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Separating the T-708 Cover Plate

acrojohn

I'm New Here
The left tank sender rubber gasket in my 24-year-old RV-6A finally gave up trying to keep all 18 gallons in the tank. It had just deteriorated since the last time the original builder serviced the tank (?). The sender was still working great, but I’m not going through all this disassembly and put a 15+/-year-old sender back in. I tackled the job after reading everything (and I do mean everything) posted here on tank repair.
While maybe not necessary, I removed the wing tank. The sender easily pulled off after removing the mounting screws due to the condition of the gasket. Getting the T-708 Sender Fuel Cover Plate off was going nowhere until I thought about how thin, sharp, and flexible an RC airplane electric profile propeller is. They are sharp enough to slice your finger off but won’t damage your wedding ring (metal). In 10-minutes I had a strong, but thin APC 7x6E prop blade starting under the plate to the depth of the mounting screw holes. Then I used a thinner, longer, but not as strong 10x6 electric slow flight prop to push across the entire outer underside of the plate.
Obviously, the area around the sender was very stained and there were a few rivets on the back of the baffle at the root that were stained, but not visually seeping. It is suspect that the rivets were seeping or if the gasket leak was allowing fuel to run onto these areas. With the cover plate off and this area inside accessible, I’m going to go ahead and lay in a fillet of Proseal after the area is cleaned up.
Just waiting for UPS to deliver parts. I’ll leak-check it before it goes back on the wing. Then onto SB99-06-01R2. I think I’ll write a book after the last 2 years,…”This Old Plane”
I hope the prop idea saves someone else unnecessary despair.
 
Fuel Sender cover plate sealant.

I would recommend fabricating your own thin cork gasket & apply a thin layer of pro-seal to both sides of the gasket during assembly; as well as the screws. That way, if you ever need to remove them the cork will allow you to do that. Some pro-seal can dry as hard as a rock & the cover plate & tank are pretty thin & easily damaged when attempting removal.
 
Cork gasket material.

Allison 9732 Cork Gasket Material 1/16"x12"x36"
Brand: Allison
4.4 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
-14% $9.95$9.95
List Price: $11.55$11.55
Amazon
 
i don't use a gasket, just a layer of proseal and have never had a leak.

bob burns
RV-4 N2RB
 
i don't use a gasket, just a layer of proseal and have never had a leak.

bob burns
RV-4 N2RB

+1, skip the gasket, it is just a leak source. If needed down the road, a heat gun will soften the pro-seal.

Good idea on the RC prop blade, I'll have to give that a whirl sometime.
 
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