wrote:
: The gist of the process is remove any leaking case bolts in the area,
: clean thoroughly with MEK (brake cleaner would work), and apply
: cyanoacrylate adhesive.

: That's right, super glue. You hook a shop vac up to the breather, turn
: it on, clean things up and let dry thoroughly. Turn the vac back on,
: apply the glue to the seam and on the inside of the bolt holes.

: Let it dry, put it all back together, torque the bolts and fly the
: crap out of it.

: Had really good luck using the extremely thin hobby stuff, then
: painting the thicker stuff down the seam (sparingly) after the thin
: stuff is dry.

: Is an "approved" repair for TCM products, and I have used it with good
: results.

: You hit the nail on the head, it is a "wicking" leak in most cases,
: and a wicking sealant will stop it...

Holy crap... Superglue on an airplane? I was concerned that the minor seam
leak on my Lycoming O-360 was indicative of case fretting. Now I see that it's a
common problem and nothing to worry about. I guess I'll doublecheck the torque specs
on the case bolts and then get some RTV. It's only enough to cause a sheen on the
case after a long flight, so it's not enough to measure. Only disturbing thing is
what little gets blown on the side of the case goes through the jugs and seems to hit
the exact same spot on the muffler. There's a bit of a "burn oil" stain on it.

Still... I consider *any* oil on a hot muffler unacceptable, even if it's
1/100 of a drop per second.

Overhaul on an oil leak? Sh*t... nobody'd be flying if these drippy, scummy,
blowby-ed, lead-fouled creatures if needed an overhaul whenever they made a mess...

-Cory

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************