Engine question

marchudson · #1 04-26-2007, 08:19 PM

I have purchased a run-out engine and have several questions for the more engine saavy out there.

Attached is a picture to help in describing some of the problems that I'm having.

The engine is an IO-540-C4B5 narrow deck.

First think I noticed was that there were no through case studs. Instead, allen head bolts used instead of studs.

Anybody have an idea of the part number of the tool used to remove the cylinder?

Will a crankcase overhauler swap this case out for a wide deck one? Is this something that I should do or just use the one that I have?

I'm assuming that the overhual process is relatively that same with these types of mounting hardware as it is not listed in the overhaul manual.

Also, the parts manual does not show the parts breakdown for this configuration, any suggestions here?

Thank you for all you time.
Marc

rvator51 · #2 04-26-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marchudson

I have purchased a run-out engine and have several questions for the more engine saavy out there.

Attached is a picture to help in describing some of the problems that I'm having.

The engine is an IO-540-C4B5 narrow deck.

First think I noticed was that there were no through case studs. Instead, allen head bolts used instead of studs.

Anybody have an idea of the part number of the tool used to remove the cylinder?

Will a crankcase overhauler swap this case out for a wide deck one? Is this something that I should do or just use the one that I have?

I'm assuming that the overhual process is relatively that same with these types of mounting hardware as it is not listed in the overhaul manual.

Also, the parts manual does not show the parts breakdown for this configuration, any suggestions here?

Thank you for all you time.
Marc

Hi Marc,

The case studs are there, it just looks like allen head bolts. They are more like allen head nuts. [img]images/icons/icon7.gif[/img] The tools looks the same as the tool used to remove the nuts off the wide deck cylinders except it has the star pattern on it to fit into the nuts. I have a set. Can check on the part number later if no one else responds. Might be able to get a set on ebay.
If you look close at the cylinders, they may also have two reinforcing strips of metal around the base of the cylinder that the "allen nuts" go against.
I guess you could swap out, but the cylinders on it would not fit on the wide deck engine, so you would have to get different cylinders as well.

SteinAir · #3 04-26-2007, 09:54 PM

Interesting engine you've got there (2 chrome cylinders and one something else?).

Anyway, those are standard narrow deck nuts on the thru bolts. You need to buy a weird shaped wrench that is made for them (actually two wrenches, one for the large nuts and one for the small nuts).

See: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...utwrenchs2.php

Be carefull when loosening the top nuts, as you'll have a tendency to bang the wrench into the pushrod tubes and beat them all the heck (you've likely seen many a lycoming with dings in those tubes...well...that's usually how they get there! Your engine already has the hold down plates on it, so that's about the best you're going to do as far as compression wise. Change to a wide deck? Not likely (hopefully Mahlon or someone as smart as him will jump in here), but perhaps someone will be intersted in swapping you.

The overhaul will be the same as most all lycosaurs..not difficult at all. ND cylinders are still readily available so that's really not an issue unless you want to bump the compression up a bunch. They've been flying for year, and nothing really to worry about unless you go crazy with the engine.

I'd tear it down, send the crank, cam, case, out to be inspected/tagged or whatever work might need to be done on them. Then, send the rods & rockers out to be re-done and re-bushed. Check the tappets & plungers, then buy a set of new ECI/LYC/Superior cylinders (obviously some of the existing cylinders have already been chromed once, and by appearances look to be mismatched anyway). Clean up the gears in the acc case, buy a gasket kit and go to work and put 'er back together! It's not overly difficult, doesn't require many specialized tools and can be fun to boot!

Best of luck..I'm happy to see people tackling their own engines once and awhile. You can save a good pile of dough doing that sometimes (assuming you have a good core to start with).

Cheers,
Stein.

mahlon_r · #4 04-27-2007, 05:44 AM

You need the parts book for the standard cylinder flange engine PC-215-1, not the wide cylinder flange parts book you must have. PC-215-1 will show your configuration. What you have, are not cylinder hold down bolts but internal wrenching nuts screwed onto studs. It is the normal N/D configuration. Big deal to switch or convert to w/d?? it would require different cylinders, a different crankcase and all the supporting hardware for that case and a different prop gov drive setup. Not easily accomplished economically. Besides those parts mentioned, the rest of the parts are pretty much the same as the W/D version. Lycoming no longer makes new N/D engines and I don't believe they make new crankcases any longer, but the rest of the engine is still supported parts wise. I wouldn?t be afraid of using or buying a N/D engine due to fear of parts supply issues. The engine should go through a normal overhaul as compared to a W/D version.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
"The opinions and information provided in this and all of my posts are hopefully helpful to you. Please use the information provided responsibly and at your own risk."

Aden Rich · #5 04-27-2007, 08:29 PM

I just overhauled my IO-540-C4B5 on the Rocket EVO. Call me and I can point you in the right direction on where all the cheapest parts are and who does the best overhauls for a good price. BTW, Lycoming is still making cases and some of the new XO 540 they have made have been ND. Maybe they were overhauled cases for the show engine but it threw me off a bit. Narrow deck engines are also lighter if weight is a concern. 1-360-636-6074. Thanks, Aden Rich.

mahlon_r · #6 04-28-2007, 03:39 AM

Arden,
The show engines you saw, may have been a wide deck engine with the internal wrenching nuts (like the ones used on the n/d engines) holding the cylinders on. Making you think they were N/D when they weren?t. The larger diameter cylinder bores, like on the IO-390 and some of the other bigger bore models, use those style nut due to the increased diameter of the cylinder and the same cylinder flange bolt pattern, as the smaller diameter bore model like the 360 and 540, not allowing the hex style nuts to fit between the cylinder base stud and the larger barrel.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
"The opinions and information provided in this and all of my posts are hopefully helpful to you. Please use the information provided responsibly and at your own risk."

marchudson · #7 04-28-2007, 07:08 PM

Thank youi everyone for the support and all the good information. From what I'm hearing from the replies and from case overhaulers, some guys actually like the ND vs the WD. I did get the tools for taking off the cylinders, thank you Stein for the link.

All in all, I think I'm headed down the right road to overhauling. I'm taking lots of pictures as I go for reference later when I put it back together. If the parts breakdown and pictures don't match, I'll start asking questions.

Thanks
Marc