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Oil on the Belly--Revisited

Rick Papp

Rick Papp

FRIEND
Bristolville, Ohio
I read an old post @ the "baby bottle on the breather". How does it go on and stay on? If it works ....what a Godsend!!!!! Rick :-?
 
Ask Murph about the baby bottle. His put an oily mist down the side of the fuselage from the stuff coming out of the top of the bottle. I put an M-20 Air/Oil Seperator on it and I don't think he has had any problem since.

Steve
 
Unfortunately, my air/oil separator makes as much mess as the baby bottle ever did. I'm just kinda resolved to having a dirty belly most of the time.
murph
 
I put a hose on my breather a while ago that extends down to the center of the gear cabane. It attaches there, extends a little farther rearward and down on a angle. No more sloppy belly. I'm to lazy to empty a baby bottle, expecially when it gets full of moisture and freezes. I really don't like a seperater because along with oil, it also returns all the moisture into the engine. The extended breather may loose more oil, but when I shut down I can watch the water drip from it. I like the idea of getting as much moisture out of the engine as possible. Moisture, and the corrosion it causes is a big problem with the "cam on top" Lycomings, and oil is a lot cheaper than cam shafts.
 
second that one MARK!

I kinda like the smell of 100w! besides I have never seen any rusting on the left side of a cub, that fine mist of oil keeps all the bolts, fittings, and tubing lubed!

When I lived in Alaska nearly 1/2 of the cubs as I recall had a hose extention to the cabane vee! Only suggestion I would add is I poke a hole in the side of the (aluminum tube inside the cowl) to insure if the tube Ices up that you don't create a backpressure and blow a front seal??

Tim
 
Hey Murph, I had to weld the two tubes together on several M-20 Air/Oil Seperators. When they built them they welded the outlet tube to the bottom of the canister with the stand pipe just slid into the outlet tube and welded to the top. The oil starts leaking out between the two tubes. Did yours work right at first? My Dad's did and then it started blowing out oil again. He took it off and filled it with oil and figured out what was going on. I welded it up and it quit. He flew down a couple of weeks ago and said he was blowing oil again. Come to find out one of his oil drain back lines was leaking and blowing oil all over. Let me know. I will weld it up for you.

Steve
 
I recently put an M20 on my 290-D2 and it cleaned it up REAL NICE. It was just covered with oil even trying to keep 5.5 quarts, now it holds 7 real steady and no more washy all the timey.

sj
 
Steve:
I don't know if the separator has ever worked properly. Maybe you can look at it sometime. That might also explain my increased oil consumption. We started keeping a log on the oil use and it has used 5 qts in the last 20 hrs. I'm also threatening to switch to Aeroshell 100 instead of the Phillips XC 20W50 that I'm using now.
murph
 
I would try the single grade and see if it makes a difference. I know we had a higher oil consumption on some R985s with the Phillips. Did you try the Marvel. We need to hook up. I'll get the wings back on the SC and come see you and Cody. Did he ever watch the videos? Probably to busy thinking about the fun he and Tim's daughter are gonna have.

Steve
 
Oh Steve, I caught the last of that one!! It sounds like it might be time to do a top on Murphs green meany. Murph you will be overgross carring all that oil to Alaska! Heck it is 25 hours from my house to Anchorage!!!

Sure you are't cheating and running that kerosene in the right tank? Remember we have said no alcohol in the fuel, that mean no kind of alcohol. Come on Cody keep an eye on Pops!! (just kidding)

Did you guys checkout the links to fly Alaska? If not here is the links again!!

http://www.flyalaska.com/slideshow5.html
http://www.flyalaska.com/slideshow3.html

SJ: might be able to post one of these photos on the cover (if they are not copywrited?

Tim
 
Tim, I leaning that way. Last annual it had good compression but I would guess the Rings are worn out. I keep hoping its something simple (inexpensive) like stuck rings.

Steve
 
An AI told me that the engine throwing so much oil was sometimes due to the rings being glazed from not being broken in properly. He swears he can cure it with a new set of rings...

The oil separator worked, and was cheaper for me..

sj
 
Heck, My Texan friends (diesel mechanics I worked with on the Alaska pipeline) showed me how to put 'Bon Amy"(mispelled) in the cylinders of diesel catepillars to quickly seat the rings?? Should work on a Lycoming??

"void were prohibited"

Tim
 
Tim...

It's definitely been done before... On Continentals too...
 
Tim, An old timer told me about doing that. He said blow it in with a hose while turning the prop. I've never done it but I guess it would work if the rings aren't worn out. How did they do it?

