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fuel leak


Lsapilot

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Upon shut down I noticed a puddle of fuel on hanger floor.   There is a small hole in belly of plane, almost directly under throttle area in cockpit, from where fuel is dripping.  . I think the openings are  for water collecting in plane.  Two flights before this occurred I smelled fuel when shutting down but no leak at those times . Maybe the leak is from that area where throttle and other controls are located..  Should I open and expose that panel and take a look?   Thanks for help...

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Is this on an SW or LS?  If SW, remove the instrument panel and look on the firewall where the primary fuel line passes from the Tee on engine side, to a single line looping down to the fuel shut off valve, then it returns back through the firewall to engine side.  The Tee fitting passes a port through the firewall, this is a typical area of leaks, I had it this summer but just to the point of smelling the fumes and fire sleeve getting a bit wet.  It's a pain to access.  I bought new proper fuel tubing, and the good clamps.  Some use wire tires (band it?) and I'm not a fan of that.  I bought extra clamps if you need one or two I can help.

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In that area it will typically be a fuel line, fuel valve or the fuel flow transducer. I have seen leaks where the wrong size fuel line was used, and the fuel shut off valves are known to leak. I have never replaced a fuel flow transducer due to leaking. Access is through the left panel and the lower center panel.

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I have to put in my 2 cents on this. I have had concerns with the fuel feed system on the CTSW for a long time. The "Y" tube through the firewall is less than desirable in my opinion,  very poor design, you will never see this on certified aircraft. This part contributes to design induced errors. And yes I get it, if using the correct size hose, the correct clamp, careful placement and common sense then there should be no problem. But this doesn't always happen. The Y tube size is smaller than it should be going through the firewall and requires a little more attention. If you get it wrong you can be toast (literally), there is no stopping this leak in the air. Not everyone is going to do the right thing, not necessarily intentional but by inexperience or challenged mechanically.  It's much easier to tighten a flare fitting nut and get it right the first time. As the CT fleet gets older a lot of these hoses are going to be changed and I think these leak issues will become more common, hopefully without anyone getting hurt. I intend to change my hoses to Aeroquip AE701 and 666 with the appropriate end fittings during my 5 year Rotax hose changes this year. It will take some work to fit everything correctly but I don't think it will be overly difficult. 

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4 hours ago, Madhatter said:

I have to put in my 2 cents on this. I have had concerns with the fuel feed system on the CTSW for a long time. The "Y" tube through the firewall is less than desirable in my opinion,  very poor design, you will never see this on certified aircraft. This part contributes to design induced errors. And yes I get it, if using the correct size hose, the correct clamp, careful placement and common sense then there should be no problem. But this doesn't always happen. The Y tube size is smaller than it should be going through the firewall and requires a little more attention. If you get it wrong you can be toast (literally), there is no stopping this leak in the air. Not everyone is going to do the right thing, not necessarily intentional but by inexperience or challenged mechanically.  It's much easier to tighten a flare fitting nut and get it right the first time. As the CT fleet gets older a lot of these hoses are going to be changed and I think these leak issues will become more common, hopefully without anyone getting hurt. I intend to change my hoses to Aeroquip AE701 and 666 with the appropriate end fittings during my 5 year Rotax hose changes this year. It will take some work to fit everything correctly but I don't think it will be overly difficult. 

The CTLS still uses a "T", but with a larger hose size. It is also in the cabin side of the firewall.

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Thank you for the excellent advice I've been receiving. I removed the top center panel. I could see the fuel shutoff valve and the rod that controlled it. When I raised the handle to allow gas to flow, fuel began to drip underneath the valve. Arian is ordering one for me to be replaced. Happy new year to everyone. 

 

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A chance for a historical anecdote….

When I used to ferry cropdusters, the fuel system was jury-rigged to allow fuel to be carried in the hopper. It held 300 gals but we used to limit it to 150 - still a lot of flying time at 15 gph. 
 

On one leg I smelled gas. Like yours, the fuel selector had a slow but steady drip. But if I held upward pressure on it, it stopped. Rather than having to hold it, I came up with this for the remainder of the flight!
 

16190162999_55910b83f0_o.jpg

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