Jump to content

Fuel valve selector for M20J

SPEEDMOONEY

By SPEEDMOONEY
in General Mooney Talk

 Share

Recommended Posts

N177MC Community Regular

N177MC

Posted
Posted (edited)

I spoke with Dan @ LASAR just yesterday about this.  He was NOT very optimistic: 

- These selectors are NOT servicable/re-buildable

- Mooney has "in-definite" lead time for new.

- Only short-term remedy is used, but beware of junk that's no better than what you have ...

- 

Edited by N177MC
M20F-1968 Veteran

M20F-1968

Posted
Posted

I have a fuel selector from a 1998 Ovation.  400 hours of use.  Can it be used in your J?

I can get the part number if you wish.

John Breda

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, M20F-1968 said:

I have a fuel selector from a 1998 Ovation.  400 hours of use.  Can it be used in your J?

I can get the part number if you wish.

John Breda

Fuel selector valves for Continental powered airplanes have a fuel return circuit.  Lycoming powered do not.

Clarence

M20F-1968 Veteran

M20F-1968

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Fuel selector valves for Continental powered airplanes have a fuel return circuit.  Lycoming powered do not.

Clarence

You are correct.

John Breda

Flymu2 Collaborator

Flymu2

Posted
Posted

I had one fail on an Eagle a few years ago. Tried in vain to find one other than new. Finally had to cave and buy new. $1500 plus install :-(

Missile=Awesome Proficient

Missile=Awesome

Posted
Posted
On 7/30/2020 at 6:03 PM, M20Doc said:

Fuel selector valves for Continental powered airplanes have a fuel return circuit.  Lycoming powered do not.

Clarence

Can you expand upon that?  I have a 1980/81 J Model that appears to have OEM J Fuel Selector.  The plane has a Continental IO550 engine.  Are you saying that the OEM fuel selector was replaced to allow for the “fuel return circuit”?  Thanks for information.

M20F-1968 Veteran

M20F-1968

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Missile=Awesome said:

Can you expand upon that?  I have a 1980/81 J Model that appears to have OEM J Fuel Selector.  The plane has a Continental IO550 engine.  Are you saying that the OEM fuel selector was replaced to allow for the “fuel return circuit”?  Thanks for information.

If you have a Continental engine, I have an fuel selector and separate gascolator which are almost new - 400 hrs TT.  Are you sure you have a J model with a Continental?  

The selector I have came off a 1998 Ovation.

John Breda

Missile=Awesome Proficient

Missile=Awesome

Posted
Posted
Just now, M20F-1968 said:

If you have a Continental engine, I have an fuel selector and separate gascolator which are almost new - 400 hrs TT.  Are you sure you have a J model with a Continental?  

The selector I have came off a 1998 Ovation.

John Breda

Hi John.  Yeah, I am sure.  It is a Missile Conversion on the J.  I don’t think I can stick that selector in there and ours is working fine, but I had not read anything in the logs/Rocket Engine Conversion that discussed the fuel selector being swapped.  That was the reason for my question.  Thanks,

Scott

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Missile=Awesome said:

Can you expand upon that?  I have a 1980/81 J Model that appears to have OEM J Fuel Selector.  The plane has a Continental IO550 engine.  Are you saying that the OEM fuel selector was replaced to allow for the “fuel return circuit”?  Thanks for information.

Every fuel injected Continental engine I’ve worked on have a fuel return circuit from the engine fuel pump, to the selector valve then back to the selected tank.

I’ve never worked on a Missile, but I’m betting that they installed a K model selector valve and fuel lines.

Clarence

Missile=Awesome Proficient

Missile=Awesome

Posted
Posted
Just now, M20Doc said:

Every fuel injected Continental engine I’ve worked on have a fuel return circuit from the engine fuel pump, to the selector valve then back to the selected tank.

I’ve never worked on a Missile, but I’m betting that they installed a K model selector valve and fuel lines.

Clarence

Thanks Clarence.  I bet you are right.  I will do some research.  Appreciate the reply sir.

