drone_pilot
Well Known Member
I thought I simplify and remove the prop oil return line on my engine since I am going with a Catto fixed pitch prop. The word of the day is "Simplify". It just rolls off the tongue. Sim-pli-fy.........ahhhhh.
I have an IO-360-A1A. The front plug on the crank is removed already because it was driving a constant speed prop in its former life.
With Service Instruction 1435 between my formerly Cheetos stained fingers, I gave it a good read to understand what needed to happen next. It said to either pierce or remove the rear plug, located about 7-8" down the crank shaft. Oh yeah, there is also an oil return tube running across this cavity a couple of inches in front of the rear plug. Fortunately, this tube is notched to give access to the rear plug. Easy, right? Sorry, forgot that we're talking about an airplane engine or anything airplane for that matter. Now its time to figure out where the catch is.
Being the often uninformed mechanic I am, I shined a flashlight down the crankshaft cavity and could see the plug with a 3/16 hex opening for removal. I ran to the Home Depot Aircraft tools aisle and purchased a socket drive 3/16" ball end Allen wrench as it was all they had that would reach waaaay back there. Hurried back to the hangar, grabbed my socket wrench, inserted into crankshaft and it fit like a charm. I began to twist the wrench and 1 second later the ball end snapped off in the rear plug.
Time to research....
I Googled something along the lines of "how to remove a broken allen wrench ball head from a bolt". I found a bunch of folks wondering the same thing. I wonder if they could be genetically related to me? I saw things like touch it with a welder, fuse the rod, then pull it out........maybe for a farm tractor. One said to cut a slot with a Dremel tool and use a flathead screw driver to unscrew the plug. Dremels aren't too big but its not going down that tiny hole sideways either. Some guy said try to hit it with compressed air ( "You'll shoot an eye out kid"). So there I was with the world of Google folks trying to figure this dilemma out. I thought I could hoist the plane up by the tail from the roof of the hangar and gently tap the nose on the floor in order to get this ball head jarred out of the socket. After all, this solution is about as good as the solutions others had to offer. Then it hit me!!!
I went back to the hangar, grabbed a 12" piece of hinge pin, dug a tube labeled Super Glue out of my tool chest and dabbed some on the end of the pin and stuck it to the severed allen wrench ball head nestled firmly in that dang rear pipe plug. I held pressure for 60 seconds then pulled. Nothing!!! Didn't even stick!! Not even tackey! I tried this over and over about 7-8 times. Threw it all on the floor disgusted. This Super Glue ain't so Super!! I picked up the tube in disgust and read the fine print under the bold faced, large font SUPER GLUE. The fine print said, "remover"........really. In fine print, under the words SUPER GLUE!
I drove 9 miles home to my shop and grabbed a 3/16" wooden dowel rod from my woodworking days (because it is porous). Then off to the Home Depot Aircraft Adhesives Department a couple of miles away. I put on my best pair of glasses and prepared myself mentally to examine the glue labels carefully. I purchased Lock Tite Super Glue Gel. Twenty something miles later arrived back at the hangar with very low expectations truthfully.
Took the dowel and dabbed some Super Glue Gel on one end. Did I worry about sticking my fingers together??? Heck no! I have SUPER GLUE remover on hand! Stuck the dowel down the crank and planted it on the broken off hex head ball. Pulled it out and felt nothing. Threw the dowel on the floor. Argh!!! I got my flashlight, shined it down the hole and lo and behold, no allen wrench ball in my rear oil plug any longer. I looked at the dowel that I threw to the floor and there it was, the ball tip of my Allen wrench from **** glued neatly to the tip!!! Hooooray!! This was a good day!!
So, if you stayed with me this long I have a question. Is this rear plug usually hard to get loose? Is there a trick, etc in unscrewing this thing? If its not going to come out, I'll keep the oil return line. Geesh!
