I'm new to the forum and uncertain whether this belongs in the maintenance or general discussion area.
I purchased a 1998 RV6 in Aug of 2009 with 440 hours on it. At that time I noticed a dime-sized bump in the lower cowling with small cracks emanating from it. Now with 560 hours on the airframe red silicon has started showing through the bump and it is clear that the starter is rubbing through the cowling. An RV6 builder friend told me that it may be due to the engine mount settling over time. The question is whether this happens to other RVs and what to do? My builder friend thinks that he saw some RVs at AirVenture with bumps built into the cowls for clearance. Has anyone seen this? He is willing to work on the fix for me, but said rather than trying to make a smooth bump from scratch, it would be easiest if there is something already on the market, suggesting that a tear-shaped 1 inch piece would be fine. Is there such an insert available, even if not for this specific purpose, something that would work?
He also noted that the engine mounts could be changed but it would be a laborious process.
Any insights or suggestions are more than welcome.
Thank you.
I purchased a 1998 RV6 in Aug of 2009 with 440 hours on it. At that time I noticed a dime-sized bump in the lower cowling with small cracks emanating from it. Now with 560 hours on the airframe red silicon has started showing through the bump and it is clear that the starter is rubbing through the cowling. An RV6 builder friend told me that it may be due to the engine mount settling over time. The question is whether this happens to other RVs and what to do? My builder friend thinks that he saw some RVs at AirVenture with bumps built into the cowls for clearance. Has anyone seen this? He is willing to work on the fix for me, but said rather than trying to make a smooth bump from scratch, it would be easiest if there is something already on the market, suggesting that a tear-shaped 1 inch piece would be fine. Is there such an insert available, even if not for this specific purpose, something that would work?
He also noted that the engine mounts could be changed but it would be a laborious process.
Any insights or suggestions are more than welcome.
Thank you.