Re: Cessna 172K Hawk XP startup procedure?

[Andrew Boyd]

Tommi Raitio wrote:

> starting the Continental IO-360-K engine

The TCM fuel injected engines are sweet, pleasant, docile
and simple to start, as opposed to the Lycoming fuel injection
which is simple cold but can be a miserable fire-prone bitch
to hot start.

The TCM fuel injection is simple:

cold: mixture rich, throttle 1/3, primer pump 8 seconds. Yes,
fuel will run out the bottom. No biggie. Then, prime as you
crank. Try not to hydraulic lock the cylinders with 100LL.
You can bend a con rod that way, believe it or not.

hot: mixture rich, throttle 1/2, primer pump as you crank.

No futzing with the mixture as you would with a Lycoming - it
stays full rich for every start.

--
ATP www.pittspecials.com

[Tom R]

The POH procedure works anytime the engine is cold. Just prime with HI
flow until you see 8-10 gpm and shut off the pump. The slow advance of
the throttle while cranking is critical! If hot, within 15 minutes of
shutdown, skip the prime step and just crank while slowly advancing
the throttle - it should catch in 3-5 revs. If not, use the following
hot start procedure: Mixture cut-off, throttle 1/2-full, boost pump
high for 15 seconds or so, then off. Mixture full rich, crank while
advancing throttle (you are trying to clear fuel vapor from the system
and replace it with cool fuel here). This is a modification of the CPA
recommended hot start procedure for IO-520/550s, and has never failed
me. In my early days of XP ownership, I did run down the battery
trying to hot start it before I smartened up!

Good luck!

Tom

"Tommi Raitio" > wrote in message >...
> Anyone willing to share good startup techniques of Cessna 172 K Hawk XP? I
> know what the manual says about starting the Continental IO-360-K engine,
> but it would be nice to hear about good proven practices in various
> temperature conditions.
>
> Thanks!
> Tom