On 17 Oct 2005 10:21:28 -0700, "Denny" wrote:

Ummm, yup... Your local NAPA store has it on the shelf, it's called
engine dye... Got, it, put it in, fired up the UV light and discovered
everything on the engine glows in UV, especially gaskets... Then I
wandered over to the starboard engine and discovered that dip stick
glows also... Turns out theAv oil I'm using is fluorescent without the
dye... Back to square one...

When the oil fluoresces (sp?) without the dye you need to do a good
high-flash solvent wash job on the engine when it's hot, then grab a
fire extinguisher, drag the thing outside and dump a gallon of
anhydrous isopropyl into your solvent sprayer and repeat.

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know-but Apache cowls
SUCK r/r-wise. Mr. Burns just doesn't have enuff practice with his
Aztec cowls yet.

Had a 450 Pratt giving me fits year ago. Dug out the Zyglo light and
dumped in the dye.

Idle to operating oil temp (if the oil ain't hot, the oil in the tank
doesn't circulate), high power for 15 minutes, 5 minute cool down-no
joy-zip, zilch, nada. High power for 30 minutes, 5 minute cool
down-zip, zilch, nada. Grabbed a pilot that was handy (still have
never mastered a twin-engine w/conventional gear) went around the
patch ONCE.

Grabbed the light, stuck it in the cowl-the entire engine was glowing.
Don't remember what was found to be the culprit, but the dye sure
wasn't the answer on that one.

Only nagging leak that I ever found with dye was on a P-baron. Oil was
"going away", nothing evident but what looked like normal minor leaks.

Repeated the procedure listed above, found nothing. Let them fly it on
a trip, drug out the light found visible dye on the trailing edge of
the flap. Compressions were perfect. Hmm.

Yanked three jugs and had 'em re-worked w/new rings, oil consumption
cut by one half, yanked the other three, oil consumption back to
normal. The oil film on the flap was not visible with out the black
light. Would never had believed it was blowing by without the dye. Was
one of my first experiences with operation at altitude causing heavier
breathing out the breather.

Have found most of my nagging oil leaks by using solvent/alcohol spray
and generic aerosol foot powder. Just make sure you solvent spray the
foot powder off after you find the leak, for all I know the stuff is
corrosive.

BTW, just how old were those oil lines?

TC