I cant visualize but couple thoughts... JB weld? machine some kind of mini stainless toggle nut to draw it tight with a bed of JB?
On Mon, Sep 6, 2021 at 7:44 PM Flesner <fles...@frontier.com> wrote: > > The fuel leak in my left wing tank that I thought I had fixed a year ago > has returned. I have tanks in each outer wing panel, 12 1/2 gal, and > after 14 years the gasket that secures the sender units to the tank > developed a very minor leak, just enough to require fixing. Last year I > removed the wing, pulled the fuel sender assembly, installed a new > gasket and re-installed the sender unit. Unfortunately the threads in > the 1/8" mounting plate stripped in one of the five holes. I tried > threaded inserts but they would not fit tight enough to prevent > rotation. I installed heli-coil inserts and the fix was marginal so I > added sealant around the bolt heads and that seemed to work. Well, one > year later and the leak is back. Here is a photo from last year. The > patch you see on the tank is from 15 years ago to repair a leak after > the first fill. It is the sender unit / gasket / mount plate that is > the problem. I'd like the break the pencil of the engineer that > designed an 1/8" mounting plate. > > https://www.dropbox.com/s/7oomdcvvj7uo40r/image000000-1%20copy.jpg?dl=0 > > After the Gathering I will pull the wing again and attempt a permanent > repair. Problem? What will be a good fix? I could rotate the sender > slightly and drill 5 new holes and thread but an 1/8" mount was a crappy > method the first time. No access to inside of tank. Here is a VERY > ROUGH line drawing of the setup. Excuse my total lack of artistic talent > and lack of motivation to improve it. > > https://www.dropbox.com/s/kh2f69fborks986/fuel%20leak%20001.jpg?dl=0 > > I'm considering having a friend make up a matching aluminum puck approx > 1/2" thick, drill and thread mount holes that do not penetrate to the > tank, then epoxy or J.B. Weld the puck to the existing tank mount. > That would give excellent mounting pressure for the gasket and the only > hole to seal would be the center hole where the sensor probe enters the > tank. I'm not inclined to cut the old mount from the tank and start > over without having access to the inside of the tank and I'm not > inclined to open up the tank. I'm convinced I could get a good seal on > the puck, especially with a lip / joggle turned on the puck on the tank > side and then covered with several layers of glass / epoxy. I'm liking > this fix better the longer I consider it and making mental adjustments. > > Opinions? > > Larry Flesner > ________________________________ > -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > -Change list delivery options at > https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board > -Search recent KRnet Archives at > https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ > -Search <https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/-Search> > John Bouyea's decades of archive at > https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/ ________________________________ -Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html -Change list delivery options at https://list.krnet.org/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ Affinity List Info Board -Search recent KRnet Archives at https://list.krnet.org/empathy/list/krnet.list.krnet.org/ -Search John Bouyea's decades of archive at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/