Below is a photo of a black sticky like material below the fuel drain on the left tank of my friend's C182. The bladder was changed about a year ago. This material appeared about a month ago. His IA wanted him to watch it. Mentioned something about the adhesive used in the process being the likely cause. It seemed worse today and I noticed it had dripped a little bit and is now present on the floor of his hangar. There is no loss of fuel noted. There is no evidence any blue tint seen with leaky bladders.

I could be wrong but that looks like fuel to me. 100LL will get dark and sticky as it dries. Hard to tell from the picture but it doesn't look pure black.... it has a bluish / green tint. The picture shows what appears to be a bluish stain on the flaps too. Fuel dripping and spraying back?

Agree with the above post- Looks like fuel.
Minor seeps will combine with the adhesive of the tape used to cover all the seams in the tank bay and make a mess. If it’s developing into a drip from a seep, it will only get worse.
It can be as minor as the fuel sender, adel clamp on the nipples or the cork gasket around the filler.
Hopefully the mech who put the bladder in removed the old tapes, cleaned the bay, and retaped it with new. It’s a PITA job but necessary.
Should be easy to defuel and inspect to determine the source.
Cheers,
Dave

I found that the fuel gauge gasket needed to be snugged up numerous times before it finally stopped oozing and making that mess. I think that fuel and glue from the tape in the tank bay mix.

Fuel drain o-ring dissolving? Replace the drain as they are cheap enough and that one looks like it’s been there for awhile.

onthegas1 wrote:Fuel drain o-ring dissolving? Replace the drain as they are cheap enough and that one looks like it’s been there for awhile.

This seems like the easiest place to start but I suspect it is something internal.

The IA was someone my friend used when he was living in Great Falls, MT. Not someone I know. I have never replaced a bladder but I understand it is a pain in the %$& to perform. The IA may have not cleaned the area or placed new tape. The material is more like a sticky black goo than a fuel stain. I suspect the bladder will need to be removed and the area inspected.


Josh

I'd try snugging the fuel gauge screws up and see if that is where the fuel is escaping to mix with the tape glue. Way simpler to start with.

Not a big deal to look before you leap. Check the simple stuff first as already suggested. Clean up what’s there to get a baseline going forward,
The bladder is new (a year old), it should be pliable.
I’ve never installed a new one and had it fail in a year.
Cheers,
Dave

Hey All,

The plane is mine and I appreciate the responses. It is a brownish color actually. It is sticky and thick. The picture does not show it well but there is no bluish tint, There is no fuel smell.

Thanks,

Frank

Clean it off and see what it's really doing. You don't need an IA for that.

If you are lucky you will find the screws holding your filler ring assembly are loose. Get a ladder and a nice new #3 philops tip and work you way around them being carful to tighten evenly and criss cross accordingly.

The goo is not some mystery exoplastic, it’s the edhesive being washed out of the tape.

If you find all the screws are tight up there then you are screwed :/


Rocket