Missile=Awesome Proficient

Missile=Awesome

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Every fuel injected Continental engine I’ve worked on have a fuel return circuit from the engine fuel pump, to the selector valve then back to the selected tank.

I’ve never worked on a Missile, but I’m betting that they installed a K model selector valve and fuel lines.

Clarence

That likely explains my confusion when I saw a K Model valve on Ebay that looked (handle) JUST like my plane... :)

 

carusoam Grand Master

carusoam

Posted
Posted

Part of the Continental engine installation is its fuel strainer with fuel delivery lines...

The IO550 has a full return line... used for improving hot starts... eliminates vapor bubbles in heated fuel...

Ovation fuel selectors include this line and put the returned fuel back into the same tank it came from....

Other installations may return the fuel always to just one tank.... not using the fuel selector valve...

Oddly enough there is still hot fuel that goes beyond the return line... but a small amount...
 

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

  • Like 2
EricJ Grand Master

EricJ

Posted
Posted

lol...that also answers a question from another thread, that there is an additional bar in the cage for the increased gross weight in the early s/ns, and gross was only 2837 for those cases with a stock landing weight.    Interesting.  ;)

 

  • Like 2
  • 4 weeks later...
N177MC Community Regular

N177MC

Posted
Posted (edited)

SIX weeks later and still no solution for this fuel selector valve, despite contacting Mooney, Maxwell and LASAR ...    HELP !

We have found fuel valves for late model Conti engined and pre-J model valves as well, BUT NO J Model fuel selector valves and the word on the street that re-build/overhaul is NOT an option.

Just to be sure, here's the photos :

20200729_194829.thumb.jpg.d878cf372637e8b264a12a34a4561582.jpg

 

 

20200826_164850.jpg

Edited by N177MC
PT20J Grand Master

PT20J

Posted
Posted

Does it leak? Is it stuck? Or, just difficult to turn? At the museum, we work on a lot of old airplanes that are difficult or impossible to get parts for. These valves are pretty simple. Often just taking it apart, cleaning it up and replacing o-rings and lubing it with EZ-Turn gets them working if they've gotten stiff or frozen.

Skip

N177MC Community Regular

N177MC

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, PT20J said:

Does it leak? Is it stuck? Or, just difficult to turn? At the museum, we work on a lot of old airplanes that are difficult or impossible to get parts for. These valves are pretty simple. Often just taking it apart, cleaning it up and replacing o-rings and lubing it with EZ-Turn gets them working if they've gotten stiff or frozen. Skip

Skip - It's gone from stiff to frozen. 

 

LASAR told me that these valves are NOT repairable and I cannot find a single shop that will even attempt a repair, otherwise I would have done it from the start.

ArtVandelay Grand Master

ArtVandelay

Posted
Posted
Skip - It's gone from stiff to frozen. 
 
LASAR told me that these valves are NOT repairable and I cannot find a single shop that will even attempt a repair, otherwise I would have done it from the start.

Did you try to pull the snap ring to take a look? Maybe parts inside can’t be replaced, but a clean and lube could fix the problem.
N177MC Community Regular

N177MC

Posted
Posted
56 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:


Did you try to pull the snap ring to take a look? Maybe parts inside can’t be replaced, but a clean and lube could fix the problem.

Not yet, but I think it is indeed worth a try.

PT20J Grand Master

PT20J

Posted
Posted

I haven’t worked on this particular valve, but a lot of these type valves are tapered plug (aka cone) valves. They can be disassembled and the plug and mating surfaces VERY lightly lapped together to make them turn freely. Don’t overdo it or you will make the cone undersized and the ports will be misaligned (yes, I’ve made that mistake). All you want to do is remove the surface toughness that is preventing the valve from turning. Replace any o-rings and lube everything with EZ-Turn (aka Fuel Lube). I would remove it from the airplane and get it up on a bench where you can work on it properly. We had to do this recently with a stuck firewall shutoff fuel valve on our Beaver. 


Any time a metal valve starts getting stiff it’s a good idea to take it apart and lube it. They just get worse until they finally seize up. 

Good luck. 

Skip

  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.