I have been working through my condition inspection checklist the past couple of weeks, and as I had flown a total of over 20 hours in the past week, and the weather was cool, today would be a good time to do the firewall forward part.
The Mattituck TMX-O360 is a gem. This was the first time I've pulled the plugs since it came from Long Island (I simply don't mess with a machine that is running well!), and they were clean as a whistle. A nice little bit of tan indicates nice lean running, and not a trace of lead deposits anywhere. I cleaned them quickly, and the gaps were still good, so back in they went.
I did the compression cold, and had 76's and 77's all around. It is neat to hear the rings "click" into position as you bring the pressure up. I heard no air coming out anywhere - so nice after having struggled with old leaky engines in the past.
I found no significant leaks anywhere - a couple of little spots of oil here and there, probably from the oil return lines - I gave a half turn on each of the hose clamps, and will watch them. All of the rocker box covers were tight, with no leaks (silicone gaskets). The timing was dead on, just where it was when it left Mattituck.
I inspected the engine mount for wear and cracks, and found nothing to report. No frayed wires, and everything still fastened where is was supposed to be. I had adjusted the alternator belt tension at about 100 hours, and it was still just where I wanted it. I removed the airbox to check for cracking in the top plate, and it was fine (I understand that can go at any time, so I guess I have had good fortune so far). I checked all of the baffling for cracks and wear, and didn't find anything that needed attention - I guess stealing a lot of reinforcing ideas for the oil cooler from everyone else's web sites paid off!
I took the opportunity of having the cowl off to put some aluminum heat-shield tape on, mostly to make the occasional oil spot easier to clean up. I did a poor job of painting the inside of the cowl, and it is not nice and smooth, so the tape should help. I cut 2.5 inch wide strips, and put them on with a burnishing tool to really get them to stick. I'll see how they stay on in the future. I did see a little indication of the airbox contacting the cowl on the left side, probably at start-up, but it did not look too bad.
All in all, this was probably the cleanest FWF inspection I have ever done on an airplane I have owned. I am extremely pleased with the engine, as well as the components I received in Van's FWF kit. I didn't do anything fancy in the installation of anything - it is a very simple engine compartment - and maybe that has helped to keep it trouble-free.
Tomorrow I have a few more airframe things to look at, and I can sign it off for another year - ready for LOE!
Paul
280 Hour Inspection
Linear Mode
