Hi all,
I’m looking for some advice for a UK based new Mooney owner. The a/c is a 1987 M20J and a smell of fuel enters the cabin shortly after takeoff and then disappears after 3-5 minutes.
We’ve had two mechanics look over the engine and all seems fine, one replaced an induction gasket and the other found a minor seep in the cabin adjoining the pilot side fuel tank near the fuel lines which has been cleaned up and marked. The fuel lines look fine and the staining is around 4 bolts. I thought that this may be the cause but I now doubt it as the problem only occurs on take off after the clean up.
The a/c runs fine at all other times and there are no signs of leaks on the ground after thorough run ups. Mags have been checked on the ground and in the air at cruise and fuel flow is as expected during all phases.
The only things I can narrow it down to are:
- something related to the landing gear being raised?
- occurring when the engine is at full power / rich. However, I have done a T&G when I didn’t raise the gear and the problem didn’t occur which points to the first option.
Ive read a few posts on Mooney leaks but can’t find anything similar to this. Any thoughts or areas worth investigating?
Thanks in advance,
David