Fuel Tank Repair - 2003 KJ

I have a 2003 KJ and over the weekend I incurred a gas tank puncture that is at about the 1/2 point of the fuel tank. (I was able to finish out my trip picking up a 2nd Jerry can so could fill up as needed with only about a 140 mile range.

I was looking at replacing the fuel tank since that would give me the confidence in having a good tank. These are out of production so to source a replacement my option would be going to a salvage yard.

The puncture appears to be more of a gouge and a knife like cut into the tank above the horizontal joint between the upper and lower part of the tank. (I will get some pictures where I can get it jacked up and get under it much better.)

My question is about gas tank repair kits and their success rate? This is a plastic tank and I have never used one of these. From my initial look at the damage it seems feasible that I could sand down the area and clean it up and use a plastic gas tank repair epoxy on it.

I do a bit of off-roading in the SW mainly California deserts. This is a stock liberty and I know it definitely has it's limits, however, I'm saying this before it most certainly experiences a fair share of vibration.

Any info and or experience with this type of repair would be appreciated.

I do plan to keep this vehicle for a while despite being 19 years old.. Just passed 155K miles on this trip and all else is very mechanically sound

thanks!!

Here is an update with pictures of the cut into the gas tank.

After doing a bit more research on this. I know my KJ has the 18.5 gallon tank and I'm now seeing that some trim models or in later years there were some with a 20.5 gallon tank. Perhaps this was more on the KK model? Does anyone know the compatablilty across these models? If I end up doing a tank replacement it looks like I could get an extra 2 gallons on board. Not a lot.. but good for an extra 35 miles on long trips.

Thanks again for looking and any info.

tesuzuki2002 said:

Here is an update with pictures of the cut into the gas tank.

After doing a bit more research on this. I know my KJ has the 18.5 gallon tank and I'm now seeing that some trim models or in later years there were some with a 20.5 gallon tank. Perhaps this was more on the KK model? Does anyone know the compatablilty across these models? If I end up doing a tank replacement it looks like I could get an extra 2 gallons on board. Not a lot.. but good for an extra 35 miles on long trips.

Thanks again for looking and any info.

Click to expand...

I have an 06 Limited, they come with the bigger tank.

tesuzuki2002 said:

Here is an update with pictures of the cut into the gas tank.

After doing a bit more research on this. I know my KJ has the 18.5 gallon tank and I'm now seeing that some trim models or in later years there were some with a 20.5 gallon tank. Perhaps this was more on the KK model? Does anyone know the compatablilty across these models? If I end up doing a tank replacement it looks like I could get an extra 2 gallons on board. Not a lot.. but good for an extra 35 miles on long trips.

Thanks again for looking and any info.

Click to expand...

Did you end up getting a 20.5 Gallon tank? I’m thinking of swapping my 18.5 gallon to the 20.5 one and wondering about the compatibility.