What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Help with fuel selector valve!

Paul Best

Member
The fuel selector in my 11 year old RV-4 became very hard to rotate. In the air I would have to loosen my shoulder harnesses to get the proper leverage to make it turn. I took it apart and cleaned it and used some fuel lube to lubricate it. However, during the reassembly I noticed a key on the top washer. There did not appear to be a slot of any kind in which to position the key. It's all back together and everything checks normally, except for a nagging feeling that it may not be correct. I should add that I had to assemble it fairly rapidly because raw fuel was welling up through the valve. I haven't flown it yet since I did this because of other maintenance that I'm doing. If anybody knows enough about this old style valve, I would appreciate the help. Thanks, Paul Best RV-4 N66PB
 
key-way

Paul,

I have a std Vans fuel-valve that I mangled in my shop. I'll dis-assemble it and see if I can figure out what the key-way is for.

-Bruce
 
Paul you need to REPLACE the old valve. There have been cases where the old valve stem breaks off while your trying to change tanks. The cost is low and Van has them in stock. I had the same problem in my 10 year old RV-6 (valve hard to turn, almost stuck between the tanks.) The stem on the new valve is a little longer with a different selector handle but its not hard to put in where the old one was. Do Yourself a BIG favor........ get a new valve.
Shine'r
Sunny Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
Paul,
Aircraft Spruce was beating Van's price on the Andair valve by a few bucks as well as the old style. Might save a couple of bucks by checking...

Rob Ray

PS: Another vote for changing the valve...it's worth it when you're over mountains or swamps...The Gators down here love sticky fuel valves...!
 
Replacement sounds like the best bet!

Bruce, Shine'r, Bullet, and Smoky, Thanks for the quick replys and for the good advice. I have my "Spruce" catalog in front of me now. Thanks for the tip Smoky. In this part of the country we don't have gators but I guess you could fall into a volcano. Thanks guys, Paul Best
 
How to fix Van's fuel selector

This is an old post but I'd like to tell what I did to a hard-to-rotate fuel selector. I tried with fuel lube but it was almost as hard as before. I took it apart again, cleaned it and put on some Teflon grease. Mine has the consistency of soft butter. They say that it will be washed off but I decided to give it a try. I noticed that the spring is quite stiff and I happened to have a spring with the same dimensions that was half as stiff and put that in and now the selector is super smooth with no leaks. No need for an expensive Andair selector.
 
Mine became hard to rotate. Not as bad as the OPs though. Took it apart, cleaned internals and replaced o rings and added a bit of fuel lube in the spots mentioned above. Smooth as butter. If you maintain them, they will last.

Larry
 
Legacy RV Fuel Valve.

Since first flown in 1994 only had to remove fuel valve twice. The last time one year ago after de-fueling both tanks.
I used 600 grit aluminum oxide sandpaper to lightly polish the cone; cleaned throughly & very lightly lubed with fuel lube. Smooth as butter. Next time I might try Dan’s suggestion for lube.
During removal play close attention to orientation of the valve & parts.
The correct O-ring under the top nut.
MS29513-011 O-Ring
 
Last edited:
On my -4, I have what I believe is the newer Vans valve.. it has the nylon cone? Anyway, I had a leaky o-ring, so I got new ones (-11 and -18). I lubed with fuel lube, and it was perfect,, until that one flight at 17,500, that fuel lube got so cold, it was really hard to turn!! Down lower when it’s warm, it’s no problem, but I plan to disassemble and wash it out before my next high altitude flight..
 
Which valve?

Both of the valves in the attached pic came from Vans, quite some time ago. Does anyone recognize which is the preferred version to install? The valve on the right is plastic inside and the other is metal, with some type of thick green grease.
 

Attachments

  • 20220530_130719.jpg
    20220530_130719.jpg
    732.1 KB · Views: 119
Improvement

When I bought my 'Legacy' RV-6, one item I had on the list was the fuel selector. I opted for the Newton SPRL valve from Aircraft Spruce. Half the price of the Andair, but similar technology, meaning much better than the old brass valve. Adaptation of the existing fuel lines was necessary, but easy enough.
 
Krytox GPL-205 Grease.

On my -4, I have what I believe is the newer Vans valve.. it has the nylon cone? Anyway, I had a leaky o-ring, so I got new ones (-11 and -18). I lubed with fuel lube, and it was perfect,, until that one flight at 17,500, that fuel lube got so cold, it was really hard to turn!! Down lower when it’s warm, it’s no problem, but I plan to disassemble and wash it out before my next high altitude flight..

Looks like Dan Horton’s suggestion is the way to go.
Thanks Dan.
Krytox™ GPL 205 Grease has a base oil viscosity of 160cSt at 40°C and is suitable for applications where temperatures range from -33°F to 400°F.
 
Back
Top