Jerry Cochran

Jerry Cochran

Well Known Member
Has anyone tried putting some kind of dye in oil to track down that elusive leak?
I have one that is stubborn to find and since it's time to change it anyway, the thought came to mind to dye it while it's clean and see if that helps.

Wondering what kind of dye would be safe to add to oil... Anyone?

Nice WX here in OR this a.m. and EAA 105 had a very well attended monthly breakfast where I was honored to be an assistant scrambled egg cook... We must have had 40 aircraft of various stripes, mostly RV's, attend, including one on amphib floats, the yellow one that was on Van's calendar a couple years back... Happens to belong to my former RV partner, Cliff Gerber...


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Oil dye

Most good auto parts stores have some options, both colored and ones that show under UV light. Tracerline is one of the brand names available online at NAPA.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
We've always used baby powder... lightly dust the areas that are suspect and run the engine... heck fly the plane if you want. You'll find the leak. Fix the leak and then rinse the engine off.
 
Foot Spray

Foot powder in spray form works nicely too. Best to wash the offending area with solvent, blow dry, apply spray powder. Go fly. You'll see where the leaks are.

Don
 
UV Source?

John Clark said:
Most good auto parts stores have some options, both colored and ones that show under UV light. Tracerline is one of the brand names available online at NAPA.

Thanks John, but this begs the question where does one find the UV light source? Also, who would have thunk baby or foot powder was the answer?

LUV VAF!
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Leak detection kit

Jerry,

The kit looks like a great deal, besides you can diagnose your A/C. :)

The thing to remember when chasing an oil leak is that oil doesn't always flow "logically." That is to say capillary action can cause it to go up hill and the airflow under the cowl can mess with your mind. Dye or baby/foot powder will help in the search. Some years ago I had a minor, but frustrating oil leak on the right engine on my Baron. The "experts" were convinced that it was a crank seal or a propeller leak. Wrong, it turned out to be a simple gasket on the oil cooler. The catch was that the oil was going forward and misting the back of the spinner bulkhead. Saved myself a prop overhaul by doing some detective work.

Good luck with the search!

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Air pressure

Today I pumped up my crankcase (5 PSI) with a air compressor, sprayed a soapy mix all over my Lyc using a Windex bottle. Viola! bubbles found in two places.
I have heard of some who have used a (clean) vacuum cleaner to do this. But dont think a vacuum will put out 5 psi.
Next time I do this I will try to make up a more of a foamy mix, should stick better?
 
Jeff Vaughan said:
Frank what sort of rigging did you use to accomplish this
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Very easy. I used a 0-30 psi regulator hooked to 1/4"id vinyl hose -1/4 X 5/8 id nylon adaptor, short length of 5/8" id rubber hose. plugged this on the crankcase vent pipe, no hose clamps were needed. I did plug the exhaust pipes with plastic and a rubber band ?? Also cleaned the well oiled areas with solvent first. 5 PSI was the most I dared to use
 
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