I think that is a lot of metal for any engine new or old. I don't think that is coming from pistons. I think that is from the wrist pin plugs or from the case-cam bearings or lifter bores. Maybe the thrust bearing is spun. I think it's time to stop flying and tear it down. jrh
While we wait for our poor Texican friend to give us his next report so that we know exactly how we ought to commiserate with him over his economic insult, I wonder if you might entertain an expansion of this subject. This has been on stunningly interesting thread for a new member to follow. Please have grace for any obvious novice errors I make. Though I have owned my plane for almost 20 years now, I still feel like I do not know much about maintaining it.
I kept waiting for someone to bring up this subject as the thread progressed and am a bit surprised that no one did - the subject of these "air-oil separators" that we can put in place of the breather tube. Like everyone else, my tired 0-320 with 1900 hours kept me with an "oily side" to "keep down." At overhaul about 10 or so years ago - while shedding every pound possible in general - I added the one thing that I had not had before - the M20 Air-Oil Separator. I love it. Absolutely love it. I fly with all 8 quarts of oil in - and it stays in. I change oil and filter every 25 hours and usually only add one quart of oil during those 25 hours, though it will always be down to 7 quarts when I change it. (Net result being "using" two quarts max in 25 hours.) I can tell that it helps with oil cooling on hot summer days, and I have always figured that surely it helps with overall engine health.
However, this thread has made me wonder what I might be missing in terms of diagnostic clues about actual or approaching problems by not having the breather tube issues to catch my attention. I do not know enough to even really start to think that through. Anyone want to venture some ideas for me? Is the reason that no one brought this up because these air-oil separators are a horrible idea and I am just the only one on the planet who does not know that? Are there some true and costly downsides to having one? Thanks, Alex
One thing I have noticed on mine is that you have to have the baby bottle opening not tight around the vent tube. Mine has 3/8 or better all the way around, and tube is half way down inside.
I too have been thinking of the future where this thread is concerned. It would be neat after it's all over to go back and have a couple of engineers, our experienced IA's and A&P's, experienced Experimental builders Diesel mechanics etc. go over the whole thing, synthesize the information and come up with a troubleshooting tree....
Alex I don't know anything about oil separators BUT based on Desperado's baby bottle experience here is a question: What happens if the seperator was to get overloaded by oil? Would your engine "load up" as Desperado experienced? Loss of power?
When I removed the baby bottle, the loading up totally went away. The tip of the vent tube was only an inch and a half down past the lip inside the baby bottle, and it caused the engine to load up, like it had excessive back pressure in the crank case. I do not have the whistler notch in the vent tube. When the baby bottle filled up with oil from the blowby, I think it caused back pressure which caused the engine to load up. In the cockpit I can't see how much oil is in the baby bottle, but that is my perspective.
qsmx440, I have been looking at this from the point of view that it was a normally running engine which developed a problem. In reality it is a newly overhauled engine which appears to have had some error in the overhaul. ( I am not pointing fingers at anyone here. The Error could be a part malfunction or human. We don't know.) This error took 30 hours to show up. I do believe that trying to analyze an engine's troubles from an already running well for a long time engine and one which was recently overhauled requires a different perspective.
A properly designed and installed oil separator will do a good job of stopping excess breather oil from escaping.
I have had a screw in dipstick blow out when the breather froze over, dumping most of the oil overboard.
Salex I don't know how cold it was with skywagon's freeze up..
Sky was that rime icing do you think? In any event it wasn't from moisture in the engine freezing as it exited the pipe. Correct? .
Yeah, I am beginning to think a teardown is in my near future as well. I am also starting to think that the blow-by problem and the metal in the screen are two seperate issues as well. But then again, what do I know. Actually, not much of anything, according to my wife.