2006 Annual -- My 8th Owner Assisted -- Update

Things are moving along.

1. My new tail-to-fuselage fairing has arrived, and my A&P has allowed
as how we can use cherry pop rivets (rather than structural), which
will save a bunch of headache. (Although Mary will still have to get
back into the aft fuselage in order to vacuum up the rivets that fell
into the plane when we cut the old ones off...so pictures will be
forthcoming... ;-) Thanks for the suggestion!

2. We're still hunting down the source of a pesky oil leak that has
driven me nuts over the last year. I pulled the prop off yesterday,
under the suspicion that the seal right behind the prop might be the
culprit. It wasn't. It looks like the oil might be coming out where
the case halves come together, right behind that seal -- but it's sure
hard to tell.

So, we're retorqueing all the case through bolts again, and my A&P is
going to apply some sealant (that he uses on the big jets at his "day"
job) to that joint, in hopes of licking this incredibly aggravating
problem. (I want the Japanese to come out with an airplane engine.
I'll bet it wouldn't "mark its territory" like an old Harley, and maybe
the competition would force Lycoming/Continental to figure out a better
way to seal their engines....)

3. As long as the prop is off, I sanded the backside of the prop, and
will be applying a nice, new coat of flat black prop paint to it. It
was pretty badly scoured, and -- with the sun at our back -- was really
getting annoying.

3. The new Ameri-King ELT arrived, which I'm suppose to be installing
right now. Unfortunately, our lead housekeeper called in sick this
morning, so Mary is out cleaning rooms, which means I'm covering the
desk. (I've got other staff on vacation.) So I'm paying my A&P $65/hour
instead of $8/hour for someone to cover the desk. Stupid, stupid,
stupid. :-(

Otherwise, no surprises...yet.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

("Jay Honeck" wrote)
So, we're retorqueing all the case through bolts again, and my A&P is
going to apply some sealant (that he uses on the big jets at his "day"
job) to that joint, in hopes of licking this incredibly aggravating
problem. (I want the Japanese to come out with an airplane engine. I'll
bet it wouldn't "mark its territory" like an old Harley, and maybe the
competition would force Lycoming/Continental to figure out a better way to
seal their engines....)

3. The new Ameri-King ELT arrived, which I'm suppose to be installing
right now. Unfortunately, our lead housekeeper called in sick this
morning, so Mary is out cleaning rooms, which means I'm covering the desk.
(I've got other staff on vacation.) So I'm paying my A&P $65/hour instead
of $8/hour for someone to cover the desk. Stupid, stupid, stupid. :-(


#3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
......"Do good work." :-)

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A4C763BDC
(Same link as below ...wait for it)

RAH thread about ....thread.
#50 silk thread to be exact. (Japanese silk? g)

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.aviation.homebuilt/browse_thread/thread/009ae0fef5d88232/3a557cffb048493c?hl=en#3a557cffb048493c


Montblack

In article ,
"Montblack" wrote:

#3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
....."Do good work." :-)

Response: Well, Dad, make it $20/hr. It's still saving you $45/hr.

:-)

Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
joint with a vacuum pump.

A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.

I don't think the Continental and Lycoming seal system is that bad.
I've never had trouble sealing the case halves or the rear cover. It
is important to apply the RTV (or whatever) very thin, but complete to
the ends & with the silk thread.

Good luck!

Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
joint with a vacuum pump.

Well, supposedly this magic stuff just needs to be on a clean, dry
surface -- no need for vacuum. I degreased the engine yesterday, let
it dry overnight, and we applied the goop today. We'll see if it does
anything.

A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.

Yeah, I figured as much. If the goop doesn't work, I'm resigned to
having a messy engine for the next 1100 hours or so... :-(
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 03/25/06 13:22, real_name wrote:
In article ,
"Montblack" wrote:

#3. Joe or Becca, how'd you like to make $10 hr while Mom is cleaning rooms
and I'm over at the airport? Call if you need us. Be nice to the guests
....."Do good work." :-)

Response: Well, Dad, make it $20/hr. It's still saving you $45/hr.

No, no, no ... you *never* *ever* tell the child how much money they're
saving you...

;-)

--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
joint with a vacuum pump.

Well, supposedly this magic stuff just needs to be on a clean, dry
surface -- no need for vacuum. I degreased the engine yesterday, let
it dry overnight, and we applied the goop today. We'll see if it does
anything.

What make and model of goop is it? My 0-320 has had a case seam leak since
I built the thing, and I'd like to correct it.

KB


A silk thread was supposedly used on the initial assembly of the engine
but there is no way you can "slightly" split the case now & get it to
seal again with silk. Simply torqueing it won't work either.

Yeah, I figured as much. If the goop doesn't work, I'm resigned to
having a messy engine for the next 1100 hours or so... :-(
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Sorry, I don't buy it. No sealant will work without being sucked into the
void. IMHO, you are wasting your time with surface sealant. Talk your mech
into letting you at least put the vacuum on the exhaust pipe and trying to
suck some of the goop into the gap. Let it be "tossing coraiander over your
shoulder to keep the rhinocerosus at bay" if that is what (s)he thinks. It
is YOUR plane and YOU get to say what you think is correct.

Jim


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Might it be practical to pressurize the crankcase thru the breather
line with a couple of psi of air & then use a soap solution to find the
extent of the leak? You are probably going to have to clean the area
with solvent anyway and then suck your mechanic's magic stuff into the
joint with a vacuum pump.

Sorry, I don't buy it. No sealant will work without being sucked into the
void.

Well, I hear ya -- but every time I've questioned my A&P, I've been
proven wrong. He's been building engines for 40 years, and if he says
it might work, I'm willing to give it a shot. (He has allowed that it
might not.)

They've come a long ways with this kind of sealant stuff. We had a
leak in a high-pressure hot water pipe that would have been a helluva
thing to solder. It would have required ripping the ceiling down,
cutting joists, the whole nine yards. Instead, the plumber put some
kind of goop on the leaky joint that worked. I wouldn't have believed
it if I hadn't seen it -- but it sets up like iron, even on the wet
surface, and is water-tight.

Dunno what this stuff is that my A&P is using, but as I said they use
it on jets for fuel leaks. I'll let you know if it works.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message oups.com...

Dunno what this stuff is that my A&P is using, but as I said they use
it on jets for fuel leaks. I'll let you know if it works.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


Sounds like ProSeal in one of it's many flavors....