Steven B Posted July 5, 2023 Report Share Posted July 5, 2023 Does anyone have a good recommendation for a weeping fuel tank in a mooney M20 K on the west coast. TYIA!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritz1 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 to my best knowledge there are three shops that strip and reseal tanks, they are MN, TX and FL, Weep No More in Wilmar is probably closest to you, they did my tanks in about 2 weeks, usually 6-9 months backlog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragsf15e Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 7 hours ago, Steven B said: Does anyone have a good recommendation for a weeping fuel tank in a mooney M20 K on the west coast. TYIA!! You might try a repair. Id ask Top Gun in Stockton first. They might do repairs or know who does. The MSC in troutdale oregon is another option. He used to do full tank reseals but might still do repairs. Don Maxwell in texas is one more option for a repair. They are real good but not exactly west coast. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR75 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 seconding the MSC in Troutdale as a great option. feel free to pm for details one recommendation if you do a reseal or repair is to have them check the fuel nut caps and change all the machine screws with the right length to not puncture those nut caps I am not sure if there is a source of those machine screws painted (white as most planes base color is white) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 I just got my plane back from Wet-Wingologists in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Yesterday at about noon. And so far, no leaks! I'm from the west coast as well (North Central WA) and this was just about as absolutely far away from home as I can get in the continental US. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR75 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 12 hours ago, Steven B said: Does anyone have a good recommendation for a weeping fuel tank in a mooney M20 K on the west coast. TYIA!! picture of what it looks like ? some repairs are not difficult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven B Posted July 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR75 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 thinking a full reseal could be needed as the leak seems to propagate along the rivets line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven B Posted July 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 Ok. Thank you for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 13 minutes ago, OR75 said: thinking a full reseal could be needed as the leak seems to propagate along the rivets line I’d sure try a patch first, it could still be one small seep, that travels along the outside of the leak. Full strip and reseal is in my opinion where you end up after fixing a couple of leaks, you may get several years out of a fix, or may not too. I’ve fixed more than one leak on brand new airplanes, the most difficult thing is finding exactly where the leak origin is. Often where it’s appearing may not be where the actual leak is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolter Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 3 hours ago, Steven B said: That looks like the wing walk, which is a common weeping location. The repeating flexing from walking on it works the screws' sealing loose. This is fixed by removing the screws and adding sealant. Do a search on MS, and you will find the details on the sealant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven B Posted July 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 Great advice. Will definitely go down the patch road first. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinecone Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 21 minutes ago, Bolter said: That looks like the wing walk, which is a common weeping location. The repeating flexing from walking on it works the screws' sealing loose. This is fixed by removing the screws and adding sealant. Do a search on MS, and you will find the details on the sealant. My thought also. It may be a very quick and easy fix, from the outside. I had one screw leaking. Shop did not even charge for that (they were doing other things also). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR75 Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 3 hours ago, Pinecone said: My thought also. It may be a very quick and easy fix, from the outside. I had one screw leaking. Shop did not even charge for that (they were doing other things also). I don't think those are the panel screws. those look like the rivets line the panel / screws are forward of that (almost at the front end of the wing walk). The fix could involve opening that front panel and "paint" sealant over those rivets in the inside. