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Fuel Leak


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I have a 1969 M20F that is currently undergoing its annual. I was informed by my mechanic, that he has found a fuel leak in the left tank. Back in 2004 the fuel tanks were stripped and resealed in by "Wet-Wingologists down in Florida. Curious if anyone has recently had their tanks resealed? What is the cost for the procedure, and approximately how long did it take? I know there is also a company in Minnesota - "weep no more" that does these type of repairs as well. Any additional thoughts or recommendations on how to address fuel leak?

 

 

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Both mains leaking at annual.

A&P said total re-strip not necessary. Both were patched and all is well, no more blue stains.

He is well versed in both techniques, so I just said patch.

Not sure cost of both patches, but combined with annual, paid $3100.

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Both mains leaking at annual.
A&P said total re-strip not necessary. Both were patched and all is well, no more blue stains.
He is well versed in both techniques, so I just said patch.
Not sure cost of both patches, but combined with annual, paid $3100.


I assume your A&P wasn't a tank specialist? My A&P won't touch the tanks - "too much trouble"


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I have patched too many tanks. They can always be fixed. Unless large areas of your sealant are deteriorating a complete reseal is not necessary and from my experience counter productive.

To find any leak you should really pull all the panels. Cleaning and replacing the panels will be the bulk of the repair job. Cleaning the old sealant around the leak and fixing the leak is about the same amount of work as one panel. Figure about 16 Hours work and $200 in materials per tank. Trying to rush it or cut corners will end up taking more time.

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5 minutes ago, gsengle said:

Can you explain to a lay person what you mean by pulling a panel? What's a panel? I assume you don't mean inspection panel...


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Yes, he means inspection panels and they are on top and the bottom of the wing. Of course,that is the only access into the wet area of the wing to work with.

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GM,

Things to consider...

Old tanks were sealed with the inferior materials of the day...

Modern materials are so much better.

It takes a good strip and reseal to solve this challenge.

Fortunately, Wet Wingologists and Weep no More are good quality resources.

Unfortunately full strip and reseal is pretty costly.

Fortunately, if wet wingologis has done a full strip and reseal, you probably only need a smaller amount of work done.

Check you logs to ascertain what work was done, and what materials were used.

Then focus on what work needs to get done.

Often parts of the tank exposed to the hot sun start to leak at rivets or seams. Local resealing is the norm...

Check on the the bits and pieces like seals for the fuel level senders. They leak if the are cork, or need to be retorqued or swapped out for modern materials...

call the guys at wet wingologists for their thoughts.  They are good people.  See what they say...

It is helpful to get educated about what you have and what you need.

Paying to get the issue completely fixed without learning about it is generally expensive. Takes time. And is far away...

http://www.wetwingologistseast.com/Contact.html

Contact: Edison

 

Best regards,

-a-

 

 

Edited by carusoam
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 My A&P won't touch the tanks - "too much trouble"
The solution is simple.


There is nothing wrong with telling someone to go to an expert... he won't overhaul my IO550 either. So what's the simple solution?


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CaptG, are you flying out of KAPA?  Arapahoe Aero (http://www.arapahoeaero.com/) is right there on the field.  They've done a couple of fuel tank patches for us over the last 13 years.  Relatively inexpensive and the patch work has held up well.

Patch work isn't a cure-all, and some people say it's only delaying the inevitable full strip/reseal.  We've been happy with our decision to have patches done, though, as the tab was under $1000 each time.  That's pretty cheap compared to quotes I've seen from name-brand shops that are north of $8000, not including travel expenses.

On the other hand, while the patches from Arapahoe Aero are holding up well, we have new seeps on both sides from other areas Arapahoe Aero hasn't (yet) touched.  We've been mulling over another patch vs. a full strip and reseal for over a year.  In the mean time, we're simply living with it.  Both the Mooney service manual and AC43-13 have specific sections on the airworthiness of fuel leaks.  They allow for a certain leak rate, you don't have to be 100% leak-free to be airworthy.

