Fuel Odor in Cockpit

[Kristofer Duckett]

Hi All,

I have noticed a very strong fuel odor in the cockpit when the gear is extended in my 1964 250. When the gear is up not too much of a smell. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Kris!

[Zach Grant L1011jock]

You need fuel tank bladders. They are leaking, and the vapors are being blown into the cabin with the added airflow through the gear well with the gear down. You probably have increase fuel smell when slowing, descending and after landing. This is common if the tanks have deteriorated on the top and are seeping. You may not see any trace evidence in the wing root yet, but it will not get better. Time for some tanks!
Zach

[N3322G]

Zach,

Thanks for sharing the why of the fuel vapors increase - hadn't put that and the bladders together. Its a nice early predictor vs the normal, see blue fuel stain and then take action.

[9089P]

Hi Kris,

If your fuel bladders are old then Zach is most likely correct. To check get under the wings and check for blue stains/goo at the wing roots. If you bladders are new, or relatively so, you can get the smell if you have a leak at the fuel tank selector valve. I know this as I still had the fuel smell after replacing all 4 bladders a few years back. You can get a rebuild kit from webco for the valve.

Good luck, Don

[Kristofer Duckett]

Yep, Blue goo under the wings and I suspected the same. So now the question is where can I get this fixed...reasonalby of course and fast if possible. The wife and I have been planning a trip for some time and the window is beginning the close. I am located in Clovis, NM (30 flight east of lubbock or amarillo, tx). Thanks Don, Zac, and Pat.

[David Lawrence - N8378P]

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[9089P]

Well the fix is straight forward, replace the bladders. The good news is they always crack and leak from the top so you can minimize the odor by not filling them quite so full. Don't recall whether you have a 2 tanks or 4 plane. The bladders are around $1K each as I recall and the hard part is the prep to install and then doing the install. It helps if you have skinny but very long arms. Its a bad deal but not as bad a Cessna bladders. If you have 4 bladders, to save time and spread the cost, you could do the mains first then the aux's after the trip.

Good luck, Don

PS Do not fall for the false economy of repairing the old bladders. The cost here will be the labor, buy new bladders.

[N3322G]

Kristin Winter mentioned how well the bladders from http://www.aerotechservicesinc.com/ fit her twin, so I used them also and mechanic said they were great. Got a discount for being an ICS member and they had them in stock that was less than 30 days old. Over a year I replaced all 4 at Clifton Aero, really nice avity prep so the bladders will last longer than I'll be flying the twin

[Kristofer Duckett]

Thanks Pat,

If you don't mind how much did the tanks cost with the discount?

Thanks

[jeffrey aryan]

I paid $700 for one right aux tank for my twin about 2 months ago.

Jeff Aryan

[N3322G]

Kristopher,

Since I had other work done at the same time, I don't recall the individual cost.

[Kristofer Duckett]

Thanks Pat, Hey Jeff where did you get it?

Thanks

[tomburke1]

You might try Floats and Fuel Cells of Memphis for a price. Give Keith at Airparts of Fort Lauderdale a call. ( 954 ) 739-3575, or you can contact F&FC direcctly through their website. I have installed a few of them and they fit well and when I bought them a bit cheaper then Aerotech even with their discount. You will need an installation kit for each as well.

To trouble shoot, look at the trail of stains and see if they connect to the mains, and then look for stains outboard of your mains for aux tank leakage. There is a small inspection plate where the tank nipple connects to the fuel line. If there are blue stains there you will need aux's as well. In the fuel injected Comanches, another thing to check is the aux fuel pump. If it is leaking you get the same smell.

[jeffrey aryan]

I went to AeroTech in Santa Fe Springs, CA. It is a 45 minute drive for me. I have used them in the past.

Jeff

[Mark Anderson]

Kristopher,

It would also be worth checking your fuel sender on top of the wing. I had one of these leaking that caused the odor in the cockpit and the stains on the wing root. It will be easy to tell if one is leaking there will be fuel standing in the depression it sits in. All it took to fix mine was to torque it down as it was loose. Also I have had the nipple leak behind the fairing in the wing root. Again the hose clamp just needed to be tightened. Also a bad gasket around the big oval opening around your filler port can cause this. I will say I noticed more just blue fuel stain rather than goo. Hope you can get it fixed quickly!

Thanks

Mark