Do you guys with the round main tank fuel gauge window (on the left tank) have as much trouble with leaks as I do? We noticed it leaking on the way back from Ohio last year, and fixed it with Permatex, which didn't hold up too long but did get the thing home.
After getting to CA, I bought a new set of gaskets and a new plastic (the old one, which was two years old, had become brittle and was the original source of the leak, I think). On the advice of an A&P, I used black Permatex, which softened after about a month. Also, when I took the lens off to re-seal it, I found radial cracks starting at the screw holes. Univair had drilled the holes too small. My screws are 6-32, and so are the nutplates. When I called Univair, they said that I was the only one who had complained about this. They did send a new lens to me for free, though. After getting a new lens, I sealed it back up with some weird blue stuff (made by Permatex, I think) that I found at Pep Boys aviation supply. The tube said "not affected by gasoline." Well, it WAS affected, enough to start leaking again. Last night I had to drain enough fuel to take the whole thing off again before it leaked all over the hangar. Last night I re-sealed it with Tite-seal medium. I have no idea if it will hold this time, but I'm not optimistic. I the meantime, I thought I'd ask: How in tarnation does everyone else keep this thing from leaking? If it leaks again, I'm real tempted to just seal the neck with a plate, but then I wouldn't have a wing tank gauge. I'd probably get yelled at by the man. And my insurance company, so I'd better not. Maybe I can make a "fake" painted-on gauge, on an aluminum plate, and use that to seal the whole thing. I'd mark it "Empty", after all, the gauges only have to be accurate when the tank is empty, right? heh heh... Is there some other sealant I should use? The A&P wanted me to use blue Permatex RTV Silicone until I showed him the label where it says "Not recommended for continuous immersion in gasoline" or some such. I don't know why they say that. Maybe it will un-stick from whatever it's stuck to, but will still hold up as a gasket? I don't know. If this is a common problem, has anyone found a legal way to get around it, maybe with float gauges in the wing tanks? My wing tank caps are sealed (not vented), and must stay this way, so a float gauge would have to be sealed too. Other than that, the thing is running and flying great.
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