Recently I?ve been trying to install fuel level sender on my RV-14A QB right wing. I called Vans for help and tips. It?s very difficult to see what?s going on inside the completed tank. Vans suggested that things would be much easier if I removed the tank from the wing first. This would also facilitate the pressure test to follow.
This seemed reasonable, so today I built some cradle supports for the tank then attempted to remove it. Everything went fine except that two to the bolts that connect the rear of the tank to the spar appear to be stripped. They spin freely but never back out. I thought that if I applied some rearward pressure while turning the bolt tha maybe I could get it to reengage the thread. I put a pair of small vice grips on the head and pulled as I tried to back out the thread but no joy.
Both bolts are very difficult to get to. One of them I can?t even see without a mirror. The second one I can see and I can even see the threaded end of the bolt where it comes out of the nut plate. It just spins and spins in both directions with no axial movement.
I am really at a loss as to what to do. Both bolts are so inaccessible I don?t think drilling them out is really an option. Any ideas?
I am also wondering if anyone has experience with getting Vans to do the work? I paid a lot for the quick build kit and don?t relish the thought of having to pull a wing skin to repair a problem that I didn?t create.
Lyn Robertson
Corvallis, Oregon
This seemed reasonable, so today I built some cradle supports for the tank then attempted to remove it. Everything went fine except that two to the bolts that connect the rear of the tank to the spar appear to be stripped. They spin freely but never back out. I thought that if I applied some rearward pressure while turning the bolt tha maybe I could get it to reengage the thread. I put a pair of small vice grips on the head and pulled as I tried to back out the thread but no joy.
Both bolts are very difficult to get to. One of them I can?t even see without a mirror. The second one I can see and I can even see the threaded end of the bolt where it comes out of the nut plate. It just spins and spins in both directions with no axial movement.
I am really at a loss as to what to do. Both bolts are so inaccessible I don?t think drilling them out is really an option. Any ideas?
I am also wondering if anyone has experience with getting Vans to do the work? I paid a lot for the quick build kit and don?t relish the thought of having to pull a wing skin to repair a problem that I didn?t create.
Lyn Robertson
Corvallis, Oregon