IMS Seepage Tally

Hey guys, just going to throw this out for you in regards to the seepage problem with these tanks. It might lend some helpful insight for IMS as to what has been found. Feel free to post up your findings! I'll incorporate them into this base post so it can be noted at a glance instead of scrolling. Hopefully it will work.


SheWolf
Natural tank. No seepage to begin with. After day 2 and filling up the tank, upon firing it up fuel was running out of the bottom of the tank at the fuel pump mount. Screws had all backed off. Upon inspection of the tank, no noticeable gouges at gasket point. Bolted it back up and tried again. Seepage at the same spots. Used Seal All at gasket site on the tank, and reassembled. No leaks since.

3KGT_Maddness

Natural Tank (one of first ones if it helps). Seepage notice shortly after install, seemed like it continued to get worse(.5 gal in 2 days). No visible gouges. Screws were all as tight as could be. Remedied with TFE Paste, but have not been back to see the bike since install(9/19/10).

Black Tank: I had a slight seepage issue even though the bottom looked pretty flat. I am testing it today and so far it looks good. I did the same as Shewolf and put some SealAll where the gasket meets the tank. This may be all that alot of the tanks need; just something to fill in the hairline pits, etc. before the gasket is tightened down. This may not work if your tank is really wacky though. I'm hoping mine is good because I don't want to go through the process of returning the tank. We'll see.

Have been out of town. My tank leaked from the start at the pump mount. I did use some sealer in that area and it has not leaked since. It is a early natural one, hope it holds, Berwyn

Natural tank, leaked from a few hours after install. I had taken my time, did it right, criss cross tightened the pump screws, and used loctite. The bottom appears flat and smooth, but I found gas dripping from it and dripping down the left side of the frame and puddling on the floor.

E-mail sent to IMS on 10-1-10 with a request for a upgraded O-ring.

I removed the tank today and surveyed it, I can't tell where exactly it is dripping from because the whole area under the tank is wet with gas.

It's coming from the rubber seal on the fuel pump. The surface isn't flat, the pump doesn't suck down far enuf and it leaks past the seal.

Mine's got some seepage, more like a weep. When I went to install the big honkin o-ring, I stripped out the head of the last allen bolt holding the pump on. No sure what I'm going to do now...

I had seepage.. i reinstalled the tank, & put some goop on it to seal, but when i got my o-ring i put it in. I took it out on some very bumpy roads on friday.. no leaks.

Going up to ride in utah tomorrow.. that will test it.

Skierd.. might try drilling it out to a next size, & tap a little bigger metric or sae thread. Or you could put in a larger self tapping screw.. short enough to not punch a hole in the tank. It should cut it's own threads fairly easy in the brass inserts.

When I have a day off and its not raining, I'll try getting a drill on it and hope that breaks it loose so I don't have to retap the tank's inserts. What pisses me off is I bought new hardware specifically to avoid this since I noticed with the original bolts that the heads were quite soft and deformed easy. Maybe I'll find some bolts instead of allen heads...

as far as I know, the insert in the tank is fine. Its the bolt head that stripped because allen heads are the most awful fastener system since phillips head screws except for torx.

If it were me and the only issue was a reamed out allen head I would first try getting a vice grip on the head (assuming it is not a button head allen). If it is a reamed out button head I would first give a screw extractor a try since the allen head gives a perfect starting point for a screw extractor to get a bite. Good luck and btw check your allen wrenches normally I find a worn allen wrench is the source of reaming out of the bolts.

skierd wrote:

When I have a day off and its not raining, I'll try getting a drill on it and hope that breaks it loose so I don't have to retap the tank's inserts. What pisses me off is I bought new hardware specifically to avoid this since I noticed with the original bolts that the heads were quite soft and deformed easy. Maybe I'll find some bolts instead of allen heads...

as far as I know, the insert in the tank is fine. Its the bolt head that stripped because allen heads are the most awful fastener system since phillips head screws except for torx.

skierd wrote:

Mine's got some seepage, more like a weep. When I went to install the big honkin o-ring, I stripped out the head of the last allen bolt holding the pump on. No sure what I'm going to do now...

I did the same thing, except on three of the allen head bolts. With the correct tool (see below), it took me five minutes to get the stripped screws out. Get an Alden MicroGrabit screw extractor for at Home Depot. I used the No. 7 and it worked perfectly. This is about the fourth time this tool has worked on a stripped screw. It is an amazing tool.

http://www.gradyshardware.com/Alden-8430P-3Piece-Grabit-Broken-Bolt/M/B000H6PM32.htm

I had one of mine strip. That's why I went to longer screws because the stock ones didn't catch enuf of the threads and just stripped the top 2. The same screw, only longer, worked a treat and i didn't have to extract or go to another size.

