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Fuel leak, should I fix it now?

kentb

kentb

Well Known Member
Doing my second conditional inspection and I discovered evidence of a fuel leak in my right tank.
There was a little blue along the wing root fairing and after removing it I could see blue on the front side of the spar.


I could see blue around the tank attach bolts inside the wing inspection access plates.


and


Should I drain and take the tank off to do this repair now. Or can I just watch this and keep flying until winter and do the repair then?

I don't like the though of being down at this time of year. It isn't leaking enough to drop onto the hangar floor.

What do you think?

Kent
 
Kent, the toughest part is finding the actual leak point. That stuff moves around a bit, and your leak is obviously quite small. Pull the tank and do the balloon pressurize trick and soapy water. Have there been many times, when filling the tanks, that fuel slopped over the top? That could find its way back there maybe... just a thought.
 
Lol, I'm the only one thats gonna go out and say, it doesn't matter. If you don't want to fix it now, then wait. It could get into your paint and start staining that, but a little seep like that shouldn't hurt anything else.
 
I am flying a Champ which has a small fuel leak in the right tank. I have had 3 different AP's look at it independently. They say fix it a our convenience. No hurry.
 
What should I do....

4 replies for fix it now.
2 replies for you can wait.
So I call an A&P friend and asked him.
He said that the AC43-?? states that weeping can be fixed at you convenience if it is not near electrical (fire potential) and is not dripping out.

The above is not a direct quote, just my remembrance of what he said.

So I will continue to fly and do the tank repair this winter.

Kent
 
I had a weep for a few months which turned to a slow drip yesterday. Removed the fairing and its coming from the center terminal isolation washer on the sender. Easier to fix than a rivet in the middle of the tank but I had to remove the tank.
 
Well, it is now time for the repair...

I have removed the tank and the source of the leak is the Z bracket just outboard of the first internal rib. Looks like the top rivet didn't get enough goop on it.
This would have been an easy fix, if I had not gone with the Cap fuel sender. I could have just removed the end plate, reached through and put some more goop on. The Cap plate is going to be in my way.

So I will cut a hole in the back baffle and reach through it that way.

My question to day is:

After three years of flying, how should I clean the area that will get more proseal? MEK, Acetone, something else?

Kent
 
Just 1 rivet?

kentb said:
I have removed the tank and the source of the leak is the Z bracket just outboard of the first internal rib. Looks like the top rivet didn't get enough goop on it.
This would have been an easy fix, if I had not gone with the Cap fuel sender. I could have just removed the end plate, reached through and put some more goop on. The Cap plate is going to be in my way.

So I will cut a hole in the back baffle and reach through it that way.

My question to day is:

After three years of flying, how should I clean the area that will get more proseal? MEK, Acetone, something else?

Kent
Click to expand...

If you are going to cut a hole, you will have to seal it and will have a risk of leaking on that new hole. Since it's 1 rivet, why not drill it out, add copius quantities of Pro-seal through the hole and use a piece of wire to build up a neat little pile on the inside of the tank and then put a blind rivet in and cover the rivet on top with more proseal.. Rinse out the tank to remove any metal filings. Put some gas in it and set it on the z-bracket side to see if it leaks. If it leaks, go with your first plan. If it doesn't, put back on the plane and fly on. Also, gas is a great solvent for oil and grease. I don't think you would need to use any MEK or acetone.

Just an opinion but why turn a 15 minute job in to one that last a weekend.
 
Why didn't I think of that....

Webb said:
If you are going to cut a hole, you will have to seal it and will have a risk of leaking on that new hole. Since it's 1 rivet, why not drill it out, add copius quantities of Pro-seal through the hole and use a piece of wire to build up a neat little pile on the inside of the tank and then put a blind rivet in and cover the rivet on top with more proseal.. Rinse out the tank to remove any metal filings. Put some gas in it and set it on the z-bracket side to see if it leaks. If it leaks, go with your first plan. If it doesn't, put back on the plane and fly on. Also, gas is a great solvent for oil and grease. I don't think you would need to use any MEK or acetone.

Just an opinion but why turn a 15 minute job in to one that last a weekend.
Click to expand...

I'll try it.

Kent
 
trick

Kent,
drill slow and put grease on the tip of the bit.....
the grease will collect a lot of the metal chips....
clean and re-grease often.
good luck
 
Bob Martin said:
Kent,
drill slow and put grease on the tip of the bit.....
the grease will collect a lot of the metal chips....
clean and re-grease often.
good luck
Click to expand...

True but it won't collect that flattened part of the rivet that will fall in the tank. He'll have to clean it out anyway. The fuel filter will catch any escapees. Also, you can rest assured there will be no grease on inside of the tank if you don't use grease when drilling. I thought about it but in this case, I think clean up is better than risk it leaking if the pro-seal hit's a spot that has any residue on it. Just another point of view.

I do think the rivet replacement is best here. Less chance of a leak after the repair and a lot less work.

Hey Ken - Nothing like arm-chair quarterbacks on this one!!!
 
Your all invited to come on over to participate in person

Webb said:
True but it won't collect that flattened part of the rivet that will fall in the tank. He'll have to clean it out anyway. The fuel filter will catch any escapees. Also, you can rest assured there will be no grease on inside of the tank if you don't use grease when drilling. I thought about it but in this case, I think clean up is better than risk it leaking if the pro-seal hit's a spot that has any residue on it. Just another point of view.

I do think the rivet replacement is best here. Less chance of a leak after the repair and a lot less work.

Hey Ken - Nothing like arm-chair quarterbacks on this one!!!
Click to expand...

So I assume the clean out process would be to add a small amount of fuel and see what I can get to come out the drain hole.

Kent
 
kentb said:
So I assume the clean out process would be to add a small amount of fuel and see what I can get to come out the drain hole.

Kent
Click to expand...

I would some fuel in it, and swish it around and try to remove through the filler cap hole. To get the rivet to go through the drain hole may be a test to your good nature. If you can see it, I think it easier to fish it out. Then I would swish some fuel and see if anything comes out the drain hole. Any specs left over would get caught by the fuel filter.

Again, just an arm chair quarterbacks opinion.
 
I'll finish up this thread...

After talking to Van's, I followed their suggestion of removing all the proseal from the outside of the time around the Z-bracket. When I removed the proseal covering the rivets, one of them came off with the proseal.

I just finished up cleaning as much proseal off as I could, mixed up more and popped a new rivet with lots of proseal on it. Then I used the rest of the ounce that I had mix to cover the Z-bracket and rivets from the outside.

I am back in the air flying now and no leaks.

Thanks for all the help VAF people.

Kent
 
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