More oil system problems

ScottM

ScottM

Taxi to Parking
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iBazinga!
For those that had been following I had been having some higher than normal oil temp problems. At the last annual I had them put in a new oil cooler. It has been cool when flying so I have not been able to tell if this helped. But today started to make feel good as the OAT was up around 50F and even in climbs the oil temps never got above 180F.

That all changed as I made my approach to my home base after 4.1 hours to flying today. I was greeted with splat of oil on the wind screen. I quick looked at the oil temp and pressure. All was in the green, a check of other gauges revealed nothing.

I was about 5 to 6 NM away from landing.

I got ready just in case it was to get worse.

But nothing more happened. THANKFULLY!

Upon landing a look inside the cowling showed that on the side of the engine with the oil cooler that there was oil all over the place. A lite covering was on the bottom cowl, the hoses around the oil cooler and some hanging on the bottom of the oil cooler.

All the hose connections looked tight, I could not see any leaks on the engine, most of the oil seemed to be at the bottom of the oil cooler.

So first thing Monday the 'wrenches' will get a call for me. I am thinking the oil cooler sprung a leak but I'll let them look at it.

If it isn't one thing it is another!
 
Scott, I'm under the impression that you WANT the oil above 180 (a bit) because that will allow the moisture to boil off.

Hope the leak is a minor problem.
 
TMetzinger said:
Scott, I'm under the impression that you WANT the oil above 180 (a bit) because that will allow the moisture to boil off.

Hope the leak is a minor problem.
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It was up at redline before. I did not want it there. considering that the temp gauge says 0, 180, redline, there is not enough granulairty to accurately say what the temp really is. But the middle of the green will make me happy.

bTW FYI water boils at 212F not 180F. So I do not see how 180F will allow the water to boil off.
 
I believe if it's 180 where it's measured, it's at 212 or above elsewhere. Exxon or Aeroshell had an article on it I read some time ago.

Obviously you don't want it at redline (and probably could use a better temp gauge if one is available).
 
TMetzinger said:
I believe if it's 180 where it's measured, it's at 212 or above elsewhere. Exxon or Aeroshell had an article on it I read some time ago.

Obviously you don't want it at redline (and probably could use a better temp gauge if one is available).
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is the stock Piper one. It does the job. I see no reason to upgrade the gauge. I do not need to know the temp to the single digits.
 
barney said:
Kinda depends on where they take the temp of the oil if the water would boil off somewhere up or down stream of the temp probe don't you reckon?
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Oil holds heat very well. That is why we have an oil cooler. I would not expect the temp to taken on the low side of the oil cooler and I would not expect the temp to change very much from the 1.5 feet form the engine to the oil cooler. After the cooler I expect the temp to be lower.

If you guy are really curious about the detail of the temp issue I had been having there are about three other threads on it.

At this point I am not really concerned about what the temp is (all the other Cherokees run at midline on their temp gauges BTW) but about the amount of oil leaking. I can tell you that when a glob of oil hits your windscreen and you see a bunch in your cowling the first question you DO NOT ask yourself is I wonder if the oil is hot enough to boil the water out of it. ;)

The first question is 'I wonder how much this is gonna cost to get fixed' !! :D, quickly followed by "I am glad that did not get worse in flight!"
 
Elwood: Oh no.
Jake: What the f_ck was that?
Elwood: The motor. We've thrown a rod.
Jake: Is that serious?
Elwood: Yup.

Scott, good thing it wasn't more serious! Glad you could see out the windscreen, unlike these guys!

Seriously, I'm glad you made it down OK.
 
Ok got the solution to the problem.

As you know I really like to stay on top of things with my plane so little things are a big thing to me. Getting the oil temp from just at red line back to the normal position has been a two year affair. In the process since it was time to replace items I did that as well and the oil cooler was the last thing.

Last year's annual I put in new oil hoses as the ones in there were due for replacement and getting a little stiff. But in the process of hoses and this years' oil cooler the two elbow fitting from the hoses to the cooler never got replaced. For some reason one of them cracked opened and sprayed oil.

The mechanic told me he was really happy. You see it turns out that last week he bought a special flashlight and goggles for looking for oil leaks and this was the first time he got to use it for real. I on the other hand am glad it is going to be something so cheap, $6 for the each fittings and probably 1 to 1.5 hours labor.
 
