Oil leak

[mike regish]

Did an oil change on my Tripacer. I've done them before and they're pretty
easy. This one though, it looks like my oil screen cover is leaking like
crazy.

I actually changed the oil last month right before it went into annual. They
flew it (looks like a couple of hours worth) with no leaks apparent. I flew
it for the first time last week and when I was parked to gas up noticed oil
dripping. Went up today and checked the torque on the oil screen housing and
they were all tight. Came back after 20 minutes or so and found I had left a
trail of oil. Lost a good part of a quart. I'm thinking I may not have
torqued them down evenly and I'm going to try replacing the gasket and going
around the bolts a little at a time. I usually retorque them after I run for
a while after an oil change because the gasket tends to crush some.

Any ides or suggestions on why this is happening? The surfaces are (were)
clean. I'll check better when I replace the gasket.

TIA.

mike regish
'53 Tripacer

[John Gaquin]

just a guess, but it sounds like something that might happen if the gasket
became pinched, or otherwise defective.


"mike regish" > wrote in message
news:9jgBc.147237$Ly.131203@attbi_s01...
> Did an oil change on my Tripacer. I've done them before and they're pretty
> easy. This one though, it looks like my oil screen cover is leaking like
> crazy.

[mike regish]

Think I found the problem. I put in a new gasket and ran it up after
degreasing it real good. It was leaking along the side of the oil screen
housing. I took it off again and ran the bolts in by hand without the
housing in place and I couldn't get the bolt all the way in. It seems the
threads on the bottom of the bolt hole are messed up. I have a 1/4-20 bottom
tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads. Hopefully that'll do the
trick.

mike regish

"John Gaquin" > wrote in message
...
> just a guess, but it sounds like something that might happen if the gasket
> became pinched, or otherwise defective.
>
>
> "mike regish" > wrote in message
> news:9jgBc.147237$Ly.131203@attbi_s01...
> > Did an oil change on my Tripacer. I've done them before and they're
pretty
> > easy. This one though, it looks like my oil screen cover is leaking like
> > crazy.
>
>

[G.R. Patterson III]

mike regish wrote:
>
> Think I found the problem. I put in a new gasket and ran it up after
> degreasing it real good. It was leaking along the side of the oil screen
> housing. I took it off again and ran the bolts in by hand without the
> housing in place and I couldn't get the bolt all the way in. It seems the
> threads on the bottom of the bolt hole are messed up. I have a 1/4-20 bottom
> tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads. Hopefully that'll do the
> trick.

Before you run the tap in, probe the hole with something like an ice pick (I use the
probe end of an electrical tester). It's possible that some crud got jammed in there
by the bolt. If you can insert the pick the same amount in each hole, then use your
tap. If the pick won't go in one of the holes all the way, try to dig the stuff out
with the pick.

George Patterson
None of us is as dumb as all of us.

[mike regish]

I did. I used a coat hanger. The hole is deep enough and clear down to the
bottom. I also used the chuck key for my drill which is the same diameter as
the bolt and it went all the way in.

mike regish

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> mike regish wrote:
> >
> > Think I found the problem. I put in a new gasket and ran it up after
> > degreasing it real good. It was leaking along the side of the oil screen
> > housing. I took it off again and ran the bolts in by hand without the
> > housing in place and I couldn't get the bolt all the way in. It seems
the
> > threads on the bottom of the bolt hole are messed up. I have a 1/4-20
bottom
> > tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads. Hopefully that'll do
the
> > trick.
>
> Before you run the tap in, probe the hole with something like an ice pick
(I use the
> probe end of an electrical tester). It's possible that some crud got
jammed in there
> by the bolt. If you can insert the pick the same amount in each hole, then
use your
> tap. If the pick won't go in one of the holes all the way, try to dig the
stuff out
> with the pick.
>
> George Patterson
> None of us is as dumb as all of us.

[G.R. Patterson III]

mike regish wrote:
>
> I have a 1/4-20 bottom
> tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads.

One more thing you've probably already thought of. Most taps have a tapered tip. When
used as a chaser, such a tap will not clean the bottom threads in a hole. You can
take care of this by cutting and/or grinding most of the tapered section off the end
of the tap.

George Patterson
None of us is as dumb as all of us.

[Bob Moore]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote
> mike regish wrote:
>>
>> I have a 1/4-20 bottom
>> tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads.
>
> One more thing you've probably already thought of. Most taps have a
> tapered tip. When used as a chaser, such a tap will not clean the
> bottom threads in a hole. You can take care of this by cutting and/or
> grinding most of the tapered section off the end of the tap.

Well, let's see.... he did say that he has a "bottom" tap.

Bob Moore

[mike regish]

Problem found-not solved yet. The ears where the bolts go through the
housing are cracked. Must've been growing for a while. I saw some suspicious
lines yesterday, but thought they were just in the paint. After cleaning up
all the threads and replacing the screen adn housing I ran it up at idle.
Oil-still leaking. I could also very clearly see the cracks. Anybody know
where I can get an oil screen housing?

mike regish
"Bob Moore" > wrote in message
. 6...
> "G.R. Patterson III" > wrote
> > mike regish wrote:
> >>
> >> I have a 1/4-20 bottom
> >> tap I'm going to run in to clean up the threads.
> >
> > One more thing you've probably already thought of. Most taps have a
> > tapered tip. When used as a chaser, such a tap will not clean the
> > bottom threads in a hole. You can take care of this by cutting and/or
> > grinding most of the tapered section off the end of the tap.
>
> Well, let's see.... he did say that he has a "bottom" tap.
>
> Bob Moore

[G.R. Patterson III]

Bob Moore wrote:
>
> Well, let's see.... he did say that he has a "bottom" tap.

Ah! Missed that. No need to jerry-rig one, then.

George Patterson
None of us is as dumb as all of us.

[mike regish]

Actually, I ground off the first 4 threads because they looked pretty dull
anyways.

So...Stop! You're both right!

mike regish

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Bob Moore wrote:
> >
> > Well, let's see.... he did say that he has a "bottom" tap.
>
> Ah! Missed that. No need to jerry-rig one, then.
>
> George Patterson
> None of us is as dumb as all of us.