Update - Fat Albert

Pulling the cowlings on Fat Albert is a 40 minute job for two men...
Replacing them is in the ball park of an hour plus... I have had the
cowlings completely off and back on 4 times in the past three weeks
chasing this leak... Getting pretty good at it, but not liking it any
better... This is on top of having the cowlings off the starboard
engine to change out the starter a week before we started on the
leak...

A month ago had you brought it up I would have been full of smug
instructions for chasing down the pesky leak, after 50+ years of
wrenching on engines... Since then I've had my hat size reduced...
This hose has been a real thrash to chase down because it appears it
only leaks when really good and hot, and then it mists oil thin as
water over it's entire length which blows around putting a uniform
coating of oil everywhere... (this is assuming I've finally done it -
still waiting on that hot day to get it warm enough to prove it is
fixed)

denny

Someday I'm going to seriously investigate the STC's that are out there for
split bottom cowlings. The ones I've seen put a doubler along the bottom, I
believe, just ahead of the air intake. You end up with a row of screws
running across the bottom cowl. Someday....

The oil leak we've got also mists over the bottom of the engine and onto the
rear accessory case. It's mostly noticeable due to the small puddle that
accumulates on the rear of the fuel injection throttle body where the air is
rather dead. Never enough to be measurable on the dip stick, it's just a
messy irritation.

Jim

"Denny" wrote in message
ups.com...
Pulling the cowlings on Fat Albert is a 40 minute job for two men...
Replacing them is in the ball park of an hour plus... I have had the
cowlings completely off and back on 4 times in the past three weeks
chasing this leak... Getting pretty good at it, but not liking it any
better... This is on top of having the cowlings off the starboard
engine to change out the starter a week before we started on the
leak...

A month ago had you brought it up I would have been full of smug
instructions for chasing down the pesky leak, after 50+ years of
wrenching on engines... Since then I've had my hat size reduced...
This hose has been a real thrash to chase down because it appears it
only leaks when really good and hot, and then it mists oil thin as
water over it's entire length which blows around putting a uniform
coating of oil everywhere... (this is assuming I've finally done it -
still waiting on that hot day to get it warm enough to prove it is
fixed)

denny

The oil leak we've got also mists over the bottom of the engine and onto the
rear accessory case. It's mostly noticeable due to the small puddle that
accumulates on the rear of the fuel injection throttle body where the air is
rather dead. Never enough to be measurable on the dip stick, it's just a
messy irritation.

That describes our leak as well. We've got grills that look like
"gills" on both aft sides of our bottom cowling, and a tiny trail of
oil will occasionally come out the lower right side "gill" -- never the
left. After sitting overnight, a drip will fall out of that area onto
the hangar floor, below that right gill.

Looking at the bottom of the engine, it's covered with a sheen of oil
-- but finding the source has been infuriating. There is no obvious
drip or puddle, and everything appears to be tight. Hell, it could be
running down from the TOP of the engine, hitting the 150 mph
slipstream, and atomizing all over the bottom -- only to gather back
into a droplet at the very bottom/lowest point.

It's never enough to register on the dipstick, but it sure makes a
mess. I'd love to find the source.

What makes it doubly aggravating is that we installed an air/oil
separator to eliminate oil on the bottom of the plane. (Which it did
quite well, until this leak developed...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

What makes it doubly aggravating is that we installed an air/oil
separator to eliminate oil on the bottom of the plane. (Which it did
quite well, until this leak developed...)

I think Atlas is spiting you!
Jim

On 17 Oct 2005 12:12:06 -0700, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

The oil leak we've got also mists over the bottom of the engine and onto the
rear accessory case. It's mostly noticeable due to the small puddle that
accumulates on the rear of the fuel injection throttle body where the air is
rather dead. Never enough to be measurable on the dip stick, it's just a
messy irritation.

That describes our leak as well. We've got grills that look like
"gills" on both aft sides of our bottom cowling, and a tiny trail of
oil will occasionally come out the lower right side "gill" -- never the
left. After sitting overnight, a drip will fall out of that area onto
the hangar floor, below that right gill.

Looking at the bottom of the engine, it's covered with a sheen of oil
-- but finding the source has been infuriating. There is no obvious
drip or puddle, and everything appears to be tight. Hell, it could be
running down from the TOP of the engine, hitting the 150 mph
slipstream, and atomizing all over the bottom -- only to gather back
into a droplet at the very bottom/lowest point.

It's never enough to register on the dipstick, but it sure makes a
mess. I'd love to find the source.

What makes it doubly aggravating is that we installed an air/oil
separator to eliminate oil on the bottom of the plane. (Which it did
quite well, until this leak developed...)

I found that spilling a teaspoon full when filling is good enough to
cover the entire bottom of the Deb.

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