swisseagle

swisseagle

Well Known Member
Hello

I need to redo the engine preservation, because I'm not as fast as I had planed with building.

I have to fill the engine with preservation oil and do a slow roll for a few times, then spray oil into all openings, thats clear so far.

What is more difficult is, to hold/lift an engine and rotate it. So I want to do the following:

- Lift engine at the std. hook and unscrew it from the firewall.
- Support enginemount and engine and reattach engine at the spacer with a sling/crane.
- Rotate the engine by holding the enginemount with up to 4 persons.

Engine.jpg


Now the question, doe this harm the front bearing, crankshaft or case in any way, because half of the engine weight is lifted perpendicular to the crankshaft?

For sure I will mount a prop adapter and screw the spacer and adapter together!

Thanks for any input, regards,

Dominik
 
opinion

Just my opinion, I do not think this would hurt the engine, but might not be a good idea. If the front loop slips off, the engine is on the floor. I think there are better ways to do this, even if it means a quick fab for a lifting hook. JMO
 
No slip off, when prop adapter is mounted.

Hello Jonny

Thanks for your input, I was thinking of that:

With a prop adapter I was meaning a wood disk with a bigger diameter than the spacer, so that it can not slip off.

Any other input if it hurt the engine?


Dominik
 
my opinion

Swisseagle, I am no engine expert, so I cannot give you any expert advice. It is my understanding that the engines are sometimes assembled with the crankshaft bolted vertically to a stand, so I think the front bearings can take a great deal of static loading. I do not clearly understand what you are doing and cannot completely picture what you have in mind, so I will not tell you my opinion. I think you understand what you are trying to do are probably best to judge if it is safe. Wish I can be more helpful.
The views expressed above are my opinion and should not be taken as a recommendation for a course of action. Your mileage my vary, etc.
 
Hello Johnny

Thats fine, I just wanted more opinion from other people, to get it done safely ... I can not afford to harm my engine, so I hoped a few more join in.

I just want to do a engine preservation, fill up a few gallons of preservation oil into the engine and do a "roll" with it for a few times, so that oil is getting onto the camshaft, lifters and to all the other steel parts in the engine. This according the manual found on the Mattituck FAQ Page:

Is My TMX engine preserved for shipping and storage?
Yes, the engine has been preserved and should be good for 6 months from date of
preservation. If the engine is stored in a controlled enviroment..no dramatic temp
changes day to day and humidity is controlled, then the preservation will last for a year.
If you are not going to use it in that time- frame, the best bet and preferred method would
be to run the engine and re-preserve it. If that method is unavailable we recommend you
buy a couple of gallons of preservation type oil and an inexpensive pump up garden
sprayer. Plug up any open holes that are exposed to the internals of the engine and
install the preservation oil less a quart in the engine. Now remove the top spark plugs
and get the garden sprayer. Install the last quart of preservation oil into the garden
sprayer, set the sprayer nozzle on mist, pump it up and fog the cylinders through the
spark plug holes. Turn the engine over a few times manually, using the crankshaft. Re-fog
the cylinders and reinstall the top plugs. Don't turn the crankshaft again until you are
ready to start the engine or are redoing the entire operation. Now get a few friends and
lift the engine up and slowly rotate it counter clockwise around the crankshaft axis. In
another words you would lift the engine and hold it as if it were installed in the aircraft,
now rotate it as if the plane were in a 90* left bank, now slowly rotate it to inverted and
then to a 90* rt. bank and the back to straight and level.....nothing like doing an aileron
roll without an airplane! Doing this a couple of times will allow the preservation oil you
installed to coat the internal parts of the engine. The engine weighs approximately 260 to
300 pounds, so the friends need to be able to lift and control the engine as you rotate it.
You don't have to hold the engine the whole time, if you have some bubble wrap or even
several old blankets to pile on the floor, just lift the engine, rotate it and gently set it
down for a few seconds on the bubble wrap or blankets. They will spread the weight of
the engine evenly across all surfaces they touch.
You should do this every 4 or 6 months with new preservation oil each time, if in an
uncontrolled environment and once a year if in a controlled environment.

I do not want to uninstall the injection lines or the throttle body, and lay down the engine on bubble wrap or blankes, I think
these components get damaged.

Any engine guru around who can give inputs?

Thanks, Dominik
 
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Dom,

I'm not sure what you're asking, but most people I know use an engine stand that rotates to accomplish this

engine_stand.gif


You could leave it on the stand and rotate it every few weeks to keep the preservative oil distributed.

T.
 
One year exactly?

I got my new engine from Mattituck in late January of 2011. I, too, worried about rust in the engine, etc., when January 2012 rolled around and I called Mahlon for advice.

My impression was that if your engine has been kept relatively free of temperature cycling and condensation, the timing requirement is soft.

I surely hope so because I really don't want to remove the engine from the firewall as I have most of the firewall forward work done at this point and would hate to have to remove all the hoses, wiring, and so on at this point in the build.

On the other hand, my 8A needs another year's work to mount wings, and complete the panel, upholstery and paint. Are we really risking our engines if we don't do this preservation procedure at one year?

John
 
I bought 2 five gallon buckets

Of 5-30W motor oil, cheap stuff I use in my wifes beater car. I put an extension on the oil fill tube and poured till she runnith over thus filling the crankcase with oil. Turn the crank a couple times and she is preserved, enough for me anyway. I saved the buckets and before I ran the engine drained it back into the buckets so that it could be used in the wifes car, this also serves as a prelube before the first start. Not sure if there are any problems doing it this way but it worked for me.

Randy
8A
 
To perhaps ease your mind a little bit......Several years ago now I tore down an O-290 that had something like 1000 hours on it when it was going to sit for a while and allegedly had fresh oil poured into it and then the engine was rotated to make sure everything was coated in fresh oil. The engine then sat in non climate controlled garages and hangers in the midwest. When I tore that engine down 20+ years had passed and it could have passed for 2 weeks. I had no idea what I was going to see and really could not believe my eyes when that engine looked like it could have been run the day before. It was torn down, all parts sent out to be checked, etc and crank, case, cam, rods, cylinders all good no trouble and not a hint of rust. If the engine has not been run it should be fine for a while.
 
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