Engine oil / filter / drain valve

February 26th, 2024

I leveled the airplane, unscrewed the more accessible of the two symmetrical oil drain plugs, and drained as much of the ancient oil out of the sump as I could:

I'm sure I didn't get it all, as it doesn't drain all that well when cold, but whatever is left over shouldn't hurt anything.

I took the opportunity to install a Saf-Air quick drain valve, which will make the next oil change easier:

I bought some fresh oil filters, plus the specific food-grade anti-seize Lycoming wants you to use on the threads. I guess they specify this so you don't get copper in the oil system, but it's funny to think about eating off the oil filter adapter.

Oil filter torqued and safetied:

For the first fifty hours – kind of a weird thing to think about! – I'll be using 20W-50 non-AD mineral oil, per the Lycoming guidance. I put in eight quarts, which is more than I'd usually run in an IO-360, but some of that is going to disappear into the various oil passages pretty quickly.

The oil dipstick comes un-marked, so you have to make your own oil level markings. For now, I provisionally marked every two quarts with a sharpie and a tiny nick from a file at each successive level, just so I can monitor the initial oil consumption. After the first proper oil change with warm oil, I'll have a better opportunity to properly calibrate the dipstick.

Posted in Engine, Firewall Forward

Engine air filter

February 26th, 2024

I removed the air filter from the engine and picked up a K&N cleaning kit:

Cleaned, oiled, and ready to put into service:

Air filter back on the engine and ready to go:

Posted in Engine, Firewall Forward

Repacked wheel bearings

February 4th, 2024

Since eventually this thing will need to roll, I removed the wheels, disassembled the bearings, and cleaned off all the old dried-out grease with mineral spirits and brake cleaner. Then I repacked the bearings with Aeroshell 22 – no pictures of that step since my hands were messy.

Wheels back on the plane, nuts tightened, and cotter pins inserted:

Brake caliper back plate bolts torqued and safetied:

Posted in Landing gear

Cockpit miscellany

January 7th, 2024

A variety of cockpit-interior work in this post…

Having read about too many airplanes destroyed by brake fires, I've always made it a point to carry a small fire extinguisher in my airplanes. I have no illusions that I'll be able to put out a fuel or oil fire, but if I can prevent an overheated caliper from torching my airplane or someone else's, it's worth the effort to carry one. So I bought a small 1.25 lb Halon extinguisher (expensive!) and mounted its bracket to the forward tunnel cover, which will position it between the seat cushions:

I bolted the lap belts and crotch straps to their brackets in the floor:

I installed the approximately one million screws for the forward seat pans, and also attached the stick boots with additional screws. I have to say I'm not thrilled with how well my interior paint is holding up – I've tried to be careful with it, but it chips really easily. On the next airplane I'll have to use something different.

I had a local vinyl sign shop make me an "Experimental" placard that meets the requirements of FAR 45.23(b):

Since I already painted the baggage bulkhead with textured paint, I figured the vinyl wouldn't stick very well, so I masked off and sanded down a rectangular area and then painted it flat black:

Looks good and can't be missed:

I bolted the shoulder harnesses to the anchor cables with castle nuts and cotter pins, and then installed the baggage bulkhead with a further half-million screws:

This is all bringing back memories of my previous RV… half the work of doing an annual inspection is just taking out all these screws and putting them back in.

Posted in Fuselage

Brake fluid

December 31st, 2023

Before filling the brake system with fluid, I removed the calipers and took out the pistons so I could install improved o-rings. These are necessary to take full advantage of the higher-temperature brake fluid available these days (MIL-PRF-83282D) and were quite difficult to find in small quantities in the correct temperature rating of -40º to +400ºF. I ended up ordering them from Van's, which took a while due to their current difficulties. I lubed the new o-rings and the caliper bore with silicone before installing.

It's funny that this is all the brakes you get to stop nearly a ton of airplane traveling at highway speeds. Small wonder I chose to use high-temp brake fluid, since these can get really hot under heavy use.

To bleed the brakes, I cobbled together this contraption from a small pump oiler and a special adapter designed to go on the bleeder fittings:

To catch the overflow from the brake reservoir, I plumbed a catch can using a coke bottle and some brass fittings. Additional details of how this works can be seen in the photos below:

Before starting, I put down some old t-shirts under all the potential leak spots, to hopefully keep the floor clean:

I recruited a friend to help pump brake fluid while I crawled inside checking for leaks and tapping on things to clear out air bubbles. Happily we had no leaks and – I think – ended up with a solid result. We went through a lot of paper towels and rubber gloves, and didn't take any pictures during the process, but you may assume it was messy despite our best efforts to be sanitary about it.

Clear tubing at the top of the reservoir allows air bubbles to be pumped out. We kept pumping fluid until the brakes were solid and bubbles stopped appearing in the tube:

The end result was a reservoir totally filled to the top, which is fuller than it needs to be. I used a syringe to siphon out about an inch of fluid before installing the vent cap.

All the accessories are stored inside a messy plastic bag for future brake work. From the quart can of brake fluid I opened, I ended up with about a pint left over, which is stored in a mason jar I stole from my wife's canning supplies.

Posted in Fuselage, Landing gear

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