Hi Guys,
Well, the current subject of disagreement is right down my alley.
Leaking fuel tanks and slush. As those of you who have survived the
current virucide may recall, I've been having the problem of leaking
right hand tank for the past 30 days or so. After trying in vain to
find a used replacement tank, we're going to fix it. No small
achievement in finding someone to do it. All shops recommended by
members, or Skyport, or etc., were either too busy, only did aluminum,
didn't do it anymore, or were on vacation. Finally found a certified
shop here in SLC that can do the work.
The problem is that the tank has been leaking for a long time. On
at least two occasions, judging from the colors of the crud inside the
tank, it's been "sloshed" to try and seal it. From the appearance of
the stains on the outside, and the dripping fuel, it hasn't worked
either time. The problem stemmed from a riveted on patch on the inside
wall of the tank. It appears they then sloshed the tank to try and seal
it.Now we can reach inside of the filler, and pull 6" strips of film off
of the walls and baffles of the tank.
The carb started leaking profusely, so we sent it in for cleaning
and overhaul. What did they find? Lots of fine, white (same color as
the last layer of slosh) garbage in the float bowl and on the needle
seat. How, you might ask, did it get past all of the screens? God only
knows, other than the screens are not that fine, and the crud was. The
good news is that the carb's OK. Just needs a good cleaning and new
gaskets. But, the bottom line is that sloshing compound is not the good
answer to a leaking tank, and it can certainly cause major problems
downstream. Fix it right. My tank could have been fixed correctly with
a welded patch instead of one riveted on. Now I've got to disassemble
the tank, completely strip the inside, and then put it together again.
No small undertaking.Larry
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