Hanging Engine - Bolt Order

[pvalovich]

I'm about to hang the engine (Aerosport IO-360) on my -8A. Page 11-1 of Vans instructions regarding mounting bolts sez: "We have found that the best place to start is the top." However, the last paragraph of page 1 of their Firewall Forward instructions sez: "We have found that after hoisting the engine, it's easier to put in the bottom mounts first."

Anyone have any thoughts about what really works?

[Build9A]

Lots of folks have used the following instructions and have been successful and pleased with the results.

http://www.vansairforce.net/articles...inehanging.htm

[RV7ator]

I rather like starting above #3 because the engine tends to settle back against the lower mounts when you relax the crane. If you put lowers in first, lifting the engine to align the uppers kinda' pulls it away from the mount. Tool access and cotter pins are the big pains.

I used extra washers to better position the nut castles for the cotter pin, and to bring the nuts up out of the mounting boss recess for better socket/open end grip. I put two on the upper bolts, three on the lowers. The bolt above #4 had one of the washers under the head. This backs the bolt up a tad so you can get tools over its end which crowds the cylinder pushrod tube. Nothing, well, there are some other things, make you feel more stupid than torquing the bolt, then finding you can't remove the trapped tool.

Mark the bolt heads so you can rotate them for favorable access to the cotter hole. Bloody hard to tell with the nut and shadows obscuring the bolt end.

John Siebold
Boise, ID