Grey tank leaking-possible cause - Montana Owners Club

49merc · 07-21-2009, 03:08 PM

This winter our shower grey tank started leaking when it was full. I finally got around to pulling the belly pan down (I was not looking forward to the nasty mess of soaked insulation-ha! What insulation?) and found a hairline crack about 2 inches long right undeneath the lip and extending into the corner. Purchased an epoxy kit from a dealer who said they have good luck with it and patched as best as I could. I don't have a lot of confidence in it but the alternative is tank replacement. I believe the cause of the crack was improper installation. The rear cross beam that the tank rests on covered only about 1/2 an inch of the lip which is about 2 inches wide and put more stress on the tank when filled. I drilled new holes and snugged the cross bar up to the tank. Might be something to check when ever you pull the bottom cover. I also seperated wires and hydraulic lines and tied up out of the way.

Bob

dsprik · 07-21-2009, 04:51 PM

Just had both my 3400 grey tanks replaced with the same damage. Crack at the top of the tanks - only leaked when full.

Extended warranty is great. Very expensive w/o it...

Art-n-Marge · 07-21-2009, 08:05 PM

What was the Epoxy kit you got from the dealer? Brand, type, and size? .......Thanks.

btw - I have heard plenty of testimonials from MOCers who have succesfully sealed their tanks with a variety of tank repair adhesive or tape so I hope you are okay. I only know of Permatex from someone else. I also used Eternabond adhesive/sealant on my roof but not on a tank. Someone else was going to try a different type of Eternabond product on a tank leak.

49merc · 07-21-2009, 08:28 PM

Art,
All I know is that it was called Devcon Seal-N-Place 5 Minute Epoxy Universal Repair Kit. It was 2 tubes about 4 inches long and had a small piece of window sreen type material for extra strength.
Bob

richfaa · 07-23-2009, 12:40 PM

I did use eternabond to repair the leak in my Black tank and it worked fine. Unfortunately I could not get to the entire crack and still had to replace the tank but the part that we could get to held fine.

49merc · 07-23-2009, 03:46 PM

Rich,
Was it the same as the stuff used on the roofs? Is it a tape or something else?
Bob

2 for Him · 07-23-2009, 07:27 PM

I used the roofing type over 6,000 miles ago on our grey tank and it has been holding fine. I did sand and epoxy first, but doubt that held anything. I used two layers of Eternabond with the outer one twice the size of the first. After I did it I remembered I should have drilled small holes to stop the cracking at the very ends of the crack, but it seems to have stopped anyway.
Love that Eternabond!

grampachet · 07-23-2009, 07:37 PM

CW is replacing our shower gray water tank next week, yes extended warranty is great, sometimes. The tank only leaks when full. Rather embarrassing to have a white soapy lake under your Monty.

richfaa · 07-24-2009, 04:24 AM

it was the roof eternabond. I think some of the other stuff may be less expensive but eternabonf is what we had. I you call the tank manufacturere they will tell you what they use to repair tanks. I do not remember what it was...

49merc · 07-24-2009, 04:52 AM

Thanks Rich,
If my repair doesn't work I'll have to give that a try. Going out for a week today so we'll give it a test.
Bob

49merc · 08-24-2009, 05:36 AM

Well, the epoxy fix did not work or else I have more than one leak. I will try the tape next.
Bob

OntMont · 08-24-2009, 06:23 AM

This is my fail-safe level gauge, when it starts to drip, time to dump! (Not really!)

8.1al · 08-24-2009, 01:08 PM

The tape recommended by Eternabond is Aseal. Instead of plastic the tape is aluminum and will not stretch like the roof product. They recommend you clean good with lacquer thinner, NOT soap and water and rough up with some emery paper before applying

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