bbs428 Build

[Navycposd]

Glad you found it close to home, safely on the ground and in the shop. Now the question to twist the brain, which part failed first? The exhaust valve spring or the gearbox hardware?

[bbs428]

Glad you found it close to home, safely on the ground and in the shop. Now the question to twist the brain, which part failed first? The exhaust valve spring or the gearbox hardware?

Heya Larry, nice of you to chime in! How are you?

I believe the valve spring failed first causing the phenolic thrust washer to fail. The plane started vibrating 1st, then the knocking started.

[bbs428]

Back in the air!

Not without some teething pains. Pulled the annual a month early as we were down for the valve springs.
Some of the squawks that were addressed:

1. CHT/oil temp were red xing out after warmup and going wonky when lights were turned on. Fix - Installed a ring connector at the sensors and ran the ground wire to the dedicated CHT/oil temp lo on the GAD-27. (Found this fix on Van's air force forum)
2. Stabilizer strut fairings not painted. Painted struts with polyurethane Insignia White.
3. No Transponder. Installed GTX-45r txpdr. Rack and wiring were already to go. Updated software. Still having some software issues but we have adsb out now. Garmin has been informed - awaiting reply.
4. Vacuumed interior, cleaned engine bay, lubricated control hinge points. Sniffed around looking for bad stuff and chaffing. found some issues and tied off multiple spots in the wiring with wax string and cushion zip ties.
5. Test flew aircraft and had a small oil leak. Could not tell where it was coming from. Cleaned engine again and did a run up with the cowl off. Found the leak coming from the chip detector on the port side of the engine. Went to tighten the detector and... it broke off in the block!

Bad language followed by increase in blood pressure!

Off came the#2 header pipe and oil filter and by just sheer good fortune was able to tap the broken ALUMINUM chip detector out of the block with my awl without screwing anything else up! Amazing!
Ordered a new Honda, magnetic oil pan drain bolt made from SS for $9.95 from Amazon, but what to do now?
A quick trip to "Ace is the place of the helpful hardware man" store for a steel 14mm x 1.5 bolt. Cut it down to size with a hack saw, cleaned up the thread and put a bit of Permatex on it and badda - bing - worked great!

6. Since I have had numerous issues with coil grounds, I replaced them with equal lengths of milspec wire and routed them all to one spot. So far, no more issues.

Subsequent flights proved that all the oil was staying inside the engine, and the runup/ignition-check was perfect. I was finally able to really enjoy a beautiful two hours of uneventful flying over the Lake of the Ozarks!

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[Dave S]

Brett,

Glad you survived most of the pain and suffering and you are back in the air.

I had (past tense) an earlier 912ULS which died of crankcase fretting at less than 1/2 tbo a couple years ago. That engine came with the magnetic plug that had an internal hex which is notoriously a pita and prone to stripping out at the torque rotax claims should be used.

Lockwood aero in Florida, who I have found to be the best Rotax tech people around, told me to never tighten the magnetic plug to Rotax specs, but use no more than 100 inch pounds as a max, it is safety wired anyway.

So before my old engine got sick, I bought a replacement magnetic plug from Rotax (at premium $) which now has an external hex which you can put an actual socket over to remove and reinstall.

I saved the replacement magnetic plug when I parted out so just about anyone on the list can get it for a nominal price.

[Geek]

..............Ordered a new Honda, magnetic oil pan drain bolt made from SS for $9.95 from Amazon, but what to do now? .............

So question me an answer Batman....... Is the Honda a direct replacement made from something other than AL? That little nugget something else you found on the Van's forum? Just wondering. Going to have to check out my 912is to see if they used the same POS there.

Glad you're back in the skies flying protection CAP over the Ozarks my friend!!

G

[bbs428]

"So question me an answer Batman....... Is the Honda a direct replacement made from something other than AL? That little nugget something else you found on the Van's forum? Just wondering. Going to have to check out my 912is to see if they used the same POS there."


I found it myself while surfing the net, Garry.

My 912ul engine is a 1993 and is way out of warranty, and Rotax wants $98.57 for their aluminum magnetic plug, I searched for a 14mm x 1.5 bolt and in all the hits, the ss Honda bolt showed up for $9.95 on Amazon. Looks about the right length, is the right size and thread and is magnetized. It is a bit heavier but can take a lot more torque. My block face is marred under the bolt so unless you apply some torque to the bolt and use some Permatex, it will leak oil.

Yes, the 912is uses the same plug - Part #241785 which has changed to Part#649 866. And yes, it's $98.57! Just be careful and you should be fine.

Amazon.com: Magnetic Stainless Steel Oil Pan Drain Nut Bolt, M14 x 1.5 Magnetic Oil Drain Plug with 5 PCS Washer Gasket, Fits Most Cars, Ford, Honda, Motorcycles, Boats (Silver) : Automotive

[Eric Page]

My block face is marred under the bolt so unless you apply some torque to the bolt and use some Permatex, it will leak oil.

Don't these drain plugs install with a crush washer? I've seen them used on every car I've owned for the last 30 years and never seen oil leak past them.

[bbs428]

"My block face is marred under the bolt so unless you apply some torque to the bolt and use some Permatex, it will leak oil."

I'm not sure how or why the smooth block face under the chip detector got gouged up but somewhere in its past life it did.

Agreed that with enough torque, the crush washer would do the job. The stock aluminum chip detector functions fine on a smooth surface, as long as you do not exceed the specified torque value of 100-inch lbs.
I just used a small amount of Permatex for added leak protection on the temporary steel 14mm x 1.5 bolt.

[bbs428]

Since the gearbox and propeller was removed, I decided to re-balance the propeller. Glad I did because it was not the same as before!
A friend of mine loaned me his Dynavibe and I was able to improve on the previous propeller balancing. Never saw 0.00 on the Dynavibe before but it can be done! Noticeable difference! To be fair, it was 0.02 @5200rpm. Close enough for this wrench turner!

I am really starting to enjoy my stick time. Insurance rates came down as I crossed over 120 hours. Opening up the NACCA vent 1.5 inches has helped reduce the heat this summer.
All the hard work has paid off and the last 15 flight hours have been squawk free.

Still waiting an answer from Garmin on the no ADSB in. Think I'll call them next week and revisit what could be wrong.

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[bbs428]

The plane has been flying great with zero discrepancies since the valve spring fiasco. (knock on wood!)

The second Garmin tech was able to sort out the ADSB setup and now it to is working as it should. Amazing how many planes you see and avoid! I'm really impressed with the Gtx45r. It's a game changer!

Gaining in confidence that the plane is finally sorted out so I'm starting to fly further from home base each week. Weather here has been perfect!
I'm very happy with the performance and handling. I just went over 140 hours as PIC tailwheel, 180 hours on the engine, 650 total hours. Averaging about 3+ hours a week.

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