I now know to never use a ball head Allen wrench on a tight screw/plug. Duh! Read that comment all over the Internet today. Live and learn. New knowledge to file in my brain of what not to do.
I have an IO-360-A1A. The front plug on the crank is removed already because it was driving a constant speed prop in its former life.
With Service Instruction 1435 between my formerly Cheetos stained fingers, I gave it a good read to understand what needed to happen next. It said to either pierce or remove the rear plug, located about 7-8" down the crank shaft. Oh yeah, there is also an oil return tube running across this cavity a couple of inches in front of the rear plug. Fortunately, this tube is notched to give access to the rear plug. Easy, right? Sorry, forgot that we're talking about an airplane engine or anything airplane for that matter. Now its time to figure out where the catch is.
Being the often uninformed mechanic I am, I shined a flashlight down the crankshaft cavity and could see the plug with a 3/16 hex opening for removal. I ran to the Home Depot Aircraft tools aisle and purchased a socket drive 3/16" ball end Allen wrench as it was all they had that would reach waaaay back there. Hurried back to the hangar, grabbed my socket wrench, inserted into crankshaft and it fit like a charm. I began to twist the wrench and 1 second later the ball end snapped off in the rear plug.
Time to research....
I Googled something along the lines of "how to remove a broken allen wrench ball head from a bolt". I found a bunch of folks wondering the same thing. I wonder if they could be genetically related to me? I saw things like touch it with a welder, fuse the rod, then pull it out........maybe for a farm tractor. One said to cut a slot with a Dremel tool and use a flathead screw driver to unscrew the plug. Dremels aren't too big but its not going down that tiny hole sideways either. Some guy said try to hit it with compressed air ( "You'll shoot an eye out kid"). So there I was with the world of Google folks trying to figure this dilemma out. I thought I could hoist the plane up by the tail from the roof of the hangar and gently tap the nose on the floor in order to get this ball head jarred out of the socket. After all, this solution is about as good as the solutions others had to offer. Then it hit me!!!
I went back to the hangar, grabbed a 12" piece of hinge pin, dug a tube labeled Super Glue out of my tool chest and dabbed some on the end of the pin and stuck it to the severed allen wrench ball head nestled firmly in that dang rear pipe plug. I held pressure for 60 seconds then pulled. Nothing!!! Didn't even stick!! Not even tackey! I tried this over and over about 7-8 times. Threw it all on the floor disgusted. This Super Glue ain't so Super!! I picked up the tube in disgust and read the fine print under the bold faced, large font SUPER GLUE. The fine print said, "remover"........really. In fine print, under the words SUPER GLUE!
I drove 9 miles home to my shop and grabbed a 3/16" wooden dowel rod from my woodworking days (because it is porous). Then off to the Home Depot Aircraft Adhesives Department a couple of miles away. I put on my best pair of glasses and prepared myself mentally to examine the glue labels carefully. I purchased Lock Tite Super Glue Gel. Twenty something miles later arrived back at the hangar with very low expectations truthfully.
Took the dowel and dabbed some Super Glue Gel on one end. Did I worry about sticking my fingers together??? Heck no! I have SUPER GLUE remover on hand! Stuck the dowel down the crank and planted it on the broken off hex head ball. Pulled it out and felt nothing. Threw the dowel on the floor. Argh!!! I got my flashlight, shined it down the hole and lo and behold, no allen wrench ball in my rear oil plug any longer. I looked at the dowel that I threw to the floor and there it was, the ball tip of my Allen wrench from **** glued neatly to the tip!!! Hooooray!! This was a good day!!
So, if you stayed with me this long I have a question. Is this rear plug usually hard to get loose? Is there a trick, etc in unscrewing this thing? If its not going to come out, I'll keep the oil return line. Geesh!
I now know to never use a ball head Allen wrench on a tight screw/plug. Duh! Read that comment all over the Internet today. Live and learn. New knowledge to file in my brain of what not to do.
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