thook44

lol...no man. i've read about the soap trick, but i really don't think that'll work very well it's moot now, anyway. the sun hath quite unexpectedly shown upon me today with great fortune. without offering too many details, my wife and i now have a well cared for '98 red CR-V with an easy 135k soon to be in our possession. needs a couple of minor repairs, but it's cleaner than your teeth after a visit to the dentist. i'm blown away so, the suby will get some very uncomplicated rust treatment and will be stored as a back up vehicle until we feel it's time to do something else with it. perhaps a swap of the motor and tranny into something or sell it off as a parts vehicle. i thank you all for the generous time and input you've shared on this, but now the problem is no longer something for me to deal with cheers

i'm sure it was the multilingual persuasion that did it. i'm surprised no one suggested more of that to begin with

340K....nice!! i've a friend who loved "older" beamers. it just got to where he couldn't afford to keep them. the little things here and there that needed repair....and i don't remember what they were. he had a white one i was smitten with...don't know what model/year. i was sad for him when had to let it go...haha. yeah, cool cars, but i couldn't have one where i live, anyway. my old peugeot did okay with the lsd rear end...just not near enough clearance i imagine that'll pretty much be the fate of this wagon; drive it until it dies or not worth repairing. i love it, but like with dropping the tank i'm afraid what'll break in the process because of rust. so, i'll just spend what money i absolutely have to to make sufficient repairs until i can get an early forester or maybe an early RAV4...without rust!!

my neighbor's well aware of the filler neck issue. like me, he was hoping that was the problem when he learned of the leak. but, it's not yes, yes...i'll be careful...haha. thanks for the concern. i mean, i'm not ready to go just yet. nor get maimed. pain sucks $600??!! whoa! yay beamer..haha. (they are pretty cool cars, though) i've known about por15 for a long time from the toyota 4x4 world. i'd seriously considered trying to save the frame on my old 4runner, but it was expensive for me at the time and i would have needed a lot. so, weighing in everything it would've been a costly attempt at saving it unless i could actually get inside the frame, too. it would have been like putting a band aid on a chain saw wound. i did not realize it was fuel resistant. but, whatever material i use to patch it i won't need much since the hole is rather small. and, it's not like you can just buy a little por15. i may consider it later down the road for some rusty areas on the body if this converter stuff i have doesn't work as intended. having said that, i'm not sure how much more money i want to put into this car, either. i just need to keep it going, as it were as for safety, it occurred to me yesterday that my brother in law is an industrial welder. apparently he'd welded the fuel tank on my other sister's car, as she has told me. so, he could likely guide me on safety ideas and relatively easy course of action. i have read on atleast one other forum wherein guys needing to repair/weld their auxiliary fuel tank empty the fuel, air it out, and then fill with water. some even using exhaust funneled from the tailpipe of another vehicle into the tank. even getting all that sorted, still...i have to work out the drilling area logistics. just haven't made the time to take the necessary measurements. but, filling it with water sounds like a real pita considering there's not a drain plug on these tanks. (or is there? i read there isn't, and i haven't seen one) anyhow, thank you for all the input

right...i see. well, maybe freeze off would work. good luck, man

either the seal all or the epoxy at o'reilly sounds like it'll work i did a bunch of reading on repairing it. it really doesn't sound the hole sawing will be a big deal in terms of safety prep. nevertheless, i will of course drain and out gas among a couple of other procedures. heard back from my neighbor. he's 110% positive of where the leak is: "it's where the rubber isolater meets the car body. spent a lot of time determining this before purchasing the replacement tank. it was a common problem on this model" to know the man is to know that's what the problem is now, the real problem is determining where i need to hole saw.......AFTER i manage to get all the dirt off that's accumulated on top of the tank. whew!! it's a dirt cake up there. if i'm correct, that isolater is located between the pump and where the wheel well is relative to drilling within the cargo area. there's just not a lot of room there much less a flat surface in which to drill phooey

well, he's off on a business trip right now, but i did send him a message asking one more time if he was sure it wasn't the filler neck. it was my intention to get him to actually show me the exact location he says it to be last he was home (helping me with my brakes), but due to circumstance we only got so far before he had to jet off to take care of something else. he's suppose to be back monday i know, i know...it's gasoline..fumes...all that fun stuff where next thing you know you're looking down at yourself. or what was once you. it's my understanding the hole is rather small. but, i surmise i ought to be able to use a shop vac to deter any possible debris/water invasion with a shop vac running while hole sawing (from reading that machinist's forum) anyway, i'm looking into the possibilities. you just never know. you could find just the info you need. i figure i'm never the only one that's ever run into whatever kind of situation before, so look on the web (for example), and viola!...."oh yeah, i did this and it worked out great. i lost my arm, but hey...it worked!" (i'm kiddin')

https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-BOLT-GRIP-Extractor-Expansion-394002/dp/B000QW6K8I that's what i use. get them at lowes if you've tried them before and had no success.....well, maybe you were holdin' yer mouth wrong er sumpin, i dunno

thanks! i will read on that tomorrow

the prev owner is my neighbor and good friend. he knows exactly where the leak is...which is why he bought the tank. but, his career keeps him on the road a lot and so never had/made the time to swap the tank out himself. there was a point when he had to let the vehicle go due to different circumstances and so sold it to me to cover other expenses of his i did ask him if he was sure it wasn't the filler neck or even the pump and connections. nope. he thoroughly explored those possibilities. in fact, when he was shopping around at yards to find a replacement tank, he discovered many of the tanks he ran across had the same leak issue in the same spot and speculated it was a common problem in this model. really, he had a very hard time finding this good one anyway, now the problem is mine..haha

what are you calling a bolt extractor? i've never not had one of these bolt grips work for me. the harder you twist, the deeper it cuts into the nut. but, then, i really don't know the H6 terrain you're working with. i mean, i know what an H6 is...just never worked on one. much less seen one in person

duh...sorry. just found on a machining forum. spray/pour water where i'm using the hole saw. little heat and no sparks (if there even would be) still, if you have tips on a durable sealant that you have good experience with, that would be nice thanks

i'll have to try that. thanks!

i would think the nut is stripped...not the threads...since he's considered splitting the nut

'94 legacy wagon my neighbor, whom i bought the car from, said the leak is up top of the tank near the filler neck area. he said it's where the tank has been making contact with car body. so, i can't fill the tank completely or it will leak. otherwise, it doesn't. he bought a replacement tank and gave it to me when i bought the car and, as any of you probably already know, the whole rear end has got to come down to replace it. but, until lately i've not been comfortable with doing that big of a job myself. and, at the moment, i have too many other things i need to move on (home renovations, etc) before winter hits. i've considered draining the tank, drilling with a hole saw above the leaky area, and using a durable sealant. since the body has seen better days and i'm not concerned about my pageant show appearance, a hole won't bother me. safety does, but i've used hole saws many times in metal without ever noticing spark. (i don't think it does?) out of necessity, i made an access panel for the fuel pump in my '92 with the tank still in place and the vehicle and i are still here. not saying there isn't a better idea with this subaru, though so, if any of you folks have any ideas that you know of, can think of, or have done that might last until next spring, i'd love to hear about it. btw, i know...swapping the tank out is the best fix, but if there's another way to get me by.....