Today's Prop Problem

Well, here is my first maintenance issue. I am at about 65 hours on my new RV-7A. I was taking my wife up for her first flight in the new plane and on climbout at about 1500 AGL, all of a sudden I see oil spatters on her side of the canopy. Quickly throttle back, monitor oil pressure (which was good) and head to back for the downwind. Keep monitoring oil pressure (still good), hear the AFS 3500 tell me I'm approaching pattern altitude (I always keep it set at pattern altitude for my home airport unless on x-country's), turn base and land with no problems. Once in the hanger, I pull the cowl expecting to see a blown seal. Here's what I found.


Oil on the canopy


Grease coming out the zirc


Another zirc with cover forced off


Grease on the inside of only one side of the spinner

Called the local prop guy and he says that there is a service bulletin (Hartzel BA prop bought through Vans) about grease leaking. He says the bulletin informs that it usually happens after a plane has been sitting for awhile (do you think this plane has been sitting for awhile...I think not!). The prop guy also said that an o-ring or seal may have failed allowing engine oil to force the grease out of the zirc. The grease would have a greyish color if this was the case (he says). I looks original amber color to me.

I'll probably pull the prop and take it in on Monday. What are your thoughts as to the problem?

Prop

Was the zerk fitting that leaked screwed in tightly??????? Looks like the one that leaked still has the plastic cap on.

It's not uncommon for the plastic caps to come loose due to centrifical force. The cap is only to keep dirt out.

These zerk fittings have a spring loaded ball type check valve that you can see. If that is missing on the one that leaked, or if it is loose in the screw hole, the grease could easily be thrown out by centrifical force.

Check these out and have someone knowledgable about props (A&P, etc.) look at the situation before you pull the prop.

Is the grease coming out of the Zerc? If so just change um and re-grease that bad boy.

prop spitting is common

Mine started doing it at about 100 hours. Called the prop shop. They said check the torque on all the nuts. I did. A few were _way_ under what they should be.
Cranked 'em to spec and my problem went away.

YMMV

A friend of mine had the little ball missing in the zerk, however it showed up as a problem on first flight.

Call Hartzell Product Support

Brian,

Please call Hartzell Product Support at 1-800-942-7767 before you pull the prop on Monday. John or Rolf should be able to help. Also e-mail the pictures to them at [email protected]. I think this could be as simple as changing the grease fitting. If you don't reach one of them on Monday, call me directly at 937-778-4262 and I'll get someone to reply via this thread.

Les Doud

Make sure you all follow the instructions about how much grease to pump into these hubs. The instructions are explicit.

Roberta

Little ball missing

Looks like the zirc had the little ball missing. Removed the caps from all of them. All of them had the ball at the opening except the one that burped. Stuck a little piece of safety wire in the hole and found no resistance. Found a replacement and performed the 100 hour lubrication (1 oz or 6 pumps of the hand pump with AeroShell 6). Flight tested and everything looked good. Thanks for everyone's input. Now I just need to talk my wife into giving it another try.

Patience 101

wizard said:

Now I just need to talk my wife into giving it another try.

Click to expand...

Be patient with your wife. Point out how well you handled the mishap, that you didn't panic, you landed successfully, you sought input from others which is a mature response, and the problem turned out to be minor.

Allow the situation to improve the relationship but most of all, be patient. Go flying with your friends, and she will eventually come around.

That's what happened after we bent a nose gear during landing. The wife was dead set against flying right after the event, but now she goes with me all the time. She looks forward to quick trips to see our grandson.

Barry
Tucson

Glad it was a simple fix for you. Have your wife take flying lessons and get her PPL. Of course, then you will have to share the flight controls.

Roberta

I've had trouble with zerks leaking, and I got tired of it so I took them off, cleaned them up, and welded the ends closed. Eliminated the problem. When I grease the prop, I just temporarily change the zerks.

Thats not

a half bad idea Bob!

Frank

rocketbob said:

I've had trouble with zerks leaking, and I got tired of it so I took them off, cleaned them up, and welded the ends closed. Eliminated the problem. When I grease the prop, I just temporarily change the zerks.

Click to expand...

Three parts in one zerk alone, well until Bob gets to them.

My whole propeller; one part!

Brian thanks! I found grease running down my prop blade after a short flight looking at fireworks. I "searched" propeller grease and up pops your thread. A quick trip to the hanger and sure enough the 4 bolts that secure the rear spinner bulkhead were loose. A quick torque and I'm good as new.

Thanks VAF! Another problem solved by using the search function.