On 23 Apr 2006 02:18:53 -0700, wrote:

Ernest,

I agree with alot of what you said. The point of my OP was not to
challenge what the best care of the engine is. I think we all agree
that flying it an hour a week is what is called for, along with regular
oil changes. What I has me concerned is that many times during the
winter, it is difficult if not impossible to do this. In that

Get a good engine block and cylinder head heater. Wrap up the entire
cowl with plenty of good thermal blankets and use an engine heater to
keep the oil dry.

situation, I think it is better to warm up the engine than just let it
sit. The cam and lifter on Lycomings will tolerate no rust at all. Once
you have even a small rust pit in the lifting face of the cam or lifter
I'm afraid you are looking at a tear down in the not too distant
future. Literally beats them to death in short order. And like I said,
my oil analysis results show no water at all, zero. As for the engine
making water, of course it does, and it goes right out the exhaust as
you said. I don't think the engine stays very cold for any length of
time once running. Those babies get hot, and quick, even in the winter.
I doubt if they collect much if any water during start up. I also don't
think the oil turns to an acid capable of dissolving the engine. I

Again we disagree. If I don't use the engine heater the oil will be
almost milky within the first five hours. Using the heater it's still
clear to around the 20 hour mark. OTOH my engine has no oil filter so
the oil changes come at 25 hours. In 25 hours the oil doesn't go down
enough to hardly see on the dip stick, so it's using less than a pint
in 25 hours and is almost at TBO. BTW it has a wet vacuum pump.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

could be wrong, as I haven't done the research, but then, I don't think
anyone else has either. Some say they have, but they aren't showing it
for us to see, at least not that I'm aware of. I realize that the 180
deg is probably meant as a guide, but they do state specifically that
if you don't hit 180, the water won't evaporate. I think this is
nonsense. The oil in a running engine is literally blown and slung
around like a hurricane. It doesn't just sit at the bottom of the sump.
And the volume of oil pumped is huge. 90 psi will do that. I think that
there probably are pockets within the engine that trap water. The front
of the hollow crank comes to mind, but I don't think they ever get
purged of their water, even after hours of operation.

Blue skies,
Rusty