This 20 year old unused fuel tank came with Team's kit for Max 103. Just wondering whether any maintenance is required on the rubber bushing / gasket ( or is it grommet ? ) at the fuel outlet elbow / pipe. I filled the tank with 5 gals of gasoline, and kept it overnight and there seems to be no sign of any leaks. But still I thought if I have to change the bushing / grommet, it may be easier to do that right now before I hook up the tank. Also I am looking for the part number for that bushing. There are several of them on Amazon, but is any specific grade or material required for durability and quality ? I assume it is a one piece push and fit type of sealing device. Thanks for any suggestions.

This picture was left out.

At 20 years old I would wonder if it can handle today's gasoline formula.?
As I am sure you are aware, there have been many issues about/with things
like o-rings that were not able to handle the increases ethanol levels in modern fuels
and began to fail (OVER TIME), I capitalize that to express that while the grommet
might have been just fine for overnight, If it is made out of just a rubber product
from 20 years ago it (might not) last for years like you would want it to.
I'm sure someone knows more about the type of compound used in that time era
and if you should change it. I lean towards the side of R&R it just based on age.
JMHO and others will vary.                                                        TTT
  

Hi Kieth
I would suggest that you buy one from Team. Dave's products are made for his kits, or he has a source for the proper grommet.
You should not use fuel with ethanol in it anyway.
Bob

Hi
I have an old kit with an old tank and have decided to try to get an aluminum tank to replace it, the fabricators up my way definitely don't get excited about gas tanks for anything, without even mentioning its use in an aircraft, five hundred dollars is the only real quote I have been able to find.  Has anyone found a source for aluminum cowl tanks for the maxes?
Kim Brown
New Hampshire

What will happen to the hole in the tank when you pull the fitting out to replace the grommet ???

Kim, Original Team Tanks are just fine, I wouldn't do aluminimum

Only advantage to aluminum is it might weigh less than the poly tank.
With a little wiggling and pulling it's not too hard to remove the fitting, insert a new bushing and reinstall the fitting.

The only concern I've seen with this rubber grommets is if someone used the wrong type of drill bit to make the hole. A twist drill will make a triangular shaped hole and often causes leaking issues. A forsner bit is the proper tool for making the hole.

Quoted from aeronut

What will happen to the hole in the tank when you pull the fitting out to replace the grommet ???

Nothing.  The aluminum fitting will pull out of the rubber grommet and then the grommet will pull out of the tank.

Quoted from TreeTopsTom

>>>>. . . . while the grommet
might have been just fine for overnight, If it is made out of just a rubber product
from 20 years ago it (might not) last for years like you would want it to. . . . . . .<<<<<
TTT    

TTT, I think you are right. These rubber bushings deteriorate with long storage, especially if stored in warm weather. I think aviation gaskets and parts which have rubber content, including airplane tires, need to be stored in cool or temperature controlled conditions. My kit is coming from Florida / Alabama and  both places are warm in summer months.

Bob Hoskins, thanks for the heads up on quality, and suitability. I have already run an inquiry through Dave Cooper at Team. I am just hoping to add a few other misc parts to the bushing to arrive at an economically viable order. In this case Amazon was appealing only because I have free shipping with Amazon prime, and a bunch of these are available with them.  I think there is commonality between these bushings as they are used in many other machines including lawn mowers and chain-saws.

Aeronut, I had no clue how this bushing actually fit, which is why I asked the forum about this part. It is different from a conventional grommet in that it does not have a lip on either side. ( I could be wrong here. )  This bushing should be a correct fit for the fuel outlet opening. When you squeeze in the elbow into the bushing it expands the rubber sleeve making it a tight fit against the opening.  Eric / Ulbuilder, thanks for the tip on the need for the aperture to be perfectly circular to prevent leaks.

The bushes I saw online mostly fit an opening of 33/64. May be this is some kind of an accepted standard for fuel outlet aperture ?  Hers's a link to the part on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018TWDGQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Air Tech Inc has these on hand but you pay shipping.

Quoted from cliff

Air Tech Inc has these on hand but you pay shipping.

Thanks Cliff. I had some other control parts and bits to order, so i already ordered this bush and some other parts from Dave at Team.

Keith LEAF has Viton grommets that resist ethanol fuel. I have them in my fuel tanks.

Monte

Quoted from texasbuzzard

Keith LEAF has Viton grommets that resist ethanol fuel. I have them in my fuel tanks.
Monte

Useful information, Monte. Thanks

Keith....I am glad you posted the photo of the grommet. I had NO IDEA
these things (the grommets) didn't have a lip on the INSIDE the tank portion of them!
Wondering now what the heck holds them in? Is it Just the pressure created when
you insert the fitting? IE: rubber OD expands some small amount to make leak proof
seal against the plastic hole in the tank? There must be more to it than that!  
Obviously, I have never removed one and now I am questioning the whole concept!  LOL   TTT  

TTT, I have ordered a fuel tank grommet from Team, and it should be coming in this week. I will post a photo as soon as I receive it. Thanks

Quoted from TreeTopsTom

Is it Just the pressure created when
you insert the fitting? IE: rubber OD expands some small amount to make leak proof
seal against the plastic hole in the tank? There must be more to it than that!  
  

Yes, that is exactly how it is retained.  I guarantee you that it won't leak or fall out when properly installed in the correct size hole.  In fact you can't pull it out until you remove the metal fitting.

No need to post the photo Kieth...You already did a few posts up.
I knew the fittings didn't leak because before I reinstalled my old
tanks back into the wing (after some other work) I left it sitting with
4 gallons of gas in it for about 3 weeks just to make sure. And
figured there might be some swelling properties associated with
then being wet instead of dry while the tanks were out.
  I'm just surprized because I just always assumed there was
some small lip on the inside that you had to squeeze through the
hole in the tank when you installed them.
They MUST swell up some when the gas sits on them for a few days.
Though I am sure they don't leak when you first install them I have to
imagine that they get a little bit tighter over time when wet.       TTT

Quoted from TreeTopsTom

They MUST swell up some when the gas sits on them for a few days.
Though I am sure they don't leak when you first install them I have to
imagine that they get a little bit tighter over time when wet.       TTT

I'm pretty sure that there isn't any "swelling" involved.  The metal fitting is sized to compress the rubber grommet against the hole in the tank.  Essentially, this does produce a "lip" of sorts on the rubber grommet.

The earlier picture of the fuel grommet, was a generic picture taken from Amazon's online catalog, this picture below is of the grommet I received from Team.

TTT, hope this explains it.

ulbuilder, Thanks, Picture being worth 1000 words.
Keith, photos also appreciated.          TTT

I changed the rubber grommet on the fuel tank outlet yesterday.
As Radfordc already noted, it is really hard to remove the old fitting and equally hard to insert the new one.
I used a few drops of engine oil to lubricate the gasket while pushing in the outlet elbow into newly placed grommet.
As it did not seem to help, I had add a touch of automotive grease, to push in the metal part.
Some pictures attached.

Although it looks like there is a lip formed on the inside part of the grommet,  
the barrier is leak proof mainly because of how tightly the rubber seals to the aperture, than any sealing action of the lip itself.