John; Welcome to the ranks.
Autogas, although it burns well in our little engines but with all the additives, seems to gum up the works and that's a problem. The brown varnish type stuff you see in the tanks is probably the "sloshing compound" breaking away due mostly to the autogas sitting. Sloshing was an inexpensive (but unaccepted) method that owners sealed the tanks rather than having them repaired correctly. As many did this as a preventative measure, your tanks may not leak. Folks need to remember buying a sticker that allows your aircraft to use autofuel does not make it okay! Best course of business is to remove all of the fuel from the aircraft, have your mechanic disassemble the gascolator and clean, drain the fuel from the carb clean the lines and finally clean those tanks. May need to do that with a steam wand, I don't know. Check the header tank for the same crap. Use a mirror and light (not a match!) as most owners could not figure out how to slosh a header tank, and that's good. Should you decide to go for that 'Coupe, take pics off your work and keep us posted. All questions welcome. Al DeMarzo Visit the Ercoupe Swap Page Free, Easy and No Membership Required http://www.ercoupeowners.com/swap/swapbook.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: flyjp1943 To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 7:14 AM Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Varnish Hello Ercoupe Group. This is my first post since joining your group. I own a very nice full IFR tomahawk. I've had it for 6 years & like it a lot. I fly for business & file IFR on all trips. I am now looking at a Ercoupe 415-C. I have researched this AC & like what I read. I have learned that this plane can be a risky venture if you don't learn all you can about its' history. The one item that is holding me back is that the engine has not run for 2 yrs. I has an autogas STC & the tanks are full of hi-test autogas. The tanks are also coated with a brownish stinky slime. This appears to be a varnish-like substance. The engine turns over very hard. This does not fell like rust, but more lile the piston & rings are glued to the cylinder walls by this same varnish-like glop. Have any of you faced this same problem & what can be done to clean the engine & the tanks/fuel system? If a solution is available, I will probably buy this plane & join your ranks. Thanks, John P. Parker
