Anyone know who's bladders are the best for Cessna? Looks like Hartwig, Eagle, and Aero Tech all make some.

Walked in my hangar this morning and this is what I saw:

I replaced the O-ring on the sump and it didnt solve the problem, IA on the field said bladder is toast...

There is a flat, cork gasket at the fuel sender or gauge in the wing root. Don't forget to snug the screws at that location too. If you alternate between avgas and mogas, the gasket on the wing root seems to be an issue.

Matt 7GCBC wrote:There is a flat, cork gasket at the fuel sender or gauge in the wing root. Don't forget to snug the screws at that location too. If you alternate between avgas and mogas, the gasket on the wing root seems to be an issue.

X2

Awesome, thanks guys ill check that. Gotta love BCP, u guys are always a big help. I had my commercial check ride tommorow morning and had to cancel due to this leak, I was gonna do a lap in some glass paneled retract and the bulk of the ride in the 180. Oh well got it rescheduled in a couple weeks.

mountainmatt wrote:

Matt 7GCBC wrote:There is a flat, cork gasket at the fuel sender or gauge in the wing root. Don't forget to snug the screws at that location too. If you alternate between avgas and mogas, the gasket on the wing root seems to be an issue.

X2

X3

Just had the same issue with the blue dye showing up in the exact same spot. It was my sender gasket.... snugged it up and it stopped. In my case I had just replaced my cells so the gasket was my first suspect but I would definitely check that before dropping the $ to replace the bladder.

Is this all the time or just with full fuel?

Bigrenna, it is a constant drip and appeared overnight, drained it to half tanks and the drip did not slow down. Flew all day yesterday, and it wasn't leaking when I parked it last night.

I checked the cork gasket, fuel line clamps, and the fuel sending gasket, everything is tight. The bladder says it is from 9/95 but don't know if it was new or overhauled. Spent the afternoon checking everything that could be amiss and couldn't find any red flags, verdict seems to be that the bladder has failed. I'll update when we get it out and figure out where it failed.

Ordered a new Eagle bladder this afternoon. However, I'm considering going with an Aero Tech, as a buddy told me they handle alcohol well and my engine is STC'd for straight alcohol, never run it before but may want to do that someday. The saga continues...

I recently put in an eagle cell in a 180. It was only 4 yrs old and was leaking from the front top vent nipple. The bladders aren't "that" bad to put in. It works good if you have long arms. There are a few gaskets around the fuel sight gauge. Some tape over the top of the fuel tank save you from getting cut up too bad. Oh one more thing, if you have vg's they are a pita, they keep digging into you. Ha

Eagle says theirs will handle ethanol also. For getting the fuel guage gaskets lined up, I took two bolts and cut the heads off and rounded like a bullet and that gives you something to pull on and hold also.

Turns out that there was only one snap holding the bladder on the top A couple of the snaps actually came off the bladder and worked their way underneath. Its a wonder that there are not any holes with those snaps rubbing around under there. The leak was from the sump drain clamp that is internal working loose, in other words can only be adjusted by removing the tank. Since, the tank is not damaged I could put it back in, but being 19 years old and having the new one enroute, just gonna replace it and be done with it. Other bladder was new in 2006 so hopefully we're good for many years to come.

About 2 months ago my right hand stock cessna electric fuel indicator began to flicker wildly when the tank was not completely full or less than a 1/4. I checked the wiring and everything was good. Should have removed the filler neck port, it was obvious something was not right when I removed it to check the cork gasket. Now I know it was talking to me and trying to say that something was wrong with the bladder, could have saved a lot of trouble due to the bad timing of this failure. Moral of the story, listen to the airplane it usually tries to tell you when something is not right. I am pretty good at that but with this instance didn't know what to check and should have consulted more friends about what could be the cause. The cause being that the bladder was sloshing around in the wing, since the snaps were coming undone. My IA buddy is of the opinion that the bladder was not installed properly from day one, pretty important to get critical things like fuel bladders done right. So I'm paying the piper and having them do the install, well maybe its cause I'm going snowboarding instead

Thanks for the help y'all.

I replaced both of my bladders last year in my 1960 C180. Both were manufactured in 1959. I hope I get that much life out of these new ones. Make Sure your IA has someone around that is around 6'5" tall. I had 4 different people (all over 6' tall) try to get the farthest upper snap on, with no success. A 6'5" friend of mine happen to stop by, and I said hay see if you can reach this snap. About 35 seconds later we heard that wonderful sound " snap". So on the second bladder he was called in to do the last snap again, same result.

I have encountered a similar situation to Skalywag. I pulled the bladder, which to my surprise was not actually a horrible job. It is evident upon inspection that the leaking was coming from the fuel sender gasket. The bladder is dated 1990, so it is more than 25 years old now. It appears to be in really good shape. Is there any reason that I am a fool if I were to seal it up and leak test it under a couple psi of air and then reinstall it if there are no leaks? I would obviously rather spend a thousand bucks on fuel than a new bladder.

