REFLECTOR: Engine choice

[Al Gietzen]

Kurt;

 

Really sorry to hear of the problems with the engine.  I can only imagine
your frustration.

 

I still recall my first engine start, which ran just long enough for me to
feel the oil cooler and radiator getting warm; and see that there were no
leaks.  Very gratifying.  You'll get that next time.

 

Al

 

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of NMFlyer1 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 3:56 PM
To: reflector at tvbf.org
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Engine choice

 

I have replied to this topic before, but I have a new chapter in my story. 

 

As I have said before, you must have a very good reason to shy away from the
recommended engines for aircraft. There can be many reasons ... including "I
just really want to", "More Power Scotty", "better fuel economy", or all the
other justifications we builders come up with. 

 

One thing is for sure... It will cost more than you think and it will take
much longer than following the plans. 

 

In my case, I needed more power to get a canard off the ground at high
density altitude safely.  I also wanted to :) 

 

Recently I posted that I got my 340 HP Aluminum V-6 running in my velocity.
I also posted that it was running rich and that I had an odd problem of the
oil filter cannot getting warm. It is a damn good thing that I followed my
instinct.. thinking that something was just not right. 

 

Long story somewhat shorter:  I discovered that the machine shop that
assembled the short block after balancing the engine, had left out a
critical oil galley plug.  The one that forces the oil to go thru the
filter!  

So.. When you started the engine.. It would fill the filter can with cool
oil ... then effectively hydrolock it so that warmer oil would not flow thru
the filter. 

 

As bad as that is .. it gets worse. Somehow, my crankshaft counterweights
were very lightly scraping the side of the pan ... you guessed it ...
shaving off little pieces of metal. Since the filter was out of the loop..
it sent that metal EVERYWHERE. 

 

The bearings that I looked at are toast and I can tell the crank needs to be
polished. Hopefully it isn't much worse than that. 

 

The machine shop that did the work is now defunct so I'm out on that as
well. Overall though I have mixed feelings.  Between being pissed... I'm
very glad I found this out on the ground! I can tell from the progression of
the bearings that the engine would have probably lasted until it was in the
air... but not a whole lot longer. 

 

Another point here is... If I didn't have a whole lot of experience building
engines, I may not have noticed this anomaly on the ground... and that would
have been ugly. 

 

As it sits now.. I'm on my way out to the hangar to finish disassembling the
engine so I can get it to a new shop tomorrow. I'll have it completely
cleaned, checked, and have new cam bearings and that missing plug installed.
Then I will put in the rest as I reassemble it. Then I will KNOW it is done
right. 

 

I believe this whole escapade will only cost me about 10 more days and a few
hundred bucks, but the piece of mind will be priceless. 

 

I know people have had "not good" experiences with LYC and CONT engine
suppliers as well. So... Get some extra input and go with your gut. It might
just pay off in the end. 

 

 Kurt Winker

173 FGE

 





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