Changing the oil

[dmccormack]

It's been a very stressful, tiring week at work with days stretching to night. I wanted to fly some this week but the mornings have been foggy and the afternoons over 90F.

I thought last night would be the night to throw the prop and putt around the sky a bit. But by the time I got to the airport it was 6:40 PM, 88 F, and I was just plain tired. I didn't need the IMSAFE checklist to know when I shouldn't fly so on the ground I stayed.

But I'm already here so...

The hangar door slid open, the light streamed in, and the cowling came off. I refilled the fuel tank with 5 gallons of premium. After that, I only intended to clean the engine compartment but since I took the cowling off I should change the oil. Snip the safety wire, loosen the drain pug, watch the oil flow down into the plastic bin. Sure, I should have warmed the engine up to operating temps, but it was 95 F here today and the oil is flowing like water. Good enough.

Replace the plug, tighten, reapply safety wire (I'm getting better -- I did miles of .032 and .020 safety wiring from 1980 to 1983 in the Air Force, but it's been awhile). I poured in Aeroshell 80W (3.5 quarts and .25 quart of Camguard) and watched for leaks. All good (there is no filter in his airplane).

I wiped down the entire engine and compartment, carefully checking for problems. I cleaned the inside of the cowling, put everything back on, wiped it down, and gave the wings and windshield and clean up.

A quick straightening up of the hangar and then close up and head home.

We don't always have to fly our airplanes -- sometimes it's good to just be around them.

 

[taters]

-- sometimes it's good to just be around them.

Best Part of owning....nothing like a crisp Saturday AM with a cup of coffee in the hanger...wiping down and admiring the bird.

 

[Ted]

If your plane has no filter, does it have a screen, or is that lacking as well? Just curious.

The Aztec (and every other plane I've flown up until the 310) has oil filters. The 310 has oil screens, which are to be cleaned with the oil change (2 cases of oil every 25 hours of flight time - yikes). I'm intending on adding the AirWolf oil filter kits since some of the trips I'll be taking it on are more than 25 hours of flight time.

To your real point: Absolutely, some days it's nice to just be around them at the airport, having some quality time to bond.

 

[steingar]

I need to learn to change the oil in my aircraft. I do it on the bikes, and the airplane is probably easier.

 

[Gmaper]

It's been a very stressful, tiring week at work with days stretching to night. I wanted to fly some this week but the mornings have been foggy and the afternoons over 90F.

I thought last night would be the night to throw the prop and putt around the sky a bit. But by the time I got to the airport it was 6:40 PM, 88 F, and I was just plain tired. I didn't need the IMSAFE checklist to know when I shouldn't fly so on the ground I stayed.

But I'm already here so...

The hangar door slid open, the light streamed in, and the cowling came off. I refilled the fuel tank with 5 gallons of premium. After that, I only intended to clean the engine compartment but since I took the cowling off I should change the oil. Snip the safety wire, loosen the drain pug, watch the oil flow down into the plastic bin. Sure, I should have warmed the engine up to operating temps, but it was 95 F here today and the oil is flowing like water. Good enough.

Replace the plug, tighten, reapply safety wire (I'm getting better -- I did miles of .032 and .020 safety wiring from 1980 to 1983 in the Air Force, but it's been awhile). I poured in Aeroshell 80W (3.5 quarts and .25 quart of Camguard) and watched for leaks. All good (there is no filter in his airplane).

I wiped down the entire engine and compartment, carefully checking for problems. I cleaned the inside of the cowling, put everything back on, wiped it down, and gave the wings and windshield and clean up.

A quick straightening up of the hangar and then close up and head home.

We don't always have to fly our airplanes -- sometimes it's good to just be around them.

No paperwork ?

 

[tonycondon]

the paperwork isn't nearly as interesting as the act. also it's much harder to romanticize signing the logbooks.

 

[poadeleted20]

If your plane has no filter, does it have a screen, or is that lacking as well?

It has two screens. For most Lycomings, the gross screen is down in the sump (access from the bottom, which usually means pulling the lower cowl), while the fine screen is in the housing on the back of the gear box (the one that's replaced by the filter adapter when you change to filters). You should check and clean the fine screen on each oil change, but my A&P friends say you can wait for the annual/100-hour on the gross screen.

BTW, the biggest barrier to doing your own oil changes seems to be the safety wiring. Learning to do it right isn't hard; the biggest problem is getting a good safety wire spinning pliers. You can do it manually, but it never looks as good as with a spinner, and in some engine compartments (like the Tiger's) results in skinned knuckles due to lack of space where you have to spin. Also, avoid those cheapo $20 spinners you find on eBay and some parts suppliers -- they're made of cheap metal and have sheet metal instead of cast parts in critical places, and won't do but a few dozen spinnings before they fail (BTDT, threw it in the trash). You'll pay near $80 for a good one, but it will last a lifetime (yours, not its).

