Fuel Tank Gaskets

[mschwab]

where can one get fuel tank spout gaskets that don't cost $55 eash? What type of material are they made of and where can one purchase the sheets of material. I would appreciate any info. Thanks; Mike

[GAHorn]

Rubberized cork gasket material is available at any NAPA auto-parts store for about $2/sq. ft.

[mschwab]

Thanks so much for the info Mr. gahorn

[Brad Brady]

Thanks so much for the info Mr. gahorn

Fix it.....don't make a log book entery ....Brad

[GAHorn]

I know that Brad's suggestion is well-intended, but I would not advise performing maintenance without logging it. It would be far better to replace the gaskets and make such notation in the logs by signing it off as the owner... even if the owner is not a certificated repairman... than to perform maintenance without recording it. The only thing the FAA takes a dimmer view of than unauthorized persons working on airplanes is.... failure to record maintenance/alterations in the aircraft records...by whomever performed it.

Of course, the best solution is to have the work supervised by a certificated repairman and the work entered into the logs as being "approved for return to service" by that repairman. But I'd not have any heartburn about recording it myself, if that's how I accomplished the work.

[Jr.CubBuilder]

It's been my experience that a good IA usually has plenty of work around so they don't feel like you are taking work from them. Mine have been quite accommodating and I've learned a bit from them, having it signed off in the logs seems pointless now, but six years later it's nice to know what was done and why.

[pojawis]

I've bought mine from Clearview Airport (2W2) & Pilot Shop about every other year as a preventive measure. I don't recall the cost, but I know they weren't $55. I want to say they were half of that, at most; but I could be mistaken. The gaskets are a black rubber type material and not cork.

While the shop is not really a mail order outfit, Tom Chapman may stick them in an envelope and send them out, if one were to ask. Airport phone as listed on AirNav is: 410-795-1176.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Haven't been to 2W2 in a while. Neat place. Glad to hear the pilot shop is still there.

The gaskets are now $55. I've seem them in both the black rubber material and cork. I used cork to cut mine from.

[Brad Brady]

I know that Brad's suggestion is well-intended, but I would not advise performing maintenance without logging it. It would be far better to replace the gaskets and make such notation in the logs by signing it off as the owner... even if the owner is not a certificated repairman... than to perform maintenance without recording it. The only thing the FAA takes a dimmer view of than unauthorized persons working on airplanes is.... failure to record maintenance/alterations in the aircraft records...by whomever performed it.

Of course, the best solution is to have the work supervised by a certificated repairman and the work entered into the logs as being "approved for return to service" by that repairman. But I'd not have any heartburn about recording it myself, if that's how I accomplished the work.

George,
What I was trying to say....is if you are going to use NAPA instead of PMA.....and down the road I work on that aircraft.....I don't want to know, Because I will make you remove, your parts and reinstall the proper parts even if everything is kosher .....Brad

[blueldr]

I'd look for a different IA!

[GAHorn]

..What I was trying to say....is if you are going to use NAPA instead of PMA.....and down the road I work on that aircraft.....I don't want to know, Because I will make you remove, your parts and reinstall the proper parts even if everything is kosher .....Brad

Rubberized cork, whether from NAPA or from an aircraft supply house, makes no difference for an owner-produced part. If the raw material meets the standard, then it's source is not required to be an aircraft supply to meet the rule.

[jrenwick]

Rubberized cork, whether from NAPA or from an aircraft supply house, makes no difference for an owner-produced part. If the raw material meets the standard, then it's source is not required to be an aircraft supply to meet the rule.

...which begs the question: how do we know if a material meets a standard, and what is the standard it must meet? Clearly if you can show you've got the identical material that the original part was made of, that should be OK. But if not?

[c170b53]

It will have a paper trail to identify to what standard it was made to. I think that is what Brad was trying to say that without that the part would be suspect.

[c170b53]

I'd also use some common sense here and depending on the mission I'd think carefully before making a substitution.

[GAHorn]

I'd also use some common sense here and depending on the mission I'd think carefully before making a substitution.

I agree. Because rubberized cork sheet is a commonly used fuel gasket material, a receipt from either NAPA or Spruce will neither support nor disqualify it for raw material for making a gasket. (It's not an exotic material. It is the owner's inspection that qualifies it.) A simple logbook entry attesting "Replaced left fuel tank adaptor gasket PN: 0523532 with gasket fabricated by reverse engineering using 1/8" rubberized cork sheet." is sufficient on a Part 91 airplane.
A similar matter is common practice in bladder fuel tanks where a fuel tank mfr'r actually has no authority to manufacture a particular tank except a letter from the owner asking the mfr'r to "reverse engineer" the new tank from inspection of the defective, removed tank. (Many times an unobservant owner is virtually oblivious to the paper-trail created, having unwittingly signed a purchase order not noticing that the signature was beneath fine-print authorizing the mfr'r to reverse engineer the tank on behalf of the owner. The mfr'r is actually making an owner-produced-part and the owner is accepting that part by personal inspection. In fact, to really dot the "i" and cross the "t", the owner must personally make that inspection.... he cannot meet his owner-obligation in the owner-produced-part rule by simply letting the mechanic out at the airport receive the pkg from UPS and install it, although in 99% of the cases that's probably what happens. But I digress....)