I still have not installed my tank because I am waiting for a new o ring.

My IMS 3.1 developed only a very small seepage. The "Big Honkin' O-Ring" was shipped to me super fast by Abel at IMS and seems to have totally solved the problem.

BigFeet

Got my big o-ring yesterday, had already sealed the leak with seal-all. I will carry it with (o-ring) me in case the seal-all fails, all is well here in Texas. berwyn

Berwyn Henderson wrote:

Got my big o-ring yesterday, had already sealed the leak with seal-all. I will carry it with (o-ring) me in case the seal-all fails, all is well here in Texas. berwyn

Berwyn,

Good to know! Who makes seal-all and where do you find it? I take it that it's fuel resistant?

Thanks,

BigFeet

Not sure where in the US can get it, but i would think that any of the automotive shops would carry it. It is fuel resistant and it works. Still have mine sealed with it and not a drop has seeped out.

SheWolf wrote:

Not sure where in the US can get it, but i would think that any of the automotive shops would carry it. It is fuel resistant and it works. Still have mine sealed with it and not a drop has seeped out.

SheWolf,

Thanks for the info!

BigFeet
-Larry

SheWolf wrote:

Not sure where in the US can get it, but i would think that any of the automotive shops would carry it. It is fuel resistant and it works. Still have mine sealed with it and not a drop has seeped out.

Has anyone taken one back apart after using seal all? It is an adhesive where as halomar stays pliable--just sayin....

Not real sure where I got mine, had it for a while, one of the auto stores I am sure. Berwyn

I installed a blue tank about a month ago just like it was the original tank, no lube, no adhesive, ... just the seal from the pump that was in the original tank and the OEM screws. I did use the alternating torque pattern, like on a tire's lug nuts. So far I've not had a leak , seep or weep of any kind. A few times after the initial install, I thought I smelled gas but that went away and I assumed that it is gas that was spilled during the removal of the OEM tank. I have the big o-ring handy and I'll install it if a leak, seep or weep develops. If I install the oring, I'm gonna lube it with axle grease.

BTW: I had to remove some material from the front bracket to get the tank to seat but that may be due to the steering damper. I didn't notice the rubber tab interference that others have noted.

I have about 50 miles after the new tank.

Chuck, IMS engineer, has been very, very helpful during this install.

skierd wrote:

Its the bolt head that stripped because allen heads are the most awful fastener system since phillips head screws except for torx.

I love allen head bolts. I have yet to strip one out in my extensive use of them in RC cars and other devices all the way down to 1/16 and smaller. Would you want the WR covered in flat head bolts? Are there any better fastener systems? I know that some of the stock fasteners are pretty soft, but I think that a problem might be using the wrong wrench or a worn out wrench. I am changing my tank soon and will have to check out these small bolts.


**edit: I wrote the wrong size when I wrote this above. I had 1/8 but changed it to 1/16. I will try to get a pice of the smalest allen that I have used posted. It is amazing.

I did my tank install this past weekend. I did not have any problems with the bolts but they were on very tight. The 3mm allen head seems small for the size thread that was used on the bolt. The bolt also looked like it was made of cheese which could also be causing the problems. I guess that I am used to higher spec bolts. I had the big honking o-ring and have not detected any leaks yet. I also do not think that longer bolts are required as mine were easily long enough for the new o-ring. I did accidentally screw the filler cap on too tight the first time and could not get it off with my hands to look inside. I had to use the rubber handle end of a hammer to tap on the side of the cap so that could unscrew it. I will have to be careful about overtightening it in the future.

duanew wrote:

skierd wrote:

Its the bolt head that stripped because allen heads are the most awful fastener system since phillips head screws except for torx.

I love allen head bolts. I have yet to strip one out in my extensive use of them in RC cars and other devices all the way down to 1/8 and smaller. Would you want the WR covered in flat head bolts? Are there any better fastener systems? I know that some of the stock fasteners are pretty soft, but I think that a problem might be using the wrong wrench or a worn out wrench. I am changing my tank soon and will have to check out these small bolts.

Yes, bolt bolts that don't strip out in an instant would be nice.

FWIW, after retorqueing everything after stripping the allen head, my tank doens't smell or appear to be seeping anymore.