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  #21  
Old 01-26-2009, 06:30 AM
jmbaute jmbaute is offline
 
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Location: Blacksburg, VA
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Ha! Told you not to paint that belly white, Jamie! A nice navy blue down there and you'd never notice.

I chased oil leaks in my old Mooney constantly. I have nothing really to add other than don't be afraid to take your oil level down a little to test - 5 qts or so. I think Lycs can run on something like 2 qts in the sump (but I wouldn't go that low!)
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  #22  
Old 06-04-2009, 08:28 AM
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Jamie Jamie is offline
 
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Default Problem found!

I finally found the source of the abundance of oil on my belly. My breather hose setup was simply not tight at the engine. A friend of mine found wet oil under the hose attachment point. I tightened down the Breeze clamp and have made about 10 flights since and oil accumulation on the belly is dramatically decreased. In fact, I don't see any oil at all between the firewall and the main wing spar. Aft of the spar I am still seeing a little oil, but I believe it is leaking out of crevices and will eventually go away. In particular, I believe that I have oil between the wing and the lower wing fairing. I will try to clean out those areas at annual next month.
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  #23  
Old 07-21-2009, 06:51 AM
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Jamie Jamie is offline
 
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Ok, so the breather wasn't the source of oil on my belly. It was the legacy fitting directly beside the breather on the accessory case where the oil filter adapter attaches. I put a new crush washer under that fitting and so far I am seeing much, much less oil on the belly. I think I may have it nailed down -- finally.
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  #24  
Old 07-21-2009, 07:14 AM
RFazio RFazio is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: LI, NY
Posts: 409
Default I have an oil seperator and I still have oil on the belly

I have a seperator from day one and I still have oil on the belly. What I was going to do was to change my breather tube to extend beyond the rear facing scoop and hang out like the exhaust pipes do. This to try and get the fumes and oil to fly out past the scoop and hopefully not get as much on the belly. Mine drips onto the inside of the lower cowl also so I hoping to stop this. I'll let you know how it works out. I wanted to do like the airobatic guys do and run the breather all the way out the back of the plane. The problem is getting it back past the spar. If you have a hump in it to go over the spar your going to get a buildup of oil and a blockage I think.
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  #25  
Old 07-21-2009, 07:33 AM
David-aviator David-aviator is offline
 
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I have a Barrett IO360-X and there is no oil on the belly or anywhere else.

Yes, I know, all Lycomings leak oil eventually.
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  #26  
Old 07-21-2009, 10:14 PM
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Rick_A Rick_A is offline
 
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Default legacy fitting?

Jamie, I've had a small but persistent oil leak that I haven't been able to find. Where is the fitting you referred to and what does it look like?
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  #27  
Old 07-23-2009, 05:42 AM
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Jamie Jamie is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick_A View Post
Jamie, I've had a small but persistent oil leak that I haven't been able to find. Where is the fitting you referred to and what does it look like?
The fitting needs a 1" socket/wrench. On my XP-360 is is directly under the breather tube and is safety-wired. The oil presence at the fitting was minimal, but there was a lot more visible on the accessory case where it was running down. If you don't have oil on the accessory case I doubt this is your problem.
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  #28  
Old 09-09-2009, 10:48 AM
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wera710 wera710 is offline
 
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Default Long Breater?

In the most recent Sports Aviation there is an article on a group of guys with Pietenpol?s or something like that. Haven't read it yet...but in one photo they point out one pilot ran his breather all the way through the fuselage and out along his tail wheel. Looked like a pretty clean and seamless way to solve the problem...which of course means it CAN'T be that simple. lol.

Not something I am willing to do on a whim...but the idea is intriguing enough to warrant comment here. Other than the routing, what would the downsides be?
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  #29  
Old 09-09-2009, 11:50 AM
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N941WR N941WR is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wera710 View Post
In the most recent Sports Aviation there is an article on a group of guys with Pietenpol’s or something like that. Haven't read it yet...but in one photo they point out one pilot ran his breather all the way through the fuselage and out along his tail wheel. Looked like a pretty clean and seamless way to solve the problem...which of course means it CAN'T be that simple. lol.

Not something I am willing to do on a whim...but the idea is intriguing enough to warrant comment here. Other than the routing, what would the downsides be?
Scott,

Adding a long hose like that also adds a lot of extra weight. In addition, you will have to find some place to route it through the firewall, the front spar, the rear spar, over or through all the bulkheads, and finally out the tail.

Van's set up is much cleaner.

Installing such a line on a tube and fabric (or wood and fabric) high wing (or bi-plane) is much easier because you typically don't have bulkheads or spars inside the fuselage.
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Last edited by N941WR : 09-09-2009 at 02:10 PM.
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  #30  
Old 01-05-2011, 11:26 PM
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Snowflake Snowflake is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wera710 View Post
In the most recent Sports Aviation there is an article on a group of guys with Pietenpol?s or something like that. Haven't read it yet...but in one photo they point out one pilot ran his breather all the way through the fuselage and out along his tail wheel. Looked like a pretty clean and seamless way to solve the problem...which of course means it CAN'T be that simple. lol.
On the contrary. Many Pitts have that same tube running down the belly inside the airplane. It does keep the oil off the fabric, and at the same time still keeps the tailwheel lubricated. My recollection is that a former Pitts owner told me that the line is prone to getting condensation in it and freezing in colder months/climates. But I forget the details. If there was a route through the fuselage that would let me do this, I would be inclined to try it... Polishing the skin that has oil all over it is a pain in the b*tt.
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