The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hi ... question. I put fuel into the tanks after several years of sitting. Replaced fuel lines with no leaks and nothing in the way of contaminants. However, the fuel in the gascolator turns a golden color after it sits for several hours. I pulled the gascolator filter/screen and cleaned it. The base of the filter is a golden color and has resisted attempts to get rid of the color. Any thoughts or ideas? R/Lee (N1967C)

Lee:
What fuel was in it while it sat for years? Auto or 100LL?
How many years?
Dan

I think the screen inside the gascolator is brass, so maybe that is ok but as there's no flow of fuel to speak of when sitting, the change in color is interesting. An old flex hose to the carb ?

Remove the screen and reassemble the gascolator..... PLACARD the airplane against flight! Allow fuel to return to the gascolator to see if the problem lies elsewhere with some other explanation. (Old preservative in the lines might be a source, as can some types of gascolator gaskets. The "rubberized-cork" is not a good gasket material despite it's common useage in this service. Those gaskets are known to deteriorate unexpectedly.....and in-flight is not the time to discover it. I recommend only the use of genuinely correct part numbers for those gaskets.)

Mr. Horn, how correct you are in your advice. Fuel is of course, the vital 33% of energy needed for engine operation. My go to is Real Gasket Co. I use their excellent Rubber Silicone Gaskets, go on line to Misc. Gaskets, you will find RG-235 gaskets. I still use the Glass bowl, and these are a perfect fit.

FYI - A man at our airport, let a Rearwin Cloudster sit with MOGAS/AV Mix for years, when the new owner tried to purge and fly, he eventually removed the wings and trucked the plane to TX. The old fuel had clogged/deteriorated the lines, tanks and carb were beyond repair. JD