Fuel Leak, found and fixed

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A few weeks ago we noticed a strong fuel smell in the cockpit. We had smelled fuel before, but dismissed it. It was probably some fuel left in the fuel sampler that we keep in a side pocket. 


Anyway, it was bad enough to investigate further. We took out the side panels off the center console and discovered a leaky fitting. It was on the back of the booster pump. It is not under high pressure, but it leaked anyway.  


The leak was minor, and the source was hard to detect, but it was bad enough for some fuel to pool on the cockpit floor.


The leaky fitting is in a very awkward place and we did not have the tools to fix. So we decided to cut off the existing crimp fittings with a diagonal cutter and replaced them with adjustable hose clamps that we can tighten with a screwdriver (see below).


This MacGyver fix worked good enough to stop the worst of the leak.We were able to fly the plane back to TAF in Torrance, CA. They determined that the fuel pump had an incorrect fitting. Just to be sure Jonathan replaced all the fuel lines aft of the fire wall. It's all good now. Thanks Jonathan and Jean!

Lessons learned; don't ignore ANY fuel smells in the cabin.

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