Diesel Leak

When we were in Nashville, Chuck had noticed a wet spot under the motorhome.  Unfortunately, it was a small leak from the diesel tank on the motorhome.  He put a tub under it so it would not continue dripping on the ground and went to an auto parts store to try to find a repair kit.  The diesel tank repair kit he found was kind of an epoxy that supposedly stuck to diesel tanks and would fill the hole. 

When he got under the motorhome to see where the leak was, it was coming from a crack in the weld around what looked like a sealed drain hole.  He sanded the area and cleaned as best he could.  Then he filled the hole by rubbing this waxy stick on it so the diesel would stop leaking through for a few minutes and then we were ready to apply the epoxy.  The epoxy came sealed in one pouch with two parts.  When you were ready to apply the epoxy, you pressed on the package so the separation between the two parts of epoxy would open together in the pouch and you would mix it by continuing to press on the pouch.  Then you open the pouch and take a brush and apply the epoxy to the area of the leak.  Seems simple enough?

Not really.  We thought we could pour the epoxy into a little tray and then Chuck could take the brush and carefully brush around where he thought the leak was coming from.  The problem was the epoxy set up very fast.  I mean real fast.  Chuck barely got a couple of strokes of epoxy spread on the tank and it was already setting up.  He could not even get a good coat spread on the area to be repaired before the epoxy was already set up.  So now what? 

We went back to the auto parts store and got one more kit and he tried putting more epoxy on the leak area hoping it would hold and fortunately it did...or so we thought.

A day or so after we arrived in South Carolina, Chuck noticed the leak was back.  We put the tub under the motorhome to catch the diesel again and then began researching on the internet and found that a lot of people recommended J B Weld to repair fuel leaks.  We went to an auto parts store and picked up a tube.  Chuck got under the motorhome and sanded off the area again and applied J B Weld to stop the leak.  It did not work either.

At this point, we knew we would have to take it somewhere to get it fixed.  We found a Cummins service center in Savannah.  We called them and they said it would be very difficult to repair.  They said normally they would just replace the tank but Monaco does not make that tank any more.  Instead, they said they would have to drain the tank (which we had just filled up before arriving at the campground), remove the tank, take it to a welder, and then re-install the tank.  This was going to be expensive. 

In our research on the internet, we also found that there had been problems with Monacos developing diesel leaks at this welding point on the tanks.  We happened to remember that there was a service center in Wildwood that was formerly a Monaco service center but now they worked on all types of motorhomes.  It was Saturday but they had an emergency number.  I called it and the guy I spoke with said they repair diesel tanks all the time and to bring it on in Sunday, we could stay on site where they had hookups and they could probably work on it Monday morning.

So we checked out of the campground earlier than we intended on Sunday morning and headed for Alliance Coach in Wildwood, Florida.  We stayed on site Sunday night and then they started working on the coach on Monday morning.  By Monday afternoon, the diesel tank was repaired and we were ready to go. 

We sure were glad we thought to call Alliance.  We were so worried about Cummins having to remove the tank and we figured if they had done the repair it would have cost $1,000 to $1,500 or so plus whatever diesel we might lose.  Alliance had it fixed in under a day for $445 and did not have to remove the tank.  

Chuck continued to check the tank for leaks and so far it is holding up great.  Thank goodness!