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2 minutes ago, Vance Harral said:

CaptG, are you flying out of KAPA?  Arapahoe Aero (http://www.arapahoeaero.com/) is right there on the field.  They've done a couple of fuel tank patches for us over the last 13 years.  Relatively inexpensive and the patch work has held up well.

 

Wow, first time I've heard arapahoe aero and "relatively inexpensive" together, lol

they charged us 9 hours to install a reiff engine heater....

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I'm aware they're not the cheapest in town by any stretch.  But as far as I know they're the only shop in Colorado that both knows what's involved in patching a wet wing, and are willing and able to do so (at least as of a few years ago).  The other options seem to be to fly out of state, or take your chances with a mechanic that lacks the experience to know that "Nah, too much trouble" is a pretty defensible response.

Frankly, when you're staring at something in the neighborhood of $10,000 including travel expenses to get a full strip-and-reseal, anything seems cheap.

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1 minute ago, Vance Harral said:

I'm aware they're not the cheapest in town by any stretch.  But as far as I know they're the only shop in Colorado that both knows what's involved in patching a wet wing, and are willing and able to do so (at least as of a few years ago).  The other options seem to be to fly out of state, or take your chances with a mechanic that lacks the experience to know that "Nah, too much trouble" is a pretty defensible response.

Frankly, when you're staring at something in the neighborhood of $10,000 including travel expenses to get a full strip-and-reseal, anything seems cheap.

wilmar isn't that far in a mooney, I'd take it there or houston and see if they'll patch it.

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Thanks to all who have taken the time to offer initial responses.   I am familiar with Arapahoe Aero at KAPA and may consider an initial evaluation and bid from them.   Sounds like a reasonable first step.  The mechanic doing our annual does not have enough experience or expertise on Mooney fuel tanks for me to feel comfortable.   I will also start the task of contacting the other Fuel Leak Speciality companies to get their opinions as well.   

 

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GS,

I think Wilmar is the usual place to go from the North East.

If it's for the O, resealing inspection panels and a few rivets are probably all that is needed.

First Os were built with modern tank material and were well sealed from a procedure point of view...

Best regards,

-a-

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11 minutes ago, CaptGMoore said:

Thanks to all who have taken the time to offer initial responses.   I am familiar with Arapahoe Aero at KAPA and may consider an initial evaluation and bid from them.   Sounds like a reasonable first step.  The mechanic doing our annual does not have enough experience or expertise on Mooney fuel tanks for me to feel comfortable.   I will also start the task of contacting the other Fuel Leak Speciality companies to get their opinions as well.   

 

who's doing your annual?

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Wet wings are Not a very high tech solution...

They are light weight and use the existing wing skins as the tank...

so...yes, the access panels open up to reveal the interior of the fuel tanks.

The same is true at the bottom of the wing.  Opening an access panel to see what's inside has surprised a few mechanics...

Doing this with a powered driver is a flaming bad idea....

The reason they cost so much is the hours required to fully clean out the old sealant then properly put in the new...  few people know how to do this.  So supply and demand causes the price to increase.

People travel 1000 miles to see the expert so they have a guaranteed solution.  Adding time and more money to the solution...

If you have more time than Money,  see Alex's thread(?). For an example of owner supplied work...

Best regards,

-a-

 

 

Edited by carusoam
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Just now, carusoam said:

Wet wings are Not a very technical solution...

They are light weight and use the existing wing skins as the tank...

so...yes, the access panels open up to reveal the interior of the fuel tanks.

The same is true at the bottom of the wing.  Opening an access panel to see what's inside has surprised a few mechanics...

Doing this with a powered driver is a flaming bad idea....

Best regards,

-a-

 

 

Thanks!  Yes, on my tank it does look like my first stop is replacing a gasket on a leaking access panel to ascertain how much of the staining is coming from there...  The access panel is ahead of the seam, making it hard to see what is going on just yet.

Greg

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