One Rivet slightly oozing fuel

I have a 2005 RV9A and I have one rivet slightly oozing fuel on the top side of the tank. You cannot even see it but after a flight you can see a short trail from that rivet. It is temping to just forget it but I want to attempt a simple fix. Turn off the fuel valve, drain the tank, connect the shop vac to the tank filler. Pull a vacuum on the tank, being careful to avoid any skin distortion. Then place a small amount of thin selant around the rivet and wait. The question is, what sealant is going to be thin enough to pull into the joint and still be fuel proof? Any ideas? I cannot get to the backside of the rivet to Proseal it.
Ed

Green Loc Tite (I think the number is 290, wicking liquid) will work. I’ve sealed a couple of leaking rivets that way on Piper tanks.

Rubber grommet

I have heard that you can take a lycoming pushrod tube seal, the green rubber one, place it over the rivet and fill it with proseal. Use a flush rivet set on a gun turned low and force it in by hammering on the rubber.

Oozing rivet

Contra said:

Green Loc Tite (I think the number is 290, wicking liquid) will work. I’ve sealed a couple of leaking rivets that way on Piper tanks.

Click to expand...

I looked up the specs and that looks like an excellent suggestion. Appears to hold up well to gasoline and thin enough to wick in between threads on fasteners without disassembly. Thanks for that tip.
Ed

Oozing rivet

oaklandaviator said:

I have heard that you can take a lycoming pushrod tube seal, the green rubber one, place it over the rivet and fill it with proseal. Use a flush rivet set on a gun turned low and force it in by hammering on the rubber.

Click to expand...

Another great idea! Thanks
Ed

+1 for the wicking Loctite 290. Easiest option to try first.

no vacuum

Hmm... not sure that a vacuum inside the tank is such a good idea because even a few psi over a large area will generate a lot of force and very easily damage the tank. Far better to apply outside pressure over the rivet head using a short piece of rubber hose on the end of a syringe, I would think. There have been other posts on VAF about how to force in sealant around a rivet head.

+2 for Loctite 290.
No need to pull a vacuum. It wicks as it’s supposed to.
Is a simple permanent fix.

Does the loctite 290 technique work if:

1) The rivet is on the bottom of the tank and

2) The tank had gas

Would it work better if the tank is dry?

Thanks

I found it much more difficult on the bottom of the tank than on the top. I ended up placing an o-ring around a leaky rivet on the bottom and using a syringe with a cut-off tip (so the end of it would seal around the o-ring) to create some positive pressure outside the rivet. I never tried it with fuel in the tank, I drained it first.