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Leaking Tank Rivet

Mark Dickens

Mark Dickens

Well Known Member
Patron
I had my tanks built for me in 2000 and never tested them myself. I just installed them on my newly constructed wings and went on my way since they were theoretically tested by the builder. Well, I decided to run another test, and lo and behold I have one leaking rivet on the top of the right tank.

Of course, the question is "how to fix"? One option is to pull the tank off the wing, cut an access hole in the rear baffle, drill out the rivet and install a new one with sealant. Another option is to use a self-sealing flush pop rivet like a AK-41H installed with pro seal.

I'm willing to do option one, but, I like the idea of option 2, but would like to know what others think or if anyone has tried this. Also, any other options??

Thanks!
 
I have had good success recently with a drop of super glue around the rivet. That, or wicking grade loctite has been known to work. Is it already painted?
 
Nope not painted or even close to flying. Wicking action Loctite, huh? Didn't even know that existed...that piece of advice is worth the $25 I pay Doug each year by itself. Thanks!
 
Mark, I know Locktite#290 wicks very well, and it's tough. I have used it on 3/8" threads about a inch long and it's almost impossible to undo after it sets up. There are a multitude of Locktite products out there. Good luck.

Rick
#40956
Southampton, Ont
 
OK, I have a number of rivets leaked fumes, never a blue streak, which caused the paint to bubble up on the top of my left tank.

I pull a vacuum on the tank via the vent, put some green wicking Loctite on the rivets, then pushed in some proseal with my fingers over the rivets. I'm in the process of sanding off the paint so I can repaint it.

But...

Before I repaint it, how can I make sure the leak is fixed? Any suggestions?

One last thing. The cause of the leaks, I believe, if from when I had the plane disassembled and back home for the engine swap. While the wings were in the stand, I took some MEK and removed some excess proseal from the top of the left tank, which just happens to be the only place where these bubbles have appeared. I checked around and was told by a former Boeing tank builder that once the proseal is put on, you NEVER touch it with MEK or it will penetrate the goop and cause a leak. That was great to learn after the fact.
 
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Yep, just ordered a small tube of 290...

Larkrv10 said:
Mark, I know Locktite#290 wicks very well, and it's tough. I have used it on 3/8" threads about a inch long and it's almost impossible to undo after it sets up. There are a multitude of Locktite products out there. Good luck.

Rick
#40956
Southampton, Ont
Click to expand...
 
I did option two a few months ago. It was a piece of cake and, to me, it was much preferable to introducing more points of failure (and al dust and ****).

leak_1.jpg


I was lucky because the leak was accessible via the fuel cap, so once I drilled the old rivet out, it was captured in the proseal and I was able to retrieve it.

Then I pumped in ProSeal...

leak_3.jpg


...slathered the closed-end rivet and installed.

leak_4.jpg



leak_2.jpg


Cleaned up the ProSeal, waited, then polished the area. It looks perfect. No leak.
 
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N941WR said:
While the wings were in the stand, I took some MEK and removed some excess proseal from the top of the left tank, which just happens to be the only place where these bubbles have appeared. I checked around and was told by a former Boeing tank builder that once the proseal is put on, you NEVER touch it with MEK or it will penetrate the goop and cause a leak.
Click to expand...

I'm taking my pride & joy to the painters in a couple of weeks. I'm quite sure he intends to wipe down all exterior surfaces with MEK prior to priming. Yikes ... Does that carry the risk of resulting tank leaks?
 
LettersFromFlyoverCountry said:
I did option two a few months ago. It was a piece of cake and, to me, it was much preferable to introducing more points of failure (and al dust and ****).
......

Cleaned up the ProSeal, waited, then polished the area. It looks perfect. No leak.
Click to expand...

Bob, what rivet did you use? Was it a 1/8 rivet with a small head?
 
BTDT

I have successfully fixed a weeping rivet with both of the methods listed above.

The "drill it out, and replace" was done on a lower rear flange rivet and the green locktite fix was done to an upper rib rivet.

Both were done with the tanks still on the wing.

If I were building a set of tanks today, I would give serious thought to just applying the green locktite to every rivet as a precautionary measure. With the tanks off the plane, it would be a piece of cake to hit every rivet with a dab of locktite.

I used a fine tip applicator to apply the locktite to the weeping rivet, and all the top side rivets around it-------any hobby shop that caters to the R/C crowd will have them. Much more application control than the standard tip on the bottle.

https://www.robart.com/products/flexi-tips-pkg
 
Mike S said:
I have successfully fixed a weeping rivet with both of the methods listed above.

The "drill it out, and replace" was done on a lower rear flange rivet and the green locktite fix was done to an upper rib rivet.

Both were done with the tanks still on the wing.

If I were building a set of tanks today, I would give serious thought to just applying the green locktite to every rivet as a precautionary measure. With the tanks off the plane, it would be a piece of cake to hit every rivet with a dab of locktite.

I used a fine tip applicator to apply the locktite to the weeping rivet, and all the top side rivets around it-------any hobby shop that caters to the R/C crowd will have them. Much more application control than the standard tip on the bottle.

https://www.robart.com/products/flexi-tips-pkg
Click to expand...

I did that, my tanks are quick build, so every tank rivet got green loc tite with a slight vacume. Fingers crossed...
 
Rupester said:
I'm taking my pride & joy to the painters in a couple of weeks. I'm quite sure he intends to wipe down all exterior surfaces with MEK prior to priming. Yikes ... Does that carry the risk of resulting tank leaks?
Click to expand...
Based on what I was told and my experience, yep, there is a risk of leaks.

Mike S said:
...I used a fine tip applicator to apply the locktite to the weeping rivet, and all the top side rivets around it-------any hobby shop that caters to the R/C crowd will have them. Much more application control than the standard tip on the bottle...
Click to expand...
For those who don't know it, I was surprised to find out that the green Loctite will remove the paint. In my case, I sanded down the area where the bubbles were and applied the Loctite and came back the next day to find out the paint that was touched by the Loctite had lifted off the aluminum.
 
We experienced a seemingly minor leak on the left wing of our 98 RV-6. After considering the Loctite fix, our I&A (yeah, I know…we didn't build it so we can't legally fix it! ;>) ) most strongly recommended that he take the tank off and inspect it for leaks.

We agreed to the fix and he found another reasonably large leak on the rear wall of the tank…a ton of Proseal and replaced rivets took care of the situation. Then he found the loose fuel fitting that was just waiting to come unconnected.

Frankly, when it comes to a potential fuel leak in the wing, I think a more in-depth look and fix may be a good idea to consider. I'm very glad we did.
 
Eagleflip said:
We experienced a seemingly minor leak on the left wing of our 98 RV-6. After considering the Loctite fix, our I&A (yeah, I know?we didn't build it so we can't legally fix it! ;>) )

QUOTE]

Not true. The only thing you can't do is the condition inspection. All other maintenance is fair game.

Jim Berry
RV-10
Click to expand...
 
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