And it begins...

Chip Sylverne said:
And the little fuzzy QC inspector.
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And she's a bad assed little *****! But I always carry dog treats with me. That softened her up quite a bit! :)

Chip Sylverne said:
Is this guy doing the jugs, valve and guide concentricity etc. as well, or are they coming from another shop?
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Nope, Seth is doing the cylinders. New OEM, but still the valves and seats will be reground, new valve guides installed and rehoned, cryo'ed, ported, polished, balanced, blueprinted' etc.

Seth's the man. Seth's a personal friend. Seth might just do a few things that I can't talk about here. :wink2:
 
Wow. Very cool. Is it still here in GA? Are you going to drive here again to pick it up?! :eek:
 
rpadula said:
Wow. Very cool. Is it still here in GA? Are you going to drive here again to pick it up?! :eek:
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Yeah, I'll likely come and get it. It's only a six hour drive and I don't trust trucking companies. I used to work for one and know how they are... dontchaknow. :goofy:

Besides, I'd like to hand Carlus the check in person, shake his hand, and thank him.
 
timwinters said:
Yeah, I'll likely come and get it. It's only a six hour drive and I don't trust trucking companies. I used to work for one and know how they are... dontchaknow. :goofy:

Besides, I'd like to hand Carlus the check in person, shake his hand, and thank him.
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Oh, six hours isn't that bad. I would've guessed more.

I read your other train wreck thread. Is consensus still that your oil temps didn't get hot enough? Any way to fix that with the new engine?
 
rpadula said:
Any way to fix that with the new engine?
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Hopefully! I'll just start off monitoring and see what tweaks need to be made from there. I've never had the "winterization kit" for my plane. Maybe it's time to get one.

Last night's batch. God I love red! ;)

(good thing, eh?)

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Q for others - Are all those rocker arms functionally identical? Some are copper plated and others are not. But they all have the plug in the tip.

I understand the intakes and exhaust rocker arms on a Lycoming 540 are different. A friend found this out the hard $$$ way on his Comanche.
 
Red caps, eh?

I guess in this day and age, you could get just about any color you wanted to personalize our motor.
 
Tim, once you're back in the air, let us know what performance improvements you got from this on climb and airspeed.
 
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The red should give an improvement of 7,000 FPM climb rate and 400 KTAS.

Only slightly slower than the LearBaron! :rofl:
 
nrpetersen said:
Q for others - Are all those rocker arms functionally identical? Some are copper plated and others are not. But they all have the plug in the tip.

I understand the intakes and exhaust rocker arms on a Lycoming 540 are different. A friend found this out the hard $$$ way on his Comanche.
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Different part numbers for intake and exhaust.
 
Loaded up and ready to take home. Heading home early in the morning.

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Lol! You can always tell a Gann engine. Looking good. My plane has red stripes so it matched perfectly.
 
I don't think it has enough red. Or pink. You really should have painted it pink.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I don't think it has enough red. Or pink. You really should have painted it pink.
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An aside: A buddy of mine had a black motorcycle and took it somewhere to have red flames painted on the bike. It looked great for a year or so and then the red faded to pink. We gave him never ending grief about his pretty pink flames. :lol:
 
fiveoboy01 said:
Is a test run required? I know mine was test run.
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:popcorn:

The TCM break-in manual I received with the engine indicates that it's optional.

Personally, I don't want anyone else running my engine (though I guess I should trust the guy who OH'ed it more than anyone).
 
Well, not being an expert in aircraft engines, I would want the builder to test run it to check for proper operation and leaks prior to taking delivery.

Apparently "it's required" is a subject of debate...
 
There's a lot of benefits to a good run-in on the stand. Easier to find and fix any leaks or spot performance problems and more consistent cooling. Better to find any problems before spending the time and money to fully install it on the airframe. A full break-in on the stand is even better. I don't care how good someone's reputation is. Everyone has or will make a mistake. There's enough of a risk in screwing up the install itself. Add to that risk by installing an untested engine? No thanks.
 
Break in of a automotive engine with a flat tappet cam requires an immediate increase to 2,000 RPM after startup, and operation at this RPM for 15 minutes or so. This insures proper oiling of the cam and lifters while the two get acquainted.

Does an aircraft engine have a similar requirement? I see break in lube has been liberally applied to the cam and lifters, same as an auto engine.

Did anyone notice the casting date on the engine case of 12/26/57? It's almost older than I am. :D
 
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3393RP said:
Break in of a automotive engine with a flat tappet cam requires an immediate increase to 2,000 RPM after startup, and operation at this RPM for 15 minutes or so. This insures proper oiling of the cam and lifters while the two get acquainted.

Does an aircraft engine have a similar requirement? I see break in lube has been liberally applied to the cam and lifters, same as an auto engine.
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No requirement, and you couldn't run it up to 2000 RPM right after start-up anyway - cylinders would be too cold. We do a progressive run, like 5 min @ 800rpm, 10@1400, 10@2000, 60@2600, etc.. Usually about 3-4 hours running time unless a full break-in was wanted.
3393RP said:
Did anyone notice the casting date on the engine case of 12/26/57? It's almost older than I am. :D
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Working on Pratts, I'm always opening up new parts wrapped in newspaper from the early 40's. :eek:
 
3393RP said:
Did anyone notice the casting date on the engine case of 12/26/57? It's almost older than I am. :D
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Until last fall when the engine was pulled it was all original to the plane, including the cylinders. No longer, now the only thing original is that case.

TCM recommends priming the engine with a pre-oiler or by spinning it with the starter with top plugs removed. Ground run before first flight should be very brief.

Balls to the wall for the first 6 to 12 hours. Likely closer to 12 on this engine since the cylinders were cryo'ed (but that's just my speculation).
 
FINALLY flew it today!

1.4 hours, 75% power @ 4,500'. She ran strong and she ran smoooooth. Nary a bounce in any of the instruments. Trued at 139kts.

Drained the oil thru a paint filter, no junk in it whatsoever.

Looking forward to taking it up again. It'll be sometime next week.

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Congrats! Looks good.. Glad it runs nice.

Were you scared for the first few minutes? I remember being scared to death on the first takeoff and climbout.
 
Me skeerd? Nahhh. ;)

Actually, it helps immensely that our airport is surrounded by dead flat farm fields. That removes a lot of pucker factor.

I just flew in big circles, 3DME from the cape VOR @ 4,500. Pretty much kept me within glide distance of a runway for the entire 1.4.

Yeah, a tad boring but it was great to have her back in the air.
 
My first flight was 1.7 circling a frozen lake in case anything went wrong... The 15 mile flight there from the airport was the scary part... But like you, there are quite a few fields to land on... Not that I want to try that.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
My first flight was 1.7 circling a frozen lake in case anything went wrong... The 15 mile flight there from the airport was the scary part... But like you, there are quite a few fields to land on... Not that I want to try that.
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When any engine has been tested IAW the Overhaul manual on a certified test stand, why would you worry about it failing? Why would you even try to break it in?
 
See, after my 30 minute initial flight at full power to make sure everything was good, I hopped in and flew 5 hours (2.5 each way) to PA and back just for fun and to see my friends there.

Tim is a very sane individual for staying near the airport for that long! :)
 
Envy!

My engine is in the airframe, but nowhere near ready to fly.
 
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