Break-In Oil Change - Screen Cleaning?

Buck Rizvi

Buck Rizvi

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BoulderBuck
An A & P friend walked me through the first oil change (20 hours) of my newly overhauled Lycoming IO-540.

I have a Cherokee Six 300 service manual and it says I should pull and clean both the oil sump and the oil pressure screens during every oil change.

My friend said he didn't feel it was necessary and that he usually does these during an annual / 100 hours.

I said "OK," but I thought I would ask for opinions:

Should I always pull, inspect, and clean the oil screens at every oil change?

P.S. The oil pressure screen looks like a real bastard to get to.

P.P.S. I would like to do my own oil changes, but I'm not a mechanic.
 
Just change the oil and filter every 50hrs or when the oil looks dirty.
 
You do not need a mechanical rating to change oil and filters.

If you don't pull the screens, how will you know what they are removing from the oil?
 
I will be thoroughly inspecting the screen every oil change for the first couple hundred hours after my overhaul. After that I might be tempted to only do it every other time, unless after doing it a few times I learn to do it faster than I can now.

I’m not familiar with the 540. Does it have two screens and a filter, or only the screens? I can’t imagine not doing it if you don’t have a filter at all.
 
My opinion? Either you misunderstood your friend or you need to find a different mechanic to gather advice from.

Lose the screen. Add a spin-on filter adapter. Screens are messy and you're likely going to warp the flange and have leaks from it. Spin-ons are so much simpler to deal with and they double the service life of your oil. A spin-on allows you to change your oil and walk away to inspect the filter later, even off-site if that suits you. If you choose to keep the screen? Yep, inspect and clean at every oil change. No exceptions. That's every 25 hours. Most guys won't check the suction screen at oil changes but will at annual, but for the first couple of changes on a newly overhauled engine? I'd check it. New engines make metal and spit out bits of sealants and such. I want to see what's in there.
 
I would check the screens ,every oil change ,if the airplane doesn’t have an oil filter.
 
The screen in my A65 collected a lot of carbon while I was breaking in new rings. Bet yours did as well.
 
As an aside...

...I'm surprised the recommendation is to go 20 hours before the first change. My OH shop recommended a change at 1 hour, 8 hours, 16 hours, 32 hours, then normal intervals.
 
timwinters said:
My OH shop recommended a change at 1 hour, 8 hours, 16 hours, 32 hours, then normal intervals.
Click to expand...

That sounds really excessive. I recall the recommendation for big bore Continentals was mineral oil for 25 hours or until consumption stabilizes. That would often mark the first oil change on a new or overhauled engine.
 
FastEddieB said:
I recall the recommendation for big bore Continentals was mineral oil for 25 hours or until consumption stabilizes.
Click to expand...

Stewartb said:
Continental first oil change recommendation is 25 hours.
http://www.airpowerinc.com/downloads/PDFs/TCMEngineBreakInFlightTips.pdf
Click to expand...

Interesting, I guess he just wanted the filter cut frequently to look for signs of infant mortality. I guess I could have just changed & cut the filter which would replicate what Lyco recommends for screen inspection.

Thankfully, I found nothing to speak of in the filter at any of these changes.
 
I always do a first change at 10 hours, then at 25. Filters cut and inspected at both. After that oil changes at 25 hours and filter every other oil change. My new Lycoming clone was on the dyno at the factory for an hour so the initial change is already complete. I'll still do one at 10 hours and again at 25. The peace of mind is worth the cost of the oil for me.
 
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