fuel tanks

[721lp]

I have a small weap from my left tank....only when it's full. I was wondering if our esteemed audience had any opinions on whether a "top coat" would suffice, or whether I should completely have a strip and reseal......Opinions?

 

 

 

 

[GeorgePerry]

You might want to take a look at the perspective vintage mooney buyers thread...It turned into a fairly comprehensive discussion on the pro's and con's of reseals v/s bladders.  The one piece of advice I will offer, is that if you have a "small" leak then larger ones or at least other small ones will surely follow.  If you opt for a reseal, I wouldn't do it piecemeal...I'd just get it done right the first time.  Of course that advice completely ignores the extra costs associated with that course of action....you'll see from the thread I'm a big fan of bladders, but others swear by good reseals.

http://www.mooneyspace.com/index.cfm?mainaction=posts&forumid=2&threadid=9

[eaglebkh]

Does it only weap through a particular panel?  If so, it's not too difficult to just reseal the one panel.  I had that done last year when the pilot side tank was seaping.  Ended up being the wrong screws used to secure the panel (credit that one to the paint shop).  Anyway, the reseal took about 36 hours to cure.

[Greg_D]

Patch jobs can be very effective if the damage is localized and the person doing the repair knows what they are doing.  Don Maxwell has a good article on his website describing how he finds and repairs fuel tank leaks.  I know several people who have had this done by him with no reoccurance of the leaks.

[airfoill]

Well it appears it is my turn to get my tanks resealed.  I understand that Willmar, who specializes is Mooney tanks, has their own unique process for removing the old sealant.   Does anybody know if any other repair facility using the same process?  I live in Texas and I would like a closer facility to get my tanks resealed using the same process that Willmar uses.

[KSMooniac]

Herb, I believe that Willmar has licensed their process back to the Mooney factory/service center.  You might start with them and get a quote.  I'd be curious to see how their price compares to Willmar.  I got a quote from them a couple of months ago for a smooth belly mod on my J, and let's just say it was quite uncompetitive.

[Mcstealth]

Quote: KSMooniac

Herb, I believe that Willmar has licensed their process back to the Mooney factory/service center.  You might start with them and get a quote.  I'd be curious to see how their price compares to Willmar.  I got a quote from them a couple of months ago for a smooth belly mod on my J, and let's just say it was quite uncompetitive.