Fuel tank outlet screen

[coppercity]

This is a picture of our fuel tank outlet screen. This gets inspected at 1000hrs or if the 100hr fuel flow test fails. I pulled this out during my 1200hr wing inspection because it had been seeping slightly in the wing root. It has an orientation to it due to the fuel outlet tube being bent at an angle towards the bottom of the tank. It's hard to tell from the pic but the pickup tube is in there angled down. If the assembly is not oriented inside the tank correctly your amount of unusable fuel in the tank will be higher as the outlet tube will be positioned higher in the tank. Holding on to the backside of this thing inside the tank while tightening the bulkhead nut on the outside is a PITA! I did find the new Craftsman box end wrenches that have the ability to grab onto almost any shaped nut will work on this square end fitting, I think it was 17mm roughly.

[Roger Lee]

It is a 17mm. You can secure and tighten this with the bulkhead bolted in place. With the nut loose you can actually hear the screen go up and bang back down on the bottom of the tank when you twist it from the outside fitting. On one wing the nut tightens to hold it firmly down against the bottom of the tank and on the other side you just need to hold the fitting in a pair of pliers while you tighten the nut and it will stay down on the bottom. These are a common place for minor fuel leaks on the SW. They can be re-sealed without removing the bulkhead. I have done quite a few and have never had a re-leak. Complete removal of the screen does require the bulkhead plate to be removed. DO not over use the Hylomar because if you get it to squish out too much from under the bulkhead gasket then it can and will travel down stream and cause fuel issues.

Did you seal the interior and exterior flange of the fitting with Hylomar?

[coppercity]

Went easy on the Hylomar on the install sealing the inner and outer areas and made sure it didn't squish out inside the tank. So far no leaks after 50hrs or so.