Steve
 
Has anybody used a M20 in cold weather. My buddy had one on his Super Cub last year and when it got cold out his front seal blew out.
 
Steve...About the M-20 having to be welded up. Andy Dunlap back here called them about it and read to them this series of posts. They were really surprised and said they'd never heard of them needing to be re-welded. Said they'd make good any that had a problem. Everybody is buying them back here (Andy just bought another 6) and most are pretty happy. (especially one guy with a PA-18-95 who poured oil out every flight. No more messy belly = happy camperism :multi: )

Brad
 
I noticed Wag Aero had a new model that can be dissasembled and cleaned. It is twice as expensive, and uses vaccum to help the separation process also. Of course, I can't remember the name of it but it started with an F.

sj
 
I had one on my Dad's 150hp PA16 and one on a Husky. They worked great at first. You could park the plane and it didn't make a mess on the floor. Then started getting a lot of oil on the belly of the Clipper. My Dad took it off and poured a little oil in it and it ran out between the two tubes inside of one another on the bottom. The Husky had oil all inside the cowling in the accesory case area. I cleaned it at annual and after the experience with the Clipper went ahead and welded the two tubes together and no more leak. My theory is that the two tubes slid inside one another over time chafe a little and the oil runs between them. I haven't talked to M20 about it. I got ticked off at them when they quit giving me a discount unless I bought 6 of them at a time. I'm a one man shop and even though I've installed 10 of them I can't afford to have that kind of $ sitting around. Another time I installed one on a L18C and it would blow oil out the nose seal. I took it off and installed a rubber hose in place of it and it stopped. When I called them they insisted it was the engine and were kinda pricks about it. I had just built the engine, it had new cylinders and everything. I finally rerouted the vent and it quit blowing oil out the nose seal. Kase could be right. The Husky was up North in the cold when it started getting oil all over. Who knows its probably PFM (pure F#@^in magic).

Steve
 
I've got my baby bottle sealed tight where the breather tube enters the bottle and extended the breather about 2/3 down into the bottle........I then drilled a hole on the inboard top side of the bottle and screwed/glued in a 1/2" aluminum 90 elbow pointed up. Have had no mess on the belly.........only a tiny area of oil film on the firewall near the elbow.
 
cubdrvr said:
I've got my baby bottle sealed tight where the breather tube enters the bottle and extended the breather about 2/3 down into the bottle........I then drilled a hole on the inboard top side of the bottle and screwed/glued in a 1/2" aluminum 90 elbow pointed up. Have had no mess on the belly.........only a tiny area of oil film on the firewall near the elbow.
Click to expand...

Dave...

How 'bout posting a picture of your setup...
 
Tell ya what........I'll send a pic to sj. I have all I can handle opening my emails.
 
it is important that with any "breather" system that they be vented. also, Seems every time an IA from the "lower 48" looks at my plane they ask; why is there a punched hole in the "aluminum breather tube? It is so that if the "breather line" freezes or gets plugged it doesn't build positive pressure in the crankcase and blow out the front Seal! Could be what you are seeing when you seal up the air oil seperator or the baby bottle? Just a thought?? appears that is what cubdriver ended up with??


Tim
 
Tim....... the 1/2" elbow is the vent. Just makes the oil have to go back to the top of the bottle to get out. We used to cut a slot in our breather lines on the old cubs where it came out the front of the case. Do you have trouble with the rear breather tubes freezing? My bones hurt now when it gets that cold.
 
Tim, Any IA who has ever worked on a Cessna ought to know what the slot is. Cessna came out with an AD years ago to be sure and put the anti-ice slot in. I do it in all the breather lines I make. Hopefully someone will read these posts and go "Oh yea".

Steve
 
You would think so huh, there is a blessing in it though, as long as you leave some sort of 'Piper" label on stuff they think they all are supercubs sept for the ones with the jugs sticking out the sides and are only painted yellow.

Truthfully there are some good IA's and AP's around here, the problem is most of the Fed's that are left in the FSDO's are new young guys that only work on Factory new stuff that stink like kerosene and go way high up!

As for cold, it doesn't get cold around here. amazingly enough, I plan on mowing the lawn tomorrow!

Great flying weather though, was high of 50 today, a steady west wind down on the river of about 8-15. can't get much better than that with out putting on skiis!

Tim
 
PA12driver said:
Truthfully there are some good IA's and AP's around here, the problem is most of the Fed's that are left in the FSDO's are new young guys that only work on Factory new stuff that stink like kerosene and go way high up!
Tim
Click to expand...

Tim...

There's still some around here that know what a bugnut is...
 
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