hcccs

hcccs

Well Known Member
The oil filler neck of my O-320 is 12?" long which is too long for the RV-4. Does anyone have a shorter filler neck for sale?
 
I cut a section out of the center of the outer plastic dip stick housing to shorten it. I then took a piece of aluminum tube that fit tightly over the outside of the plastic housing and spliced it back together. Actually I put the plastic dip stick housing in a lathe and removed a little material to make a tight fit. I then epoxied it together ( may have also put 2 pop rivets in it ). Shortened the dip stick and remarked it. The 8 qt mark is now the 6 qt mark. If I remember correctly the aluminum tube was a section of tube used for the elevator pushrod in the fuselage. I have been flying it for a year with no problems. Call me if you need more detail. 770-639-6900
 
YOU SHORTENED THE WRONG END. Pop the dip stick out of the cap and cut off the top the same amount that you shortened the tube. Then tap the shaft back into the cap and drill and pin it in place................
 
hcccs said:
The oil filler neck of my O-320 is 12?" long which is too long for the RV-4. Does anyone have a shorter filler neck for sale?
Click to expand...
I have a short one at the hangar. Will measure it today. Engine came with the short one but needed the long version for my -7A.
 
As I understand it, this is a common issue w/ the RV-4, due to the tight-fitting cowling.

I just ended up buying a new one that was shorter. The P/N for the short one is 75735. I just checked AERO-in-stock, and they sell them for about $67.

http://www.aeroinstock.com/

The length of the short one is right at 6 & 1/2 inches from the lower flange to the upper flange where the cap seats, so you should gain almost 6", which is more than enough to clear the cowl.


That's for the tube only.

Like GASMAN says above, To fix the stick & also keep the oil-level markings correct, simply drive out the small steel pin which holds the stick in the cap. Then remove the dip-stick from the cap & cut off the proper amount from the TOP of the stick to account for the change in tube length.

The diameter of the dip-stick is a bit larger than the hole in the cap (at least mine was), so you have to turn it down a bit. To do that, I chucked the dip-stick in my drill motor & spun it slowly while using 200 grit sand-paper at the upper end to sand down the diameter. You only need to sand it down for about 1 inch of length and you only remove about 1/32nd of the dip-stick diameter. To get it right, this takes a few minutes & several trial fits into the cap as you go along, because you don't want to sand down too much and have the stick fit loosely in the cap.

Once it fits into the cap snugly, drill a new hole for the small cross-pin which holds the dip-stick into the cap. I did this with the stick installed in the cap & used the holes in the cap as a drill guide. Drive the cross-pin back into place in the cap & you're done.

It worked great for me! I have no epoxy splices in the tube & the oil-level markings are correct. I now have a previously used long tube, if anyone needs one.

Good Luck, no matter which way you go!!
 
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