Constant speed prop oil leak

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 03:15:08 GMT, (Ben Jackson) wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
Never saw a corrosion problem inside the Hartzell props on "working"
airplanes (greased every 100 hrs/2-3 months, o-hauled every 3-4
years). Always thought that a grease job every 100 hrs/6 months
(regardless of hours in the air) would be a good idea for relatively
in-frequent flyers.

Should grease be added until it flows cleanly from the removed zerk side,
or just until "some" grease comes out?

Depends on the installation.

What follows is personal preference for servicing Hartzell compact-hub
props, in no way supported by applicable maintenance documentation.
Worth just what you paid for it. Follow at your own risk.

Hartzell useta tell you to add a "little", sorry don't remember the
exact amount. With the guns we used, it worked out to about 4
"pumps".

Main thing to remember is to add the grease s-l-o-w-l-y, never use a
pneumatic-assisted gun.

If a similiar amount of decent looking grease comes out the
opposite/removed zerk, stop.

If after a shot or two, decent looking grease starts coming out, stop.

If after 4 shots, nothing comes out, 4 more, decent looking grease,
stop.

If the grease looks kinda crappy, carefully & slowly add until it
cleans up. Prop probably needs attention (see t-prop below for
exceptions).

In some cases, grease will not come out. This means that you are
filling the "dry" hub with grease. Prop definitely needs attention.

On turbo-prop applications, 8 times out of 10, the grease will be
compromised. Often will expel water with the grease, or show signs of
water contamination. If the prop is serviced on a regular basis,
carefully "flushing" the cavity with clean grease, it will likely
survive the next o-haul without major corrosion issues.

Only other thing notable is that any Hartzell compact hub prop
installed new (or after o-haul) should be run up to TO rpm, exercised
several times, and the hub cavities "topped off" with grease. Not sure
if that's in the "book" or not. In this case, opposite zerk is
removed, and grease added until excess is seen. Can take a little or a
lot.

Finally, if getting a Dy-Bal performed on a H/CH prop, make sure to
grease it first, just in case someone forgot to "top it off".

Hope this helps;

TC