O320 how prevalent are cam issues when sitting

Gary Ward said:
I can't remember the exact hrs because I sent the old engine log back along with a good running core engine....uuuggghhhh.
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My $0.02, never send anyone your only copy of anything. Things get lost, misplaced, destroyed... The FAA is the only one who might need YOUR original logs.
 
Gary Ward said:
Another note I need to mention on this h2ad motor. According to the logs at 100 some hrs they found metal in the filter. It then got a new cam and lifters and engine overhaul. This was done shorty after the plane was new. I measured the lifters and they are not the larger lifters. I don't think the T mod was used then?
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It has been a while since I worked on a 76 series engine but I think the T mod originated in the early '80s. It is quite possible the engine was repaired without the modifications, depending on when things happened.
 
Gary Ward said:
Like many here I have built and rebuilt plenty of engines.
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Then the only thing I put on the cly walls and rings is WD40. It works great for quick and complete ring break in.

I did the same on the my lycoming 320. The used rings and cly walls were fine with WD40 . My oil consumption greatly improved after reinstalling the 40 year old used rings.

Many would think WD is not enough, try it it works great.
My 2 cents.
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That actually makes a lot of sense. WD40 isn't a great lubricant, but it is a good cutting lubricant. And that's kind of what's going on, as I understand it, when you're breaking in the rings.
 
Just over 10 hours on it now, cut the filter still no metal yet. Are the roller lifters it has a lot better for protecting against cam wear? It’s been hangered in a heated hangar since it stopped flying so maybe they helped to save it.
 
alaskan9974 said:
Are the roller lifters it has a lot better for protecting against cam wear?
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I think that remains to be seen. As these engines age we’ll know more.

My suspicion is that they’ll do better but have some failure modes unique to roller lifters. There have been lots of late model car engines with roller lifters that quit rolling and problems followed.

It would be nice if there was some permanent fix for these engines. I just spent the afternoon pulling cylinders off another one with a bad cam.
 
alaskan9974 said:
Are the roller lifters it has a lot better for protecting against cam wear? It’s been hangered in a heated hangar since it stopped flying so maybe they helped to save it.
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Lycoming started using roller lifters 15 years or so ago. I have not seen any ADs against them, and there's only one Service document and it has to do with parts and replacement, not any failures due to the design.
https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SI1514D Roller Tappet Part Info Update 02-05-18.pdf

Thousands of roller-lifter engines have run thousands of hours each without any hint of any shortcomings. I had several engines with them in the flight school, and they were fine.

Roller lifters in aircraft engines are not new. The Gipsy Major in my 1947 Auster had them. Some radials used them.
 
My 1966 Landrover 88 engine with the diesel to gas conversion had roller bearings.
 
Was curious, can lycoming roller lifters be removed through the pushrod tube opening like a io-520 or does the case still need to be split?
 
alaskan9974 said:
Was curious, can lycoming roller lifters be removed through the pushrod tube opening like a io-520 or does the case still need to be split?
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Second question - can roller llifters and cam be retro fitted into an O-320 E2D during rebuild?
 
Domenick said:
Do they actually machine, or simply replace the case?
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They machine the case to take the roller tappets. On "eligible engines," they say. Maybe some don't have enough metal around the tappet bore to do this. The bore is enlarged and has flat spots top and bottom to align the tappet so it wheel tracks the cam, and the pushrod tube seal bores are enlarged.

I bought Lyc factory overhauls, and they weren't new engines, just overhauled, with older serial numbers and a total time on them. They came with the roller lifters. Remanufactured engines are used engines overhauled to new tolerances and have a zero-time status. More money, because there are more new parts.
 
OKDonn said:
can roller llifters and cam be retro fitted into an O-320 E2D during rebuild?
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I believe Lycoming will upgrade your engine to roller tappets free of charge when you send it to them for overhaul/rebuilt. However, not all engine models are upgradeable. There are also a few Lycoming bulletins out there that detail upgrading existing non-roller tappets to the latest non-roller tappet configuration.
 
Dan Thomas said:
They machine the case to take the roller tappets. On "eligible engines," they say. Maybe some don't have enough metal around the tappet bore to do this. The bore is enlarged and has flat spots top and bottom to align the tappet so it wheel tracks the cam, and the pushrod tube seal bores are enlarged.

I bought Lyc factory overhauls, and they weren't new engines, just overhauled, with older serial numbers and a total time on them. They came with the roller lifters. Remanufactured engines are used engines overhauled to new tolerances and have a zero-time status. More money, because there are more new parts.
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I believe lycoming now calls "remanufactured" motors rebuilt.

My motor was a zero time rebuilt motor in 2020.

They now use roller lifters in all of there motors except about 5 of them.
Check out this SB...https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SI1011N Tappets and Lifters.pdf
 
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Dan Thomas said:
They machine the case to take the roller tappets. On "eligible engines," they say. Maybe some don't have enough metal around the tappet bore to do this. The bore is enlarged and has flat spots top and bottom to align the tappet so it wheel tracks the cam, and the pushrod tube seal bores are enlarged.

I bought Lyc factory overhauls, and they weren't new engines, just overhauled, with older serial numbers and a total time on them. They came with the roller lifters. Remanufactured engines are used engines overhauled to new tolerances and have a zero-time status. More money, because there are more new parts.
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I believe it was a factory new motor not a reman or o/h.

Can roller lifters be removed just by taking the pushrod tube out? I haven’t put any more time on it but would like to see the cam.
 
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