Scrubbin the Belly

Michael

Michael

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Feb 27, 2005
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Cape Cod, MA
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CapeCodMichael
Of the mooney that is..
I just spent 2 hours on my back under the mooney, scrubbing the rest of the caked on oil off it. Its so clean now, Ill bet i just added at least 5 mph on it.
Id rather not go though that again, any inside information on what you all do to keep the belly clean? I plan on going out tomorrow before it gets too hot, and putting a coat of wax on it. good idea or not?
Trying to get the plane nice and purddy so I can show her off at Gastons. At least now the grass stains will be visible on the underside. WooHoo 5 days and counting. (I'll be there Friday).


Michael
 
Michael said:
Of the mooney that is..
I just spent 2 hours on my back under the mooney, scrubbing the rest of the caked on oil off it. Its so clean now, Ill bet i just added at least 5 mph on it.
Id rather not go though that again, any inside information on what you all do to keep the belly clean? I plan on going out tomorrow before it gets too hot, and putting a coat of wax on it. good idea or not?
Trying to get the plane nice and purddy so I can show her off at Gastons. At least now the grass stains will be visible on the underside. WooHoo 5 days and counting. (I'll be there Friday).
Michael
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about Rejex but I haven't applied any to my plane since I'd have to clean the belly first.

Other than that, don't fill the crankcase with oil all the way, even on an oil change.
 
lancefisher said:
Other than that, don't fill the crankcase with oil all the way, even on an oil change.
Click to expand...

That's my personal favorite. AFAIK, with any -360 variant Mooney anything over 7 quarts is instantly applied to the belly; anything over 6 quarts is semi-rapidly applied to the belly. I refill my Mooney's IO-360 only when the level drops below 6.
 
Ed Guthrie said:
That's my personal favorite. AFAIK, with any -360 variant Mooney anything over 7 quarts is instantly applied to the belly; anything over 6 quarts is semi-rapidly applied to the belly. I refill my Mooney's IO-360 only when the level drops below 6.
Click to expand...

When I was talking to the m-20 separator company they said that going with less oil is hard on the engine because it lowers the engine oil pressure slightly. I know they are trying to sell their product but do you think their is any truth to this?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lance,
I have used Re-Jex on the leading edges of my airplane for the past two years. I recently applied it over the entire airplane, including the belly. Unbelievably easy to apply and remove. The most difficult job is getting the airplane clean before applying the Re-Jex.
It must be applied in the shade and the temperature cannot exceed 80F. It must also cure at least 12 hours, 24 is better. It is a polymer, not a wax. I bought 2 bottles over two years ago for #19.95 ea. I am still on the first bottle. The stuff goes a long way.
The bugs and exhaust residue wipe off with no effort. I dampen a rag with Carbon-X and wipe down the leading edges and belly. That is all that is needed.
Amazing stuff.
Gary
 
Iceman said:
When I was talking to the m-20 separator company they said that going with less oil is hard on the engine because it lowers the engine oil pressure slightly. I know they are trying to sell their product but do you think their is any truth to this?
Click to expand...

There is some validity (SWAG says maybe 0.1 psig) at engine speeds below the speed at which the oil pressure relief valve is controlling system pressure. IOW, at idle. This would be due to the fact that system pressure would be controlled by pump output pressure, which would reflect a differential between inlet and outlet pressure at the pump. Inlet pressure would be a function of the height of oil above the pump inlet. Adding a quart (or two) of oil will increase the oil depth in the sump, which will increase the height of the oil column above the pump inlet. As I mentioned, my swag is ~0.1 psig, but if you want to compute the actual number you need to know the density of the oil (which, BTW, changes with temperature) and then compute the increased weight of a column of oil in the sump standing on 1 sq. inch. At any RPM above the point where the system pressure is controlled by the pressure relief valve the statement is pure bogus snake oil salesmanship. IOW, most of the time. At those RPMs, the system pressure is limited by the pressure relief valve and any pressure increase on the pump side caused by an increased oil column height over the pump will be regulated out by the relief valve.
 
I use Carbon X from Sporty's on my Mooney and it takes 15-20 mins to do the belly. When it's clean I apply a coat of Poly Glide from Sporty's. When I'm done flying I clean the leading edge witk Fantastik.
 
Wash Wax-All. Regular for the normal surfaces; heavy-duty version for the belly. When I return from a flight I go over the leading edges and cowl with Regular - quick, easy, and good.

HR
 
We just completed our "spring cleaning" on Saturday. There was a significant improvement in the amount of oil (read this as none discernible) on the bottom since we added the air/oil seperator at last annual. We run 7 qts vs max of 8 in our engine.
 
Iceman said:
When I was talking to the m-20 separator company they said that going with less oil is hard on the engine because it lowers the engine oil pressure slightly. I know they are trying to sell their product but do you think their is any truth to this?
Click to expand...

It could be true that the oil pressure would drop "slightly" with lower oil levels, the drop, a bit less than 0.1 psi per inch (roughly 2-3 quarts) is absolutely insignificant. Of course even this tiny drop would only occur if the pressure relief valve (which regulates oil pressure) was fully shut and that isn't likely unless the oil is very hot. And even if the pressure dropped a few PSI it wouldn't affect engine longevity. IOW it's total BS.
 
Lawreston said:
Wash Wax-All. Regular for the normal surfaces; heavy-duty version for the belly. When I return from a flight I go over the leading edges and cowl with Regular - quick, easy, and good.
Click to expand...
Ditto. And my O-360-A4K also dumps over anything over 6-1/2 quarts, so when it gets to 6, I put in half a quart (love those graduated markings on the Exxon Elite oil containers).
 
Iceman said:
When I was talking to the m-20 separator company they said that going with less oil is hard on the engine because it lowers the engine oil pressure slightly. I know they are trying to sell their product but do you think their is any truth to this?
Click to expand...

No. You are still in the green; i.e., in the manufacturer's recommended range. You are still in the green, aren't you? ;)

-Skip
 
Iceman said:
When I was talking to the m-20 separator company....
Click to expand...
If you get an M-20 you won't be cleaning the belly anymore.

Do like I did and have the M-20 installed by engine shop during the top overhaul and you won't know which is keeping the oil from leaving. I was adding a quart every 2-3 hours. I haven't used a full quart of oil in the 100 hours since.
 
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