The other issue is cutting open the filter and checking the paper element for metal, which takes the right tool in order to avoid contaminating the element with metal from the filter case. The right gadget for that ain't cheap, but it makes life a lot easier. However, if you add that to the cost of the spinner, and compare it to what you'll pay a shop for the labor, you'll see that the tools pay for themselves after about two oil changes. When you do about 3 oil changes a year on your own as I do between annuals, that pays off pretty quickly.

As for paperwork, this is preventive maintenance items 5 (safety wire) and 23 (oil filter). "Drained oil, removed oil filter and replaced with new Champion 48110-1 filter, safety wired filter, added 7 quarts of Exxon Elite 20W50 oil. Engine run and leak checked OK. IM Pilot, 123456789 PP-A." No entry needed for cutting open the filter and checking the paper element for metal, but you really don't want to skip that, so get your mech to show you how and what to look for.

 

[dmccormack]

Ted -- nope, no filter or accessible screen, just a sump. I have the original Overhaul and Operator manuals. The IPB shows no screen in any of the oil distribution drawings, yet the OH manual mentions "cleaning the sump drain" each 100 hours.

The current owner of the STC talked to my local A&P a few weeks ago and told him the concept was that the oil would hold stuff in suspension until 50 hours, then drain the sump. Every so many hours you pull the sump off and scrape the gunk off.

Pretty simple.

There is an option for an air filter -- off a 1940 Chevy.

Safety wire pliers cost me $25 at Advanced Auto. Work as good as the pair I used in the Air Force on nuclear weapons.

As far as paperwork, the logs are in the house. I come home, and print out the entry, paste it in and sign:

IAW FAR Part 43, Appendix A, Paragraph C - Preventive Maintenance, changed oil on 31 August 2010, engine time 2423.7. Drained oil IAW with Lycoming O-145-B2 Owner’s Manual. Reinstalled oil drain plug, safety wired with .032 wire. Filled sump with 3.5 quarts Aeroshell 80W oil, 6 oz CamGuard (IAW CamGuard instructions). Ran engine, checked for leaks.

[FONT=&quot]Signed, me[/FONT]


​

 

[Ted]

It has two screens. For most Lycomings, the gross screen is down in the sump (access from the bottom, which usually means pulling the lower cowl), while the fine screen is in the housing on the back of the gear box (the one that's replaced by the filter adapter when you change to filters). You should check and clean the fine screen on each oil change, but my A&P friends say you can wait for the annual/100-hour on the gross screen.

This was not the answer I was looking for.

Ted -- nope, no filter or accessible screen, just a sump. I have the orinagl Overhaul and operator manuals. The IPB shows no screen in any of the oil distribution drawings.

This was. Thanks, Dan!

 

[dmccormack]

the paperwork isn't nearly as interesting as the act. also it's much harder to romanticize signing the logbooks.

"And so, with a studied flourish, I struck the print button. The printer whirred, the paper emerged, and soon my logbook contained a fresh entry, smelling of paste and ink..."



You're right.

 

[poadeleted20]

This was not the answer I was looking for.

Sorry -- thought you were talking about your engines, and was wondering why you didn't already know the answer.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Sorry -- thought you were talking about your engines, and was wondering why you didn't already know the answer.

Dan has an Aeronca Chief, which will have, I think, a Continental C-85 or soemthing close to it. And it will have a screen behind the big brass fitting on the back of the engine, the fitting that has the oil temp probe in it and a 7/8" or 1" square nut milled into it. remove the probe, clip any lockwire, spin the fitting out. Screen is attached. Flow is from inside to outside and so crud will be found inside it.

Dan

 

[tonycondon]

actually Dan has an orphan Lycoming in his Aeronca

 

[dmccormack]

actually Dan has an orphan Lycoming in his Aeronca

Actually, Lycoming's first modern, high-production light aircraft engine!

Sikorsky's first helicopter was powered by the geared model 0-145.

There may be a screen in the O-145, and I'll find out this winter. I'll have 100 hours on it by then and it will make sense to pull the heads, replace some gaskets, and pull off the oil sump.

 

[tonycondon]

that was then, this is now

 

[dmccormack]

that was then, this is now

Yep -- lots of inexpensive, easily maintained taildraggers being sold these days...

 

[COFlyBoy]

Well described! I like the part about the log books.

Here's what I did over the weekend:

Not as romantic as an oil change, but we'll get to that. For now we're trying to stop a small gas leak.

 

[tonycondon]

well i think you stopped the small gas leak. now you've got a BIG gas leak!

 

[dmccormack]

Not as romantic as an oil change, but we'll get to that. For now we're trying to stop a small gas leak.

Doesn't that make it yaw to the right??

 

[COFlyBoy]

Doesn't that make it yaw to the right??

Yeah, and it drops a wing in the stall now.

 

[dmccormack]

Yeah, and it drops a wing in the stall now.

Aww, jeeze...

 

[Dan Thomas]

Actually, Lycoming's first modern, high-production light aircraft engine!

