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M20J - Fuel tank sealant/leak issue or not?


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Hi,

I'm looking into buying an M20J 201 1978 that appears to be in great condition.
One of my questions is that is appears to have original sealant with no leaks and patches done.

Is this a ticking $$$$ bomb ?
How long will it last in best case.

Is there anything else that is worth checking up more properly at the PPI ?

/Patrik

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I have a 78, original sealant, but I had it patched. When they patched it they said original sealant looks good.

You can’t tell, if hangared it could hold up another 40 years, if parked outside it could last only 4. There’s certainly no reason to preemptively sealed it.

Have the tanks filled prior to the PPI.

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Welcome aboard Patrick...

What you hear about tank sealant got updated over the years...

Some ancient sealants went bad...

Some ancient installs were not very good...

Either way...

Its not a ticking time bomb...

But something that is always a consideration....  they have services for that... or you can do it yourself...

lots of dough, or lots of work...

Most challenges are from the heat of the summer sun Over the years... leading to a screw or two needing to be resealed... not too difficult... Or too expensive...

Best regards,

-a-

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If it's not leaking, it's not leaking.   Five-year-old reseals leak sometimes, too.    If it does spring a leak, like all of them do from time to regardless of how old, patches are pretty routinely done.

It's not hard to get a basic visual inspection of the inside of the tank through the filler neck.   Taking a few sump samples will show whether there's any debris suspended around the sump.    If the sump fuel is clean and the sealant looks good and there aren't any established leaks, it doesn't get much better than that.

 

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If you are looking at one of the few Mooneys that have the faulty sealant...

 a visual inspection inside the tank will easily reveal the materials falling off the wall...
 

Look for pics of what sealant should look like... and patch jobs that shouldn’t have been done like that...

Visual inspection is all it typically takes... typical of a good PPI...

Leaks don’t hide very well...

Best regards,

-a-

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Some planes seem to have tank sealant that lasts forever, while others seem to have early failures. The previous owner of my 1978 J had the tanks patched in 1986. I bought the plane in 1987 and had no further issues during the seven years I owned it. My current 1994 J has never had any leaks in the tanks (except for a couple of reseals on the inspection plate in the wing walk). So, I suspect that the likelihood of leaking is much more related to the quality of application of the sealant than calendar time. 

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