J

jwilbur

Well Known Member
For the past 6 months my fresh-from-the-factory Lycomming IO540 has been in it's protective vacuum seal. The moisture patches inside the plastic have 3 blue dots. If they were to turn purple I'd have to start worrying about moisture getting in there. But they're all still solidly blue. By the way, I live in Northern Virginia 60 or 70 miles from any salt-water.

In the next 2-3 weeks I'll be hanging the engine (mid/late November). We're starting to get some pretty wide temperature swings. E.g., last night a low of 35 degrees and today a high of 78 degrees, so virtually any amount of moisture in the air is likely to condense through the night.

I doubt I'll be ready for first engine start until February. Can I get some advice on how to protect this new engine from corrosion? Is there anything normally done during install that I should delay? Or something normally not done that I should do? It is not in an environmentally controlled hangar.

Thanks,
 
I installed desiccant plugs in each cylinder, and also built a simple dehumidifier using an aquarium pump, a tupperware full of desiccant beads, and some tubing. It was a closed system, pumping air through the oil filler tube, and out the breather vent. I don't have pictures but a little searching will probably turn up some ideas. I made a little humidity data logger and let it run overnight, and found that the system dropped the humidity level inside the engine a good bit compared to outside.

I believe ACS sells some similar, complete systems. Not sure how much it helped, but I know it didn't hurt.

Chris
 
snopercod said:
The important thing is to keep your cam from rusting.
Click to expand...

I really am a newb when it comes to engines. How does one oil the cam? Wouldn't it be oiled on delivery? I think I've read here on VAF I should avoid turning the engine. Is this right?
 
jwilbur said:
I really am a newb when it comes to engines. How does one oil the cam? Wouldn't it be oiled on delivery? I think I've read here on VAF I should avoid turning the engine. Is this right?
Click to expand...

It was oiled or coated with assembly lube at the factory. You're right - avoid turning the engine.

What kind of space is your project in? Garage? Hangar? Basement?
 
Kyle Boatright said:
What kind of space is your project in? Garage? Hangar? Basement?
Click to expand...

It's in my attached garage (unheated but gets some residual heat from the house). I've got a hangar at KCJR (also unheated) and am hoping to move to the hangar before the end of the year.
 
Oil the cam?

Here's your options to oil the cam.
1 Run it
2 Disassemble it
3 Flip it upside down with oil in the sump.

So there is no practical way, and your assembly lube is probably long gone from run-in after it was built.
Some have suggested filling the crankcase completely full, on the 4 cylinder engines there is no way to vent the air bubble out of the top of the case where the cam is, so I don't think that will work. I believe some of the 540's have the oil fill in the top of case, so that might work but you'd have to be careful if you ever turn the prop, you might push some oil.
Keeping it dry is about the most practical thing to do, and Lycoming has published their recommendations.
Also, you will have an exhaust valve or 2 open, so keep the exhaust ports or pipes sealed so your dessicant cartridges won't become saturated.

Tim Andres
 
Plug the holes

It should be setup for preservation on the inside. So if you unwrap it, just do not turn or move anything, and plug any and all holes that can let air into it.

At least that's the theory. How easy this will be depends on how it was exactly shipped.

There are dehydrator spark plugs, plugs for the exhaust ports, for where the breather connects, etc ... and shove dessicant anywhere you can, but make sure you can get it back out when it comes time to run it!

This is the SL from Lycoming on the topic:

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/Engine Preservation for Active and Stored Aircraft.pdf

It is really meant for already installed engines that need to be pickled ... but it'l get you started ...
 
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