting up the engine the pressure in the fuel tank causes it. I took it back to the first garage who did it and they said it was fine and nothing needed doing. But since moving I have decided that a new garage was the way forward. I am lucky to have some lovely chaps working on my car who are very reasonable. I had a fix done to the exhaust recently and they said that when they put it up on the ramp they found the leak. They also said the previous garage had done an abysmal job of trying to fix it by smearing fibreglass on the area but to no avail. I've been advised that I should get a replacement fitted and I agree. They phoned the Daihatsu parts dealer and were quoted an extortionate £420.00 + VAT for a fuel tank suitable. I am absolutely not paying this amount for a tank and I am sure there must be some way to bring this amount down.

The garage have stated they are happy to fit preowned or second hand parts to the car so I am trying my luck on searching for spare parts but have not had much luck. I was wondering if

1) Anybody has found a good dealer of spare parts who are likely to stock a tank suitable for the old girl
or
2) Happen to know somebody who is selling a fuel tank suitable for a Daihatsu Terios 1.3 (J1) 1999

If the answer is yes to either of these please tell me. I will need to find a replacement tank before October when my MOT is due otherwise it is a problem. I do not really want to get rid of the car. She is fantastic shape despite her age and has never broken down. And if I am honest, as she is my first car I am rather sentimental over her.

Thanks in advance for your time guys.

PS. New to this site today so hello to you all.

Most likely a repair, and you

Most likely a repair, and you should never use fibreglass to repair anything fuel related as this is polyester based and not fuel resistant.

The only correct ways of fixing a fuel tank is with Plastic Padding Chemical Metal as this is fuel resistant, or by lead patching which involves removing, cleaning, and venting the fuel tank until it is fully cleaned, and you tin the area of the tank needing repair and place a lead patch over it and solder it to the tank.

If you can get access to the tank while it is on the car you can repair it on the car, but only use PP Chemical Metal which comes in small tubes or larger tins, go for the larger tin as this comes with hardener and works in exactly the same way as car body filler, but it goes off very quickly.

Drain the fuel tank of fuel into a large sealable container and leave the drain plug out, this will be full of crap so will need filtering.

Clean the fuel tank in and around the problem area, I use an angle grinder fitted with a wire brush, and this needs to be back to bare metal, you then abrade the area with coarse sand paper or similar in multiple directions to key the area, then ensure it is fully dried and wiped clear of any dust.

Mix a very small amount of the Chemical metal quickly and apply to the leaking area only, let it set for about an hour.
Mix a little more than your first batch and cover the filled area and extend it beyond your original repair.
Repeat this again and extend the filler beyond your second coating of Chemical Metal, and leave to dry fully, overnight.

Meanwhile: take your drained fuel and get a second container and put a funnel into it and cover the funnel with a couple layers of tights and strain your fuel through it and store overnight.

Refit your drain plug to your tank and paint the exposed metal with a good metal paint and cover your filled repair.

Refill your tank with filtered fuel and prime the fuel system and the repair will last for years.