Well the oil leak is fixed but I have another problem. Geesh it just
never stops!
The Airwolf remote filter adapter arrived as promised and it is a work
of art. Very nicely machined parts. The one thing that was not readily
apparent was the extra $200 for the hoses. The total cost for the kit
including hoses $700 and change. Don’t get me wrong they ar every nice
hoses and custom made to length and offset.
Airwolf does have a kit that will attach to the existing filter adapter.
Since I had a crack in my oil filter adapter I opted to replace the
adapter with Airwolf’s kit that replaced the adapter. This added
significantly to the install time. The firewall mount for the remote
filter was strait forward and fairly easy. I did need a second person to
bolt it in place. I mounted it on the lower right side of the fire wall.
This is opposite the fuel collator and line. Easy to get to and as far
as I could get it from the exhaust system.
One of the hoses in the first set was built wrong. I asked Airwolf if
they wanted me to fax them a diagram and they sid no. Ok. the first hose
was pretty strait forward. Strait on one end and a 45 on the other. The
other hose was a little more complicated. 45 degree fittings on both
ends and one of them need to have a 45 offset.
He started by asked me if I had ever shot a rifle before. I said I had.
Ok one fitting is at the trigger were is the other.
I told him at 10:30. He said 135 degrees, yeah 10:30. Well his 135
degrees was 1:30. What he wanted was 225 degrees.
He screwed up so they ate the hose and I suspect the profit on my sale.
I finally received the correct hose Friday and installed it this
afternoon. THe leak check was fine. I had to run it long enough to
circulate oil through the cooler. After 5 or so minutes of full system
circulation I shut down and went to check for leaks. None found! in the
oil system.
However I found a couple of drips at the fuel side of things. I thought
it was the collator drain. Nope. It was one of the case drains, Damn. I
traced it back and it is the fuel pump. Another $250. Fortunately it
seems to be one of the cheapest pumps.
Another week of down time and I should be ok.
Michelle
Yup, it never ends… After a week of cleaning the port engine, flying
it, inspecting for leaks, cleaning it again, tightening even more
fittings, flying it, and finally discovering that the mounting nuts on
the prop governor were barely more than finger tight, I had the leak(s)
stopped… Flew it more than an hour (cool day)… Pulled the side
cowls for inspection… Engine dry as a bone… Yippee skip..
I decided to do the oil change as I had 26 hours on the tachs since
last oil change and the fall temps are coming so it’s time to bid adieu
to the 100W and fill with 15W50… FIlters were past 50 hours and due
also… So my son and I went into the oil change drill (his first time
on an airplane, though he is a competent mechanic)… 16 quarts of
oil, 2 cans of AVBLEND, and two filters later, he discovered that
changing the horizontal filters on an O-320 is a messy job… So, back
out to the wash down lawn where we <again> used citrus cleaner, rags,
and a garden sprayer to get the engines and cowlings squeaky clean…
Test run showed no leaks, so back on with the side cowls.. (gee, it
even smells good)
We went out for some ’circuits and bangs’, as the English put it…
Dennis has a few hours of stick time in the air and attempted only two
landings before this, so it was exciting… He is starting ab initio
in a twin, with carbs and heat boxes, hydraulic gear and flaps,
constant speed props, etc., which is even more exciting… The air
temperature was above 80 and the engines got warm… After landing I’m
just crawling out when Dennis says, "Oil dripping… Big time!"…
<jeez>
We pulled the side cowls and the rear of the port engine is drenched,
though the oil filter (my initial thought) is clean and dry… At this
point we suspect the oil temperature bulb is leaking when it gets hot,
but it is up under the top cowling and invisible until the cowl is
removed… At that point we had been at it for some 7 hours and we
were whipped… So, I will get out there Wednesday afternoon and pull
the top cowling and try to verify it as being the temperature sender…
PN 461-046
denny
ps.. Not having any luck locating the part this morning… Anyone
knowing of same please drop me a line…
> We pulled the side cowls and the rear of the port engine is drenched,
> though the oil filter (my initial thought) is clean and dry… At this
> point we suspect the oil temperature bulb is leaking when it gets hot,
> but it is up under the top cowling and invisible until the cowl is
> removed… At that point we had been at it for some 7 hours and we
> were whipped… So, I will get out there Wednesday afternoon and pull
> the top cowling and try to verify it as being the temperature sender…
> PN 461-046
Well, it’s Wednesday afternoon. What did you find, Denny?
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
> The Airwolf remote filter adapter arrived as promised and it is a work of
> art. Very nicely machined parts. The one thing that was not readily
> apparent was the extra $200 for the hoses. The total cost for the kit
> including hoses $700 and change. Don’t get me wrong they ar every nice
> hoses and custom made to length and offset.
We’ve got the Airwolf on our O-540, and love it.
Oil changes are still a pain, but NOTHING like they were. I can *almost*
do it without spilling…
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
Well, the bottom line (in my mind) seems to be the oil cooler hose
right at the fitting on the oil screen… I had a second A&PI come
look at the engine… He says those lines, "never leak"… This line
passes right by the oil temp bulb – which this time was not dripping
oil, go figure… Every thing else was pretty well covered with a film
of oil… There is no pattern you can discern… It will not leak when
ground run, or even flown for a short time (cool day)… But get
rolling on a hot day shooting circuits and bangs and it leaks
somewhere, whilst the airflow through the engine compartment blows it
all around… It appears to me that hot oil is penetrating through the
inner liner, wicking along underneath the outer covering and then
oozing/misting out the braid for a good 1/3 of it’s length, so that
there is no discrete source…
Anyway, two mechanics <and about a half dozen hangar bums> have now
said the oil cooler lines are fine – which makes it almost 100% sure
that it IS the problem… So, I got on the phone with a fella who
makes hoses… We have the parts numbers from the original parts
manual, but given that hoses and fittings may have been altered in 48
years, I am pulling every doggone hose in the entire engine compartment
and shipping them to him… He will make a new set of teflon hoses with
integral firesleeve and ship them back… The advantage of this expense
over just replacing the suspect rubber hose is that these hoses
<theoretically> do not harden and never require changing… If nothing
else, it should look pretty…
So the plane will be down till the middle of next week, at least…
Stay tuned… Don’t touch that dial!
\denn
On 6 Oct 2005 04:15:46 -0700, "Denny" <k…@mailblocks.com> wrote:
>Well, the bottom line (in my mind) seems to be the oil cooler hose
>right at the fitting on the oil screen… I had a second A&PI come
Awh, just pick the filler cap up off the floor where you left it, put
it back on and the leak will be cured. <:-))
I hear guys talking about restoring aircraft. Apparently they never
owned one as owning one is a constant restoration job and mine only
has one engine.
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
http://www.rogerhalstead.com
Roger