Wing sumps
Did the first flight on my new-to-me RV-4 yesterday. No squawks in the air. She flies beautiful. During preflight, I found that one of the wing tank fuel drains is sticky. I'll be replacing that soon. Also, I went to drain fuel from the carb and nothing came out. I turned on the boost pump for a few seconds, checked it again, and only got a very small amount. Is that normal for the design?
Hey,
Fixinflyinguy is the champ and expert on most things RV, especially-4.
I had similar issue when I noticed one tank sump tinkling post fuel check.
I severely chided her for wetting inside the hanger, then went about fixing her.
Dick Koehler (EAA video guy) has a nice "how-to" video-search him then Curtis Drain repair
The Curtis drains are not field-repairable. They are pretty cheap.
I bought new ones (x2) from Aircraft spruce.
1 for the fix
1 for the traveling tool box= spare
I was apprehensive about the change, concerned that once removed, she would be loose her whole load.
Fear NOT.
I had the new one ready and swapped them in about 10 seconds, and only lost about 2 shots of gas.
My guru suggested I use a thread sealer- Locktite 567.
He says "one small tube =a lifetime supply"
Once the offending part was in my hand a close examination revealed a small tree leaf section, perhaps 1/16" square that must have blown in during a refuel on a windy day. It was caught between the o-ring and the spring.
I'm sure it is still a good "spare".
Daddyman