On Oct 14, 3:22 pm, " wrote:

In this instance I agree with Bertie the Bunyip except for the simple
fact that,,,, If Lycoming and Continental and the FAA knew that a pre-
oiler and and oil heater would extent the life and safety of an
internal combustion engine as much as you claim it will, all of them
would have been made them mandatory 59 years ago.


They could extend the life, but won't make the engine fail-
proof. They add weight and complexity and further fail points.

I have a homebuilt with an old A-65. These old engines and their
brethren (A-75, A-80, C-75, C-85, C-90) all had a reputation for
losing oil pump prime when left sitting for long periods. The oil pump
is machined into the accessory cover and has an aluminum plate bolted
down over it, with minimal clearance over the pump gears. This plate
is supposed to seal tightly against the machined case surface, and I
always used a little sealant on it to discourage the leakage of all
the oil out of it when sitting, but most do leak, even with sealant,
and if the pump is dry enough the pressure won't come up or it'll be
delayed. The crankshaft and its bearings suffer accordingly, and this
spring I had to take mine apart and have the crank ground. The front
rod journal gets it the worst, being narrow, heavily loaded and
farthest from the pump.
I used to do what some other small Continental operators have
to do: take the temp probe out of the filter screen and pump some oil
into the filter, where it would fall into the pump and prime it. It
got so I didn't even bother starting the thing first to see if
pressure would build. Too chancy.
I finally got fed up and machined a little manual preoiler pump
from aluminum, a few fittings, O-rings, small springs and bearing
balls, and installed it. Homebuilts are wonderful that way. Now I open
a small valve, pump the preoiler about 20 strokes, close the valve and
start the engine. The oil pressure comes up instantly. The 20 strokes
fills the entire oil system and primes the pump, too. I expect that
crank to last awhile, now.

Dan