Update - Fat Albert

Just an update on the ongoing saga...When we left Fat Albert he was
leaking oil somewhere on the port (that's the left side of the boat
when facing the pointy end, for you non sailors) engine acessory
case... I had gone through several iterations of: clean the oil off,
tighten everything I could reach, go fly, find new oil, repeat... I
finally became suspicious that the oil cooler hose (the one most
impossible to get a wrench on) was oozing internally and misting oil
out through the braid over its entire length, but only when the engine
got good and hot... So I decided to do the thing that all successful
mechanics recommend; change out everything in sight for new parts...
Anyway, I pulled the oil cooler hoses and the fuel line hoses (they
were rigid man, rigid...)... Called a place that specializes in hoses
and only hoses... He said just to measure the hoses and he would make
new ones...
"NOT!", I said... Having fallen off the turnip truck more than once I
know that is a sure recipe for getting the wrong hoses...
I paid to have the old hoses shipped to him, also setting the job back
4 days because of an intervening weekend.. So the new (and old) hoses
come back and Friday I whip out to the airport... I open the box and
they are gorgeous... They are teflon with stainless steel braid covered
with firesleeve, and they have official looking metal bands that are
laser etched with the hose data, the date, etc... The fittings are
brand new and shiny, the nuts have never seen a wrench yet.. They look
like a million bucks - and cost me almost that much... It would have
been perfect if all the hoses had been the correct size, but somehow
trying to thread a -5 fitting on where a -6 came off presented some
difficulties...
picture me slooowly striking my forehead against a hard object because
it feels better than that way...

I picked up my phone and calmly dialed the hose guy...
"Awww, you gave me the wrong measurements.", he said...

Now for those of you who don't know me (that is most of you) I am a
friendly cuss... I usually have a smile and I always assume that I will
like you... At this moment the smile went away and I reverted back to
the dark side of the force... In a previous incarnation in a galaxy
far, far away I managed several hundred UAW skilled tradesmen, most of
whom had to have things explained to them in graphic language, complete
with the ramifications for failure... Millwrights were the ones most
needy of word pictures, with consequences...
I pointed out that the measurements were his, not mine!
"Well we're kinda busy, but I'll get right on it come Monday.", he said
I reverted to graphic language... In the end we agreed that he would
make a new hose of the correct size that very minute, drive it to the
UPS center as the UPS truck had already made the pickup for the day,
and ship it to me overnight - which he did...

So, Sunday morning I got back to the airport, hung that remaining hose,
flew the plane (cool day) and so far no oil leak (jury still out at
this point)... But at least the engine compartment looks good with all
the scrubbing and the flashy new hoses..

denny

So, Sunday morning I got back to the airport, hung that remaining hose,
flew the plane (cool day) and so far no oil leak (jury still out at
this point)... But at least the engine compartment looks good with all
the scrubbing and the flashy new hoses..

Great story, Denny. Hope it works out for you.

I've had a minor oil drip for months, and it's been driving me NUTS.
Nothing seems to be leaking, everything is tight, yet after a couple of
flights the bottom of the engine is oily.

It's been impossible to locate the source, since the airflow just blows
it all over the friggin' place, evenly coating the underside of the
engine with an oily sheen. (At least we know we'll never have to worry
about corrosion...) Even though we all know that a little oil looks
like a LOT Of oil, it's still the kind of thing that bugs you when you
open the hangar door and find a drip on the floor.

The greybeards at the airport think I'm just stupidly anal ("Hell, if
ain't drippin', it ain't an airplane!") -- but I believe in finding the
root cause BEFORE it becomes a problem.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www. AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

I've had a minor oil drip for months, and it's been driving me NUTS.

Back in the stone age, auto mechanics used to have a flourescent oil that could
be added to the engine oil. Then a blacklight was used to pinpoint the leak. If
it's really driving you nuts, you might run this by your A&P.

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

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...

denny

Which Avoil are you useing? I'd be interested in trying the UV trick after
washing down the engine and running it up.
Jim

"Denny" wrote in message
oups.com...
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...

denny

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

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.

TC, are you telling me that the Apache cowls are worse than the Aztecs?
You're right, we don't have much practice with ours yet (knock on wood).
We've only had the bottoms off once so far, but it was quite and experience.
I know enough to be the "screw driver/feed it into place man" and not the
"flat on my back holding it up with two arms, one knee and the opposite
foot/can't do crap from down here man"! We weren't nearly as fast as
Denny, more like 40 minutes off and an hour on for EACH of them, but it was
our first time and we definitely learned how they fit up into the fairings!
sheesh!

Jim

I've got one that sounds just like yours on the left engine of our Aztec.
It drives me crazy. At our last annual, we thought it was a mag gasket, so
we changed the gasket, no luck. I've checked all the case bolts and they
are snug. Repeatedly cleaned the engine, flown it, re-checked, and simply
can't find it. Presently, I'm thinking it is an oil return line under the
#1 cylinder. There is a drop that tends to hang under it, but like yours,
it's hard to figure out where it's comeing from. I need to get a new hose
clamp on it, just to be sure, but it is almost impossible to reach without
removeing the entire bottom cowling.

Jim


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
So, Sunday morning I got back to the airport, hung that remaining hose,
flew the plane (cool day) and so far no oil leak (jury still out at
this point)... But at least the engine compartment looks good with all
the scrubbing and the flashy new hoses..

Great story, Denny. Hope it works out for you.

I've had a minor oil drip for months, and it's been driving me NUTS.
Nothing seems to be leaking, everything is tight, yet after a couple of
flights the bottom of the engine is oily.

It's been impossible to locate the source, since the airflow just blows
it all over the friggin' place, evenly coating the underside of the
engine with an oily sheen. (At least we know we'll never have to worry
about corrosion...) Even though we all know that a little oil looks
like a LOT Of oil, it's still the kind of thing that bugs you when you
open the hangar door and find a drip on the floor.

The greybeards at the airport think I'm just stupidly anal ("Hell, if
ain't drippin', it ain't an airplane!") -- but I believe in finding the
root cause BEFORE it becomes a problem.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www. AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

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