I would say give it a good look, and if it looks alright go ahead and reinstall it.
Why replace / overhaul if it's OK?
Like you say, there's better ways to spend that k-note.

Regarding the VGs:
I heard my AP/IA muttering evil thoughts one day. Seems he was going to install another set of bladders in a 180. I had helped him install a couple of sets while rebuilding my 170B in his shop.

The cause of his mutterings was that this 180 had VGs on it. I said, "Hold on a minute Vern," and went out to my old Scout and dug out a roll of 1/2 inch thick Ensolite sleeping pad. Laid the Ensolite lengthwise so it covered the VGs. Now he could lie on top of the wing to work without getting all cut up. Almost no visible damage to the Ensolite pad. Had to re-locate it along the wing a couple of times.
Let him keep it after I used it while putting in my Delair long range tanks.

Just a thought

As mentioned, long arms are handy for install.

So are these.

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.htm ... b0d0204ae5

We pumped my suspect bladder up to 0.5 psi today and it is leak free.



Definitely going to reinstall it.

Anyone got a couple pics of what the clips inside the fuel bay look like?

Step by step instructions? Here’s something I’ve never seen. I’m going down to LA on a Friday to do the fuel bladders on the 1958 182 I just bought. My son will be coming down from SLO to help and he has long arms!

So, I’ve never held a bladder (except mine) but read all the articles I could find in the last couple weeks and watched all the videos I could find. So at the risk of sounding silly, here’s what I’ve gathered might be a step-by-step process when I get there. I hope those in the know will, correct, add-to, and give their knowledgeable hints for the process. These are not long range tanks so there’s only one access hole. The new bladders are Eagle. If you don’t like Eagle...please don’t tell me. It’s too late.

1. Empty all fuel.
2 Remove quick-drain plugs
3. Remove the upper and lower wing root fairings.
4. Remove fuel tank filler and flange.
5. Clean wing skin opening and tape throughly with duct tape to avoid cuts and chafe.
6. Open up headliner.
7. Remove fuel and vent lines from the old bladder at the wing root.
8. Remove fuel sending unit and clean the flanges
9. Detach fuel line and vent line from old bladder
10. Reach inside old bladder and detach clips. (Not sure yet what they look like or what motion is required to un-snap and then snap back in the new ones)
11. Clean tank cavity thoroughly
12 IF NECESSARY (I’m told the tape isn’t always bad. The present tanks were installed in about 1994) remove old joint tape and clean skin of adhesive thoroughly.
13, Apply new seam tape.
14. Coat new bladder with baby powder so it slips in and slides around in there easier.
15. Roll up new bladder like a sausage (so it unrolls in the correct orientation) and stuff it in the hole.
16. Open new bladder in the cavity and smooth out.
17. Clip bladder in at the attach points. Use a 6-8” piece of 4x4 to lay your arm on for leverage to be able to push up on the top clips.
18. Re-attach fuel line and vent fittings in the wing root. 2 people required...one to hold the bladder from the inside and one to push the fitting in at the wing root. (not sure how the vent tube that enters the bottom of the wing next to the strut is routed).
19. Screw 2 - 3” 1/4 -28 bolts (with the heads cut off into the bladder ring at the filler point). Set the filler flange over these “studs” to allow the bladder to be pulled up into the flange.
20. Attach fuel filler flange to bladder ring with gaskets.
21. Re-install fuel sending units with gaskets.
22. Fill tanks with 5+ gal on each side and look for leaks.
23. Re-attach headliner.
24. Re-install wing root fairings.
25. Jump up and down with many high-5’s. Drink beer if flying is the next day!

When should the quick drains be re-installed? After tank is in?

So that’s what this new guy has gathered for information. What did I miss? What wasn’t correct? Talk to me Goose...!

I would suggest getting the eagle drains, probably too late now to get them. The stem for the drains are installed in the bladder from the inside out, so has to be installed before bladder is put completely into place. I never heard about baby powder on the bladder, sounds messy. Ensure you line up the "hinge" on the vent to the top of bladder, a pain to change after the fact. Snaps are easy - bet you have a few already unsnapped when you open up the filler, once you pull one off when removing the bladder it is easy to see. On my 182B I had no issue at all reaching the snaps - issue was re-taping, outboard corner is impossible to reach - I have really long arms. I have standard tanks - I have heard long range is easier as you have two holes. Heat is your friend - no issue in LA this time of year - but un box the bladder and warm it in the sun. Tighten all clamps - let them sit for a bit then retorque, same for cork fuel senders - I had to retorque the fuel senders a few days later even as i still had a small leak. Rachet wrench and screw driver bit is the trick to access sender screws. Also ensure you have long studs to line up sender gaskets and bladder for install. Not a horrible job, hopefully your tape is in decent shape - Retaping is the worst part by far. Be careful with tank fuel screens - very fragile and be careful reaching into tank to straighten wrinkles and resnap so you don't damage fuel sender floats and rods.

Thanks Mark! All seems like great advice!