KennyFlys said:
Good deal. I'm glad it wasn't something more serious.
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You and me both.

First, all the thoughts that were going through my head about if the engine had gone TU.

Second, I had been flying over water most of the day. If it had started that problem over the lake I am sure I would have calling for my first mayday even as a precaution because the only place to land was wet or Gary Airport. At least I was on the radio with the Coast Guard for the over water parts and they had a good idea of where I was at. Plus I had life preservers, EPRIBs and rafts. But the water is still f'ing cold.

Third, I really did not want to land in a corn field just short of my home airport, that is just embarrassing.

Upon landing the fourth and fifth thoughts entered my head; why did this happen when I take such good care of the engine and how much is this gonna cost.

Since I got the plane almost three years ago I have stayed on top of the good maintenance regime that the previous owner had started. With my anal retentiveness and an AD requiring all new cylinders the only major parts firewall forward are the prop, fuel pump, lower half of the engine, and carb. It figures it is one of the minor parts that I had not replaced failed. .
 
smigaldi said:
You and me both.

First, all the thoughts that were going through my head about if the engine had gone TU. .....It figures it is one of the minor parts that I had not replaced failed. .
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I used to have a partner whose comment would always be "...and you expected........what?"
 
So close!

The new fittings came in and were installed. But there is still a leak. Upon closer inspection the threads in the brand new oil cooler where damaged. But my mechanic says that the only way for the damage to have happened is that they mis-installed the fittings. He is ordering a new oil cooler from Pacific and installing on his dime. Yeah, he screwed up in the first place but he admitted it and is fixing it without cost to me.
 
As a final note they put in a brand new oil cooler. The total charge to get this fixed to me is $0.

That is right, the maintenance guys decided that they could not rule out it was them that caused all of the problems. So they said no charge for everything "we stand behind our work" is what they said.

They earned my business even though a mistake happened.
 
alaskaflyer said:
Sorry, I can't let this go. Is Gary really all that bad?
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As an airport or a city? As an airport it isn't bad, and the controllers are nice. As a city? Well, I'll follow my mama's advice and not say anything at all.:rolleyes:
 
alaskaflyer said:
Sorry, I can't let this go. Is Gary really all that bad?
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gprellwitz said:
As an airport or a city? As an airport it isn't bad, and the controllers are nice. As a city? Well, I'll follow my mama's advice and not say anything at all.:rolleyes:
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Gary is a great airport. I really like it. I was flying along the lake shore from Chicago to Michigan City. My slight was that since Meigs was closed the only alternative down that way was Gary.

As for the city. Well I have only seen it form the skyway and know it from its reputation.
 
smigaldi said:
Gary is a great airport. I really like it. I was flying along the lake shore from Chicago to Michigan City. My slight was that since Meigs was closed the only alternative down that way was Gary.
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Heck, I'd still set down at CGX in an emergency. It's basically just a grass strip with a few added obstructions at the north end.
 
Scenario One:
You are flying along in a plane that does not belong to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap am I gonna die?".
:hairraise:
Scenario Two:
You are flying along in a plane that belongs to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap what's this gonna cost?".
:yes:
 
Keith Lane said:
Scenario One:
You are flying along in a plane that does not belong to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap am I gonna die?".
:hairraise:
Scenario Two:
You are flying along in a plane that belongs to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap what's this gonna cost?".
:yes:
Click to expand...

ROTFLMAO Ain't that the truth!
 
Not familiar with Pipers, but Cessnas have flexible baffle seals. Defects or mis-installation can cause high oil temps.
 
Keith Lane said:
Scenario One:
You are flying along in a plane that does not belong to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap am I gonna die?".
:hairraise:
Scenario Two:
You are flying along in a plane that belongs to you. When mysterious smells, sounds, or worse an eerie silence from under the cowl occurs, you think "Oh, crap what's this gonna cost?".
:yes:
Click to expand...

OMG YES !!!!!!!!!! :yes:
 
smigaldi said:
As a final note they put in a brand new oil cooler. The total charge to get this fixed to me is $0.

That is right, the maintenance guys decided that they could not rule out it was them that caused all of the problems. So they said no charge for everything "we stand behind our work" is what they said.

They earned my business even though a mistake happened.
Click to expand...

With that kind of customer service, I can't see you going anywhere else. Those folks know how to treat you. Good for them.
 
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