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High Oil Temp

stneki

Well Known Member
Patron
I am running a ECI O-360-A2A built by Aero Sport Power. I have about 20 hours on it in a RV7A and always have very high oil temperature. I have check most of the normal items that may cause this and finally decided to check the vernatherm. It appears to be operating properly when heated in water but when I checked the seat in my angle oil filter adapter it appears to have the port labeled by the ECI instructions as 'Return from Oil Cooler" partially blocked by a gasket.

Is this normal or is the gasket improperly installed or incorrect?

http://i40.tinypic.com/11sfejk.jpg

The hole that is partially covered by the gasket is the return from the oil cooler passage.

Thanks Steve
RV7A
Dues Paid
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Steve,
Wrong gasket for sure. Had same problem.

What type exhaust ????
2 or 4

Boomer
 
BINGO!!! Had the same problem.

Looks like this when removed.
wronggasket02.jpg


This is the difference in the gasket I suspect you have.
wronggasket01.jpg


With the correct gasket, temps were WAAAY better.

This happened to a guy over on the Lancair Mail List just the other day also. High oil temps and nothing would cure it, found the wrong gasket also.

I only found mine after adding a second oil cooler, with no change.. I started digging.
http://www.n54sg.com/second-oil-cooler-upgrade/
 
I have a two pipes exiting exhaust system. When I sent Aero Sport Power the picture the tech guy said it should not make much difference but did say they would send a different gasket to try out. Does not make sense to me.

Thank you to the group for your help. It has been very discouraging trying to figure out my high oil temp problems.

Steve
 
Where is the runoff data that said the oil temp was good on the engine builders test stand?
 
Where is the runoff data that said the oil temp was good on the engine builders test stand?

For sure. It's my understanding Aerosport Power run tests 100% of the engines going out the door. I got a full data sheet on the one-hr run test of my IO-320 from Aerosport.
 
For sure. It's my understanding Aerosport Power run tests 100% of the engines going out the door. I got a full data sheet on the one-hr run test of my IO-320 from Aerosport.

It may depend on what parameters they are monitoring. If the test is designed to monitor CHTs and the oil flow was being cooled with a water cooled heat exchanger designed to maintain oil temp at say 190 or 200 F they would not have caught this.

I worked in an engine lab in college and the since the engine was in a test cell and there was no way to provide the air flow to a radiator the oil was pumped to a heat exchanger cooled by water from the building chiller system regulated with a thermostatic valve. I never paid any attention to oil temperature other than to see that it was in the green. The engine could have generated a lot of heat in the oil and I never would have know it because the thermostatic valve would have just provided more cooling water.
 
The gasket that was installed should pose no problems to the engine or it's operation. The other gasket pictured will work as well but either should work fine. I don't think you will see any difference in the oil temps with the gasket change. My advice would be to check the vernatherm function when it is removed for the gasket change and if that checks out put another 20 or 30 hours on the engine, to let it completely break in and maybe you will see cooler temps then. If not bigger cooler might be needed.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
 
Aero Sport said they would send me the correct gasket. They indicated that the one installed was for an engine that had a oil screen. I really do not understand that as this is a new ECI engine built by Aero Sport.

I also ordered the correct gasket from ECI and will report back once I get it installed but I think that with what some of the others have found with a reduction in the oil temp with the correct gasket I hope I will experience the same.

The instructions from ECI has a statement that says " Warning the correct gasket must be used with this angle oil filter adapter".

I have to believe that if 40 % of the return from the oil cooler port is blocked off it would have some effect on the performance of the oil cooler.

Thanks. Steve
 
Sounds like you have a solution with a new gasket. I had high oil temp readings and found the oil temp gauge was defective.
 
The gasket that was installed should pose no problems to the engine or it's operation. The other gasket pictured will work as well but either should work fine. I don't think you will see any difference in the oil temps with the gasket change. My advice would be to check the vernatherm function when it is removed for the gasket change and if that checks out put another 20 or 30 hours on the engine, to let it completely break in and maybe you will see cooler temps then. If not bigger cooler might be needed.
Good Luck,
Mahlon

Hmm, I don't understand this response. Not trying to pick a fight here, but I disagree.

Maybe this is wrong, but look at the images in this thread. If the ports are labeled correctly, then having the wrong gasket as I did partially blocks the oil return from the cooler, thus restricting its flow.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=207691&postcount=1

I think what we are seeing in the image from the original poster is that port half blocked as seen from the vernatherm hole, just like mine was.

Either way, when I switched to what I think is the proper gasket, I reduced my oil temp by literally 30 degrees, albeit a non-standard arrangement compared to most. Improvement regardless.

I would enjoy a response as others are dealing with this problem also and I would like to have a thread with a for sure, positive, answer.
 
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