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Fuel Tank Reseal M20M


Mark Cline

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Can anyone recommend a shop for fuel tank resealing that is relatively close to Virginia?  I am planning a paint job in November, and would like to get this completed beforehand.  Someone recommended the shop in Fort Lauderdale, but closer would be better.  I have a M20M FIKI.  

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4 minutes ago, Mark Cline said:

Can anyone recommend a shop for fuel tank resealing that is relatively close to Virginia?  I am planning a paint job in November, and would like to get this completed beforehand.  Someone recommended the shop in Fort Lauderdale, but closer would be better.  I have a M20M FIKI.  

Do it right and do it once. Theres 3 or 4 shops around. One in FL, one in MN, and one in portland. They book out pretty far.

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17 minutes ago, Mark Cline said:

Can anyone recommend a shop for fuel tank resealing that is relatively close to Virginia?  I am planning a paint job in November, and would like to get this completed beforehand.  Someone recommended the shop in Fort Lauderdale, but closer would be better.  I have a M20M FIKI.  

I had my M20M done last summer by Paul Beck at Weep No More at Willmar MN. I'm very happy with the results!

Cheers,
Rick

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9 hours ago, Junkman said:

I had my M20M done last summer by Paul Beck at Weep No More at Willmar MN. I'm very happy with the results!

Cheers,
Rick

Thank you.  How bad does the paint get messed up with removing all of those access panels?  How long did it take, and what was the approximate cost?  Thanks so much!   

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Resealing the tanks is a job most shops don't even want to do, let alone do well. You are much better off taking it to one of the specialty shops. They've developed special techniques to do the job quickly yet correctly. And they have to be good at it, since shops like Wet Wingologists in Fort Lauderdale have no other lines of work.

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6 hours ago, Mark Cline said:

Thank you.  How bad does the paint get messed up with removing all of those access panels?  How long did it take, and what was the approximate cost?  Thanks so much!   

My airplane has a 2014 paint job on it and required touchup of all of the access panel screws and a number of chips that occurred during panel removal, which Paul did as part of the reseal job. Paul also repainted the wing walk. But if you're planning to repaint your airplane I would definitely wait until after you have the tank work done.

The quote for a complete strip and reseal of my M20M last August was $11K. As I recall it took a little over two weeks to complete the job because one of my wings had quite a number of difficult to strip areas due to past tank seal repairs. Paul doesn't guarantee a completion date due to not knowing what he's going to find once he gets into each tank. In my case the left wing went pretty smoothly but the right wing was a mess.

Cheers,
Rick

 

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2 hours ago, David_M said:

My Bravo is scheduled for a complete re-seal with Wet Wingologists in Fort Lauderdale in July.   Have a left wing with a health leak, but since it will be in the shop, I personally think it would be a waste not to reseal everything on both sides.  Will give you a PIREP when she is done :)  

Sorry for upside down pic.. hmm

 

20210427_112619.jpg

Above pic with the vent is the speed brake access 

IF you or the FBO person filling the tank allows fuel to overflow or spill on the wing near the filler cap, it runs down the

speed brake area

Hard to see from the pic but it appears the fuel stain is aft and adjacent to speed brake panel

 

Have you attempted to clean the fuel stain? Then have a filled tank and allow it to sit and relook...

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Get a good look at what is happening near the speed brakes...

Long bodies have the brakes mounted on the back side of the spar....

With bolts that run through, into the fuel tank...

Its possible a seal on the other side of the tank may not be working very well...

At least one MSer has reported a fuel leak in this area that they were hunting down...

Having somebody Pouring fuel onto your speed brakes is not going to make the pilot very happy... :)

The amount of stain there... represents more than a casual... oops sorry sir, I spilled some...

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

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Things are looking up already...   :)

The stain looks like it is being deposited in waves...   it may be only leaking when the tank is full...

If the fuel was dropped into the speed brake area...  it probably would have drained out the drain tube.... and made the mess on the floor...

See if Edison says you need a whole reseal... or just a fix this leaking bolt?

That would make a fantastic pirep!

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

 

1823AC94-DDD8-49F1-8EFE-462368657CF2.jpeg

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Edison in Ft Lauderdale did a great job on my tanks. Before and after photos shows all of the screws replaced around the access panels. I haven't spent the time to touch it up. I actually think it looks okay.

 

I flew from Tucson to Ft Lauderdale, totally worth the trip. Edison is a specialist, it's what he does and he's  really good at it.

PXL_20201101_192653218.jpg

PXL_20210319_200941694.jpg

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Just had both wing tanks complete scrape and reseal by Houston Tank Services at Eagle Lake, TX.  Had a cancelation and got me in where others said a six month wait. Took three weeks and am very happy with work - no scratches to paint or covers. But better than that I have had a gear rigging and inner gear door problem with the rivets pulling out that was requested, charged, and not repaired by a big name MSC.  Now the doors and the rigging are perfect! Going there for my next annual. Will never go back to that other MSC.  Cost me thousands to fix multiple serious errors.

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On 6/3/2021 at 2:32 AM, Mark Cline said:

Thank you.  How bad does the paint get messed up with removing all of those access panels?  How long did it take, and what was the approximate cost?  Thanks so much!   

I called a couple of the shops.  glehman@advancedaircraft.net (Greg) in Troutdale, Or quoted me $7,000 for both tanks to be resealed.  I didn't ask if he had space.  I did call Weep No More and I have a reservation Dec.29th.  Quite a ways off but I'm on the cancellation list.  He quoted me 5,500 per tank and about 10 days to 2 weeks to fix.  My tanks aren't weeping very much at all and it may just be a quick patch which I was quoted 2,000 for both tanks.  I am selling the plane so may just keep the reservation and let the next buyer decide what to do.  You can see it on Trade a plane.  M20M Bravo.  

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/14/2021 at 4:11 PM, Cayman44 said:

Just had both wing tanks complete scrape and reseal by Houston Tank Services at Eagle Lake, TX.  Had a cancelation and got me in where others said a six month wait. Took three weeks and am very happy with work - no scratches to paint or covers. But better than that I have had a gear rigging and inner gear door problem with the rivets pulling out that was requested, charged, and not repaired by a big name MSC.  Now the doors and the rigging are perfect! Going there for my next annual. Will never go back to that other MSC.  Cost me thousands to fix multiple serious errors.

Talked to @Cayman44 after the tank reseal. I thought the new screws looked pretty good and wouldn't be in a rush to repaint myself. I appear to only have seeping, dripping when the tanks are full, so I will probably try to patch.

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/4/2021 at 2:14 AM, carusoam said:

Get a good look at what is happening near the speed brakes...

Long bodies have the brakes mounted on the back side of the spar....

With bolts that run through, into the fuel tank...

Its possible a seal on the other side of the tank may not be working very well...

At least one MSer has reported a fuel leak in this area that they were hunting down...

I had my wings resealed 2014 in germany. Now they leak again and it looks identically to those photos. I will have them resealed in February in a repair shop at Berlin Shoenhagen airfileld. I let them know Your thoughts. Was the resealing shop able to locate the leaks and have the spead brakes been involved? 

regards, 

Klaus, Muehldorf, Upper Bavaria, Germans

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