Before hanging the engine

LettersFromFlyoverCountry · #1 12-21-2008, 03:02 PM

For you 7A builders, do you have any advice on what should be installed on the firewall BEFORE hanging the engine? (or for that matter, what should be installed on the engine before hanging the engine?)

Currently the battery box is there, the starter and master contactor, the forest of ground tabs and, of course, I'll rivet on the recess before I add the engine. Oh, and the heater box is installed.

Is there something that I'm leaving out here that MUST be done before losing access by handing the engine on the mount?

Brantel · #2 12-21-2008, 03:09 PM

Restrictor fitting for oil pressure line.

If your going to fool around with the fuel pump, now is the time. (Like putting on a cooling shroud).

Put in the oil cooler line fittings now while the area is wide open.

Put in any nutplates that you will want on the firewall for stuff like the clamps holding the oil sender line and the breather tube to the firewall.

N941WR · #3 12-21-2008, 03:11 PM

Bob,

Somewhere in the plans they tell you to drill a hole below the battery box, above one contactor and to the right of the other. This allows you to feed wires through the firewall at that location. Unfortunately, that didn't show up until after the engine was hung for me.

You can see where the wires pass through the firewall in this picture:

LettersFromFlyoverCountry · #4 12-21-2008, 03:19 PM

Hmmmm... I dn't recall seeing that measurement (it's not on DWG 19, is it?). I bought a pair of those SafeAir passthroughs from Averty, but haven't put them on yet because I wasn't sure where to locate them. I don't have the oil cooler and such yet so I'd be flying blind trying to locate the spots for clamps for it.

At the same time, I'm ging to try to get the electrics going. My first plan is to mount the control unit for the VP-50. I'll have to check some of the blogs for the best way to locate that. Then, I'm going to have an auxiliary buss (fuseblock) and run wires to the firewall. I have a need this winter to see something light up.

N941WR · #5 12-21-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Collins

Hmmmm... I dn't recall seeing that measurement (it's not on DWG 19, is it?)...

No, it's not on DWG 19. It was either on the electrical or FWF drawings, I can't remember which and those drawings are down in my shop.

The location isn't critical, just don't hit a stiffener. I ended up using a snap bushing there and covered with fireblock. As you probably noticed, there were a few wires that ran through that hole.

Also, check out the 3rd engine page on my site. I posted a bunch of pictures on there to show I ran a good number of my wires using adel clamps. It made for a very clean installation.

Big news on hanging the engine, you are actually getting close!

DickDe · #6 12-21-2008, 05:20 PM

Install the oil pressure AN fitting on the aft of the engine BEFORE hanging the engine...unless you want to mount the engine twice...because you can't tighten it with the engine mounted!!!http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...milies/eek.gif

Dick DeCramer
RV6 N500DD
RV8 unregistered Fuselage
Northfield, MN

LettersFromFlyoverCountry · #7 12-22-2008, 08:51 AM

This is probably a stupid question but why doesn't the engine come with the oil pressure fitting already on? The only reason I even *know* that I need to put an oil fitting AN on there is via the various VAF threads.

dhall_polo · #8 12-22-2008, 04:53 PM

Try putting the outbound oil hose on. Wouldn't have to be permanent, just for fit. I have an IO-360-B1B with constant speed prop. I found that the prop governor bracket prevented me putting on the oil hose. In the end, I modified the prop governor bracket as other builders had also done.

It would have been infinitely easier to iterate through the modification before the engine was hung.

Most other things that I thought would be really hard to do with the engine in place, such as poking holes in the firewall and such, were actually not so bad.

Don

dhall_polo · #9 12-22-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Collins

This is probably a stupid question but why doesn't the engine come with the oil pressure fitting already on? The only reason I even *know* that I need to put an oil fitting AN on there is via the various VAF threads.

My engine from Aerosport did come with the restrictor fitting in place, along with most of the other fittings for oil and such. Aerosport and some of the other shops run the engine before you get it.

Don

Fearless · #10 12-22-2008, 05:11 PM

Bob,

Did you put the manifold on the firewall for the oil and fuel pressure senders? Sounds like you got most everything else. The three port model that Van's sells in their FF kit.