Sikorsky's first helicopter was powered by the geared model 0-145.

There may be a screen in the O-145, and I'll find out this winter. I'll have 100 hours on it by then and it will make sense to pull the heads, replace some gaskets, and pull off the oil sump.

My Jodel originally had an O-145 in it. Smooth as silk, but the airplane came out ti-heavy and we had to move the engine forward to balance it. The O-145's bed mount wouldn't let us do that; the change in angle of the upper tubes ran them into the mags, so we had to stick an A-65 into it.

I have read in several places that the O-145's 65 hp is actually closer to 50 hp. Not having flown the little Lyc, I have no idea if that's right.

Dan

 

[dmccormack]

My Jodel originally had an O-145 in it. Smooth as silk, but the airplane came out ti-heavy and we had to move the engine forward to balance it. The O-145's bed mount wouldn't let us do that; the change in angle of the upper tubes ran them into the mags, so we had to stick an A-65 into it.

I have read in several places that the O-145's 65 hp is actually closer to 50 hp. Not having flown the little Lyc, I have no idea if that's right.

Dan

Don't know about 50, but the Aeronca experts claim the Lycoming induction system preheats the air enough to reduce the probability of carb ice at the same time it reduces power.

When I was learning to fly this airplane the CFI I flew with told A-65 owners pull carb heat regularly, -- every 10 minutes or so -- unless it was a super dry air day. Not so for the Lyc.

This engine starts one first or second throw, putt-putts along smoothly after all cylinders are firing, maintains a steady low idle, and powers up smoothly once its warm. It burns a steady 3.5 GPH, and prefers MOGAS.

Mag drop at 1700 RPM is 25 RPM (book value).

I have 60 hours on it (more than it had in the previous 10 years), and plan on at least a top OH this winter. It's the original S/N engine (I have the logs from the factory in 1940!), so I will keep the set together.

Anyway, the power curves for the O-145-B2 show 65 HP at 2550 RPM, so it must be true...?

Parts and expertise are more plentiful for the A-65.

But this pre-war sure would be fun to fly with 100 HP up on the nose.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Don't know about 50, but the Aeronca experts claim the Lycoming induction system preheats the air enough to reduce the probability of carb ice at the same time it reduces power.

When I was learning to fly this airplane the CFI I flew with told A-65 owners pull carb heat regularly, -- every 10 minutes or so -- unless it was a super dry air day. Not so for the Lyc.

This engine starts one first or second throw, putt-putts along smoothly after all cylinders are firing, maintains a steady low idle, and powers up smoothly once its warm. It burns a steady 3.5 GPH, and prefers MOGAS.

Mag drop at 1700 RPM is 25 RPM (book value).

I have 60 hours on it (more than it had in the previous 10 years), and plan on at least a top OH this winter. It's the original S/N engine (I have the logs from the factory in 1940!), so I will keep the set together.

Anyway, the power curves for the O-145-B2 show 65 HP at 2550 RPM, so it must be true...?

Parts and expertise are more plentiful for the A-65.

But this pre-war sure would be fun to fly with 100 HP up on the nose.

The reluctance to ice up is common to the Lycomings. The carb is mounted to the warm crankcase instead of a separate manifold like the Continentals, and the heat conducted from the case warms the carb casting nicely. My A-65 will ice up quite readily if the temp and dewpoint are anywhere near each other. Once it''s warmed up it's not bad; the carb gets some heat from the warm airflow off the cylinders.

The low mag drop would be due to the close spacing of the plugs, I'd think. Both on top, right next to each other, so that the usual advantage of two flame fronts isn't really there, along with the large RPM drop that comes with with the loss of one front in an engine with widely-separated plugs.

 

[dmccormack]

The reluctance to ice up is common to the Lycomings. The carb is mounted to the warm crankcase instead of a separate manifold like the Continentals, and the heat conducted from the case warms the carb casting nicely. My A-65 will ice up quite readily if the temp and dewpoint are anywhere near each other. Once it''s warmed up it's not bad; the carb gets some heat from the warm airflow off the cylinders.

The low mag drop would be due to the close spacing of the plugs, I'd think. Both on top, right next to each other, so that the usual advantage of two flame fronts isn't really there, along with the large RPM drop that comes with with the loss of one front in an engine with widely-separated plugs.

Interesting! That makes sense....

I think the O-145-B1 had single ignition. the -A2 was the first with dual ignition and it looks like the engineers just decided to drill the holes next to each other. Why? I don't know -- would it have been that hard to place on top and bottom?

That looks much better in black. My engine is now painted Lycoming gray and it shows up stray oil, etc. I think the gloss black looks classic and probably helps dissipate heat more efficiently...?

the Art Deco LYCOMING on the top really stands out in that shot, also.

The engine's neat, it was the 1940 vintage gauges that sold me on this airplane!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bHyXETrnl5aaLwCBoN9Cxg?feat=directlink