View Full Version : Exhaust Pipe Failure
Agfoxflyer
11-03-2008, 06:59 PM
On a recent flight I noticed a change in engine noise. I looked down and my EGT had gone to O. I assumed the probe had come out somehow. I was 15 miles from my home airport so I headed direct. By the timeI was down and taxing back to the hanger the engine sound was a comical fast putt-putt-putt. Upon examination, the weld about two inches off the cylindar had failed. It was a clean break of the weld, no crack in the pipe. The welder who fixed it wasn't impressed with the original Skystar factory weld. I remove my top cowling after every 3 flights and now pay special attention to the exhaust pipes. Fortunately for me there was anything close enought to catch fire.
"The welder who fixed it wasn't impressed with the original Skystar factory weld."
Pretty harsh words.
I would suspect improper installation was subjecting the weld area to excess stress.
Agfoxflyer
11-04-2008, 09:13 AM
Steve, I know what you are saying. But I do not recall any binding in the system. It went on farely easy. In fact right after I installed the exhaust system, Skystar came out with a service bulletin requiring extra braces on the muffler and tail pipe. I removed it and sent it back to the factory for mods. At this time I removed the entire exhaust system and then reinstalled because I wanted to put anti-seize on all the connections. I used proper torque procedures and the sytem went back together easy. This one weld looked different from the others. I'm not a welder but I believe this one was not right. Other than that it's a fantastic airplane and flies great. I'm just using extra caution because things do break. (I won't blame the break on a couple of my landings!). :rolleyes:
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