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Leaking rivet on newly sealed up tank

didja

Active Member
During my pressurized leak test with soapy water, I found two rivets on the top of the tank (one at each end) that had a very small leak around the rivets. During the soapy water test, they didn't necessarily make bubbles, more like foam....

Here they are

20181023_163629.jpg


I also had my vent line fitting leak quite a bit and will have to add proseal around it.

20181023_163634.jpg


With all that being said, Is the syringe method the best way to tackle the two rivets that have very small leaks? It sounds like I need to take the syringe full of pro seak, glue some rubber or rings or washers to the end to help create a seal and then just press the pro seal against the leaking rivet as hard as I can.

Does that about sum up that type of sealing repair? Is there another way to do it without drilling out the rivet?
 
Looks like a good candidate for the green wicking Loctktight. Pull a slight vacuum on the tank and let it suck in the Locktight. Several threads on here about this.
 
Is the outboard rivet visible/accessible through the fuel filler? Can you see it with a mirror/flashlight? If so, I'd use the liquid version of proseal and paint over that rivet on the inside. On the one on the butt rib, I'd be tempted to remove the fuel sender and do the same thing through the sender hole.

IMO, green locktite is a reasonable solution if you have an inaccessible rivet on a painted airplane. But on a new, unpainted tank, I'd go the whole nine yards on it so I wouldn't end up with another leak in a couple of years. A leaking rivet is a pain. A leaking rivet on a painted wing is a bigger pain.
 
Looking closer at the photo this evening the clamp doesn't look be snug to the hose . Try tightening the clamp some more or get one a little smaller before dismantling tank. On the other revet by all means if you can get some Proseal dabed on it from the inside through the filler hole try that first.
 
The clamp was ok. I forgot to put thread sealant on the nut for the vent line. I pro sealed all around it, but forgot to seal the threads. Got that fixed and now it does not leak. Now the only leaks I have are the square plug and under the attach bracket there is a leak through the pro seal in a corner.

The locktite 290 did the trick on the 2 rivets so I didnt have to cut into my baffle!
 
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