What is this tacky material

[mike m]

I need some help with this one. I just recently purchased 182, and have noticed that there is a tacky substance leaking around the fuel strainer and also where wing attaches to fuselage. I think fuel maybe changing this into more of a liquid, but when it dries it's like a tacky paste. It's a very small amount, but has raised concerns. I believe that when wings are topped off this
begins to happen! Both fuel bladders have been replaced within the past 5 years!

Thanks

 

[write-stuff]

If it's blue (or brown if it's old) it's fuel. You probably have a leaky bladder somewhere near the top. Bladders should last 5-10 years. They're a huge pain to replace. Make sure you find an A&P who has done it before. Good luck!

 

[AggieMike88]

Second the thought that if it is a dark blue long drip, it's fuel.

On the club 182P, the MX officer and I showed up to do the oil change at the beginning of the month to find long blue sticky material streaked down the "B" pillar, down from the wing root.

Turned out the member who used it prior overfilled the tank as the same tacky material was on the top of the wing. What was running down the side of the plane was from the sump valve.

I drained some fuel from the tank, used that to wet a paper towel, and cleaned the streaks up.

Running the engine before and after the oil change used up enough fuel that we haven't experienced the problem again.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

If it's blue (or brown if it's old) it's fuel. You probably have a leaky bladder somewhere near the top. Bladders should last 5-10 years. They're a huge pain to replace. Make sure you find an A&P who has done it before. Good luck!

This... Except bladders should last a lot longer than 5-10 years. 15 at least, I think. When we had this same problem, one bladder (the leaky one) was 20ish years old and the other was original (on an airplane that was 38 years old at the time). We replaced both, no further issues.

 

[Jeff Oslick]

What year 182? Bladders should last 15-20 years. If the substance is green-brown, it is likely dissolved tape adhesive from the tank bay that the bladder sits in. The tape is used to prevent abrasion of rivet heads against the tank. If this is only happening when the tank is full, it could just be the cork seal where the bladder meets the filler port. Or, it could be a crack in the top of the bladder.

Since the bladders are relatively new, the first thing to check is the port in the wing root where the fuel level float goes through. sometimes a slightly loose bolt at the junction can be a source of the leak. You can start to check this by pulling the wing root fairing cover. Unfortunately, depending on what hardware was used at the fuel float port, you may need to pull the headliner to access for a fix.

Good luck.

Jeff

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

This... Except bladders should last a lot longer than 5-10 years. 15 at least, I think. When we had this same problem, one bladder (the leaky one) was 20ish years old and the other was original (on an airplane that was 38 years old at the time). We replaced both, no further issues.

The four bladders on My 1962 Comanche averaged about 50 years old before being replaced. I just replaced the last of four bladders 2 years ago.