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCarlton Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 After a TON of consternation, I decided to go with bladders today and put down a deposit. I canceled my reseal appointment only because of the long trip from KCRQ to KBDH. I figured $4K in fuel, hotel and roundtrip air fare costs. For anyone considering bladders, it's a long lead time item. Eagle Fuel Cells makes the bladders for Griggs and they are out of some of the required material. Apparently two of the three companies that make the material have closed (sigh) slowing deliveries. So... I'm expecting the bladder kit in 5-7 months (TBD). If I can't get through my next annual, I'll ground the plane and wait. I was looking forward to working with Paul at Weep No More and experiencing MN, but it's a long hot haul in Aug from SOCAL when you have other obligations and pressures to get back home. Looking forward now to documenting and reporting out on the bladder install. BTW, prices have gone up 14% in the last 10 months (sigh). If you are considering bladders, don't delay. Hope I made a good decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 One of the reasons I bought my airplane was it has bladders. I really think that they are pretty much a permeant fix for me. At my age it’s not likely I’ll be flying this aircraft when they age out. I’ve seen many over 40 year old bladders that weren’t leaking, yet. Keeping a bladder airplane in a hangar really seems to increase their life, the theory is the heat from the sun over years degrades the bladders, they often fail on the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCarlton Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 8 hours ago, A64Pilot said: One of the reasons I bought my airplane was it has bladders. I really think that they are pretty much a permeant fix for me. At my age it’s not likely I’ll be flying this aircraft when they age out. I’ve seen many over 40 year old bladders that weren’t leaking, yet. Keeping a bladder airplane in a hangar really seems to increase their life, the theory is the heat from the sun over years degrades the bladders, they often fail on the top. Almost every expensive project we’ve undertaken at home recently has required rework even when we tried to hire the best and offer a blank check. My last annual inspection required rework….twice. My confidence is low. Sealing these tanks is an art. At this point, if I had a leak and required warranty repair work 13 flying hours away, I think I’d light a match to the airplane and walk away. Hopefully the bladders will be a permanent solution that is installed correctly the first time. If so they should easily outlast me and the airplane. And… if repairs are required it can be accomplished locally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 Good Day Mooney Owners, This is Ruth Griggs. Griggs Aircraft owner of the Mooney Bladders STC for C, D, E, F, G and J models. We currently have a set of 8 bladders in stock 64 usable gallon. P/N B800 Models C, D, E, or G If interested please contact me asap, they will not be here long. Thank you Ruthie Griggs 570-836-5757 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ88V Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 Curious about how much bladders cost (installed) these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Nick Posted September 10 Report Share Posted September 10 53 minutes ago, Ruthie said: Good Day Mooney Owners, This is Ruth Griggs. Griggs Aircraft owner of the Mooney Bladders STC for C, D, E, F, G and J models. We currently have a set of 8 bladders in stock 64 usable gallon. P/N B800 Models C, D, E, or G If interested please contact me asap, they will not be here long. Thank you Ruthie Griggs 570-836-5757 Hey Ruthie, have you got some photos that you could post? I’m curious what these look like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmo Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 12 hours ago, AJ88V said: Curious about how much bladders cost (installed) these days. I was looking at a J with leaks and was thinking about incorporating this into the purchase. "Turn-key" was $16K for the 64 gallon. It was a lot, but at least done forever (ish). Luckily I found another "more better" plane. Reasonable for the amount of work IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Pilot Posted September 11 Report Share Posted September 11 On 8/15/2024 at 8:51 PM, DCarlton said: After a TON of consternation, I decided to go with bladders today and put down a deposit. I canceled my reseal appointment only because of the long trip from KCRQ to KBDH. I figured $4K in fuel, hotel and roundtrip air fare costs. For anyone considering bladders, it's a long lead time item. Eagle Fuel Cells makes the bladders for Griggs and they are out of some of the required material. Apparently two of the three companies that make the material have closed (sigh) slowing deliveries. So... I'm expecting the bladder kit in 5-7 months (TBD). If I can't get through my next annual, I'll ground the plane and wait. I was looking forward to working with Paul at Weep No More and experiencing MN, but it's a long hot haul in Aug from SOCAL when you have other obligations and pressures to get back home. Looking forward now to documenting and reporting out on the bladder install. BTW, prices have gone up 14% in the last 10 months (sigh). If you are considering bladders, don't delay. Hope I made a good decision. Griggs installed mine a couple of months ago. I also had to wait quite a while for them to come in, but they actually installed them ahead of schedule. With the new fuel senders and my new engine monitor I am getting excellent fuel readouts. I am 100% satisfied. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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