The book, “Airplane Engines: A Pilot Friendly Manual” is a resource you’ll love. Click here for more info.
Also, don’t miss the very popular “Tip of the Week” by PilotWorkshops as well. This week’s tip was about flying through rain, and had some really useful tips both for VFR and IFR flying. Sign up for free at PilotWorkshops.com
Other topics in today’s podcast:
Exhaust leaks found by pressure testing and soapy water:
Find out why there was “pink bubble wrap” under the instrument panel! (I’ll be removing that!):
And… here’s the broken trim pulley from a Cherokee Six (this is the view from the front, looking aft through the access at the back of the cabin area)
I found this one by “feeling” it, not by “seeing” it. I reached my arm up inside the panel on the right side of the tail, and as I was verifying I could rotate these two pulleys, I discovered something did not feel right at all… and this is why!
I got some really good feedback from the email yesterday that featured this picture… thanks to all of you who responded! Be sure to listen for the story of one Boeing 747 captain, who shared something that happened years ago.
I installed this starter and starter adapter on a Beechcraft Debonair IO-470 engine last week… the starter adapters (or sometimes called a clutch, or starter drive,) sometimes begin to slip, and when that happens, it’s time for overhaul.
It’s also recommended to overhaul the starter at the same time, or install a new one.
There are also different opinions about the newer “lightweight starters” like Sky-Tek and others. Some prefer the older style starters due to some past problems with certain lightweight starters.
Regardless of which starter you choose, take some time to do some careful research.
And if you need some technical help, you can always call Jimmy and Debbie Schreiner at Modified Aircraft Accessories. Together, the husband and wife team run their repair station at Brooks, Kentucky, and they do excellent work.
One of their most popular free resources is the “Pilot’s Tip of the Week.” It always starts with a question, followed by a brief and practical answer, both in print and in audio form.
At the end, you can make your own choice about what you would do in that situation. Check it out… it will make you a better pilot!
Also, as an airplane owner or operator, you will love the engine book that was recently published. It’s called “Airplane Engines – A Pilot-Friendly Manual.”
Now back to the starter on the Beechcraft Debonair… after we reinstalled the starter adapter and installed an overhauled starter, it still seemed a little sluggish for starting.
After some troubleshooting and discovering high resistance in the starter solenoid (contactor) we decided to install a new one. Probably not a bad idea at all, since this one looks like it may have been original. Check out the old one beside the new one:
It was also a good time to replace some other old parts and install a couple new ring terminals and terminal boots:
With the new starter solenoid installed, the whole system worked very well, and the airplane is now back in service.
Other items mentioned in this episode:
A Piper cub being ferried by Marie-Claire Laberge… she stopped at SHD and I learned she works for “FullThrottleAviationLLC.com,” a company that provides world-wide ferry services for all kinds of airplanes.
And finally, a sight I had never seen before rolling into SHD the other day… a turbo-prop Maule!
I researched this airplane and found it on YouTube… it was for sale about a year ago for $399,000
Valve lapping is sometimes a great option for improving cylinder compression and extending the life of an exhaust valve. We’ll talk about it in today’s episode.
Pilot Workshops.com is our sponsor for this episode, and I wholeheartedly recommend their resources.
Be sure to sign up for the “Tip of the Week,” and receive a short, practical tip every Wednesday morning that will make you a better pilot.
PilotWorkshops.com also has simple and practical book about Airplane Engines. It’s packed full of easy-to-understand information for pilots. As we approach the season of colder temperatures, you might want to check out the section on pre-heating.
When you purchase the book, you’ll get both the digital copy and the print copy.
In today’s episode, we have three issues from Trace’s Cessna 310 this past week:
Lapping an exhaust valve.
Repositioning and correctly installing an engine shock mount.
Evaluating a vacuum system issue, and making a plan.
First, the lapping project. At the recent annual inspection, the compression in the right engine cylinder #4 was in the mid-50’s. After lapping we got a solid 64/80, a significant improvement.
Second, one engine shock mount was out of position:
The 1/4 inch gap got my attention and we had to hoist the engine and loosen the bolt to install the lower shock mount correctly. Here’s the result – notice the 1/4 inch gap has been closed.
The third isssue showed up when we ran the engines. Notice the oil pressure gauges… only the left engine is running. But the vacuum gauge indicates both vacuum pumps are operating.
This usually indicates a problem with the vacuum manifold valve. Most likely, it will need to be replaced.
After we checked and verified there were no oil leaks, Trace took me for a ride in his Cessna 310… a great experience! Thank you Trace!
Trace has been a Navy F-18 test pilot for quite a few years, and it was awesome to fly with him!
And to wrap us this episode, I also met Tobin this past week, owner of a very nice Piper Cherokee Six. He dropped his airplane off at SHD for his annual inspection. Hopefully I can give an update in the future about how his inspection turns out.
Trace, and Tobin, it was a pleasure to meet both of you this past week!
The post, “157 – Valve lapping, shock mounts, and vacuum issues,” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com
Although a shop vac might not pull as much vacuum as an engine driven vacuum pump, it can still be useful for some parts of the troubleshooting process. This was just one thing we did on the path to solving a very strange vacuum problem. Listen to the story in today’s podcast episode.
Regardless of where you are in your aviation journey, PilotWorkshops has the perfect resources to help you become a safer and more proficient pilot.
Subscribe to the Tip of the Week, and every Wednesday you’ll receive a fun pilot tip that includes a question, a short 2 minute or less expert answer, and a quiz to ask what you would do in that scenario. Check it out… it’s one of the emails I look forward to!
And finally, be sure to check out the newly released book, “Airplane Engines: A Pilot-Friendly Manual.” It’s packed full of useful information that’s easy to understand. For example, you can learn about doing an in-flight ignition check, or even an in-flight induction leak check, and so much more. Click here for more information.
Now for today’s episode… we’re featuring two squawks on a twin Cessna.
Squawk #1: The left fuel gauge was completely inoperative, both for the main tank and the aux tank.
In this episode, we talk about the troubleshooting process that led to changing the fuel quantity indicator. The gauge from eBay worked great, and the system was back to normal.
Squawk #2: The vacuum system had a weird problem… the vacuum gauge showed that both vacuum pumps were functioning, but the vacuum was very low (approx. 1 inch of Hg instead of 5 inches.) Apparently it doesn’t take much vacuum to pull the inop indicator in (the little red button for the left and right vacuum pumps in the vacuum gauge.) This squawk was challenging! Actually, the solution turned out to be simple, but the discovery process was not so simple.
We checked an extensive list of components, both in the vacuum system and in the surface deice system, since the two are inter-related, and the squawk had two parts: the vacuum indication was very low, and the wing deice boots were not being pulled firmly against the surface of the wing (which requires good vacuum.)
Here’s the deice valve in the right engine compartment, one of the components we tested in this process.
Thankfully, we did not end up ordering any high-priced components in this scenario, because the solution turned out to be very simple… we removed an elbow between two vacuum hoses, and installed plugs in them instead. Listen to the audio for the details.
Reminder: the video training course for “Servicing Landing Gear Shock Struts” will be coming soon… be watching for more details.
The post, “156 – The Weirdest Vacuum System Problem I’ve Ever Seen” appeared first at AirplaneOwnerMaintenance.com
Recent Comments