Wet Wing Fuel Tank Seep

[Jon Woellhaf]

My Cessna 182Q -- wet wing tanks, no bladders -- has developed a fuel seep
from the left tank. Can anyone here recommend a good repair shop within a
few hours of Denver, Colorado?

Thanks!

Jon

[Robert M. Gary]

On Oct 23, 9:45*am, "Jon Woellhaf" > wrote:
> My Cessna 182Q -- wet wing tanks, no bladders -- has developed a fuel seep
> from the left tank. Can anyone here recommend a good repair shop within a
> few hours of Denver, Colorado?

Fixing a wet wing is very labor intensive and therefor very expensive.
However, its not hard to do. I have a Mooney and have always done my
own fixing. Go down to the aircraft supply and get some B-2 sealant
(Flamemaster seems to be the most common). Only a couple things to
keep in mind...
1) You probably have channels running through your ribs to allow fuel/
water to flow. Don't plug those up. This can be tough because
sometimes that is where the leak is. I use a toothpick and apply
sealant around the channel without plugging it. Remember the sealant
will want to sag when drying so don't use too much on the top.
2) Never use B-2 to seal top access panels. There is something called
"panel sealant". It doesn't harden so you can access the tank again. I
get it at the Mooney service centers and I've not seen it at the usual
aircraft supply places.
3) Make sure you don't get any sealant in the nut holes for the access
panels. If you do you'll blow the nuts out. It won't harm anything
when you seal it up but the next time you open the panels the nuts
will fall into the tank and you'll have to replace them.

-Robert