engine trouble

I have about 1100 SMOH on my IO-360 (2000 TBO).
Compressions are all 70 or above.
There was only a tiny bit of metal at the last oil change.
That was shortyly after I bought it, at which time I also put a spin-on
filter adapter on.

The engine has been running great, especially lately.
However, my mechanic was fighting a nagging problem.
It seems the seal where the crank case halves come together leaks.
Mine is/was leaking right on top of the engine.
It was very disturbing for a while, but my mechanic managed to stop the leak
with some silicone.

I understand that taking it apart would be very expensive, so I've been
pricing an overhaul.
Looks like about $17K for an overhaul.
I'd really like to milk it out closer to TBO.
I'm wondering if I should continue to ignore the problem, as long as no oil
is leaking, and the engine is running fine.
It's been about three months since any problems, but I don't know how long
it will hold.
I've been flying a couple hours per week with not even a drip.

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

If it were me I would keep an eye on it and try to fly it
as long as possible until the leakage becomes worse. Bear
in mind there is a big difference between a "small" leak
and a "large" leak.

mindenpilot wrote:

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

You're considering doing an overhaul to fix an oil leak?!?!?!?!?! That's insane.

George Patterson
He who would distinguish what is true from what is false must have an
adequate understanding of truth and falsehood.

"George Patterson" wrote in message
...


mindenpilot wrote:

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

You're considering doing an overhaul to fix an oil leak?!?!?!?!?! That's
insane.

George Patterson
He who would distinguish what is true from what is false must have an
adequate understanding of truth and falsehood.

When it *was* leaking, it was leaking pretty good.
Now that it's stopped, I'm not as concerned.
But, if the silicone doesn't hold, and the leak is really bad again, what
options do I have?
That's not a rhetorical question, I really would like to know...

Thanks,

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

"mindenpilot" wrote in message
...

"George Patterson" wrote in message
...


mindenpilot wrote:

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

You're considering doing an overhaul to fix an oil leak?!?!?!?!?! That's
insane.

George Patterson
He who would distinguish what is true from what is false must have
an
adequate understanding of truth and falsehood.

When it *was* leaking, it was leaking pretty good.
Now that it's stopped, I'm not as concerned.
But, if the silicone doesn't hold, and the leak is really bad again, what
options do I have?
That's not a rhetorical question, I really would like to know...

Thanks,

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III


R & R the silicone and buy a box of Scott disposable rags.

George Patterson wrote:

You're considering doing an overhaul to fix an oil leak?!?!?!?!?!
That's insane.

That's exactly what I had to do these past few months. Of course, the
engine was well over TBO and the leak was coming from a cracked cylinder.


--
Peter







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You might check into a "wicking sealant". I know permatex makes one, but I
don't know the part number. Do it at night since it is not aircraft stuff.
It has worked for me on a variety of leaks on transmissions and transaxles.
Of course you need to remove the RTV and clean the area with brake cleaner
first.

Mike
MU-2


"mindenpilot" wrote in message
...
I have about 1100 SMOH on my IO-360 (2000 TBO).
Compressions are all 70 or above.
There was only a tiny bit of metal at the last oil change.
That was shortyly after I bought it, at which time I also put a spin-on
filter adapter on.

The engine has been running great, especially lately.
However, my mechanic was fighting a nagging problem.
It seems the seal where the crank case halves come together leaks.
Mine is/was leaking right on top of the engine.
It was very disturbing for a while, but my mechanic managed to stop the
leak with some silicone.

I understand that taking it apart would be very expensive, so I've been
pricing an overhaul.
Looks like about $17K for an overhaul.
I'd really like to milk it out closer to TBO.
I'm wondering if I should continue to ignore the problem, as long as no
oil is leaking, and the engine is running fine.
It's been about three months since any problems, but I don't know how long
it will hold.
I've been flying a couple hours per week with not even a drip.

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
nk.net...
You might check into a "wicking sealant". I know permatex makes one, but
I don't know the part number. Do it at night since it is not aircraft
stuff. It has worked for me on a variety of leaks on transmissions and
transaxles. Of course you need to remove the RTV and clean the area with
brake cleaner first.

Mike
MU-2


Good info. I'll keep this in mind if the leak comes back.
Thanks Mike.

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 02:01:14 GMT, "Mike Rapoport"
wrote:

You might check into a "wicking sealant". I know permatex makes one, but I
don't know the part number. Do it at night since it is not aircraft stuff.
It has worked for me on a variety of leaks on transmissions and transaxles.
Of course you need to remove the RTV and clean the area with brake cleaner
first.

There is a letter circulating around from TCM concerning case seam
leaks.

The gist of the process is remove any leaking case bolts in the area,
clean thoroughly with MEK (brake cleaner would work), and apply
cyanoacrylate adhesive.

That's right, super glue. You hook a shop vac up to the breather, turn
it on, clean things up and let dry thoroughly. Turn the vac back on,
apply the glue to the seam and on the inside of the bolt holes.

Let it dry, put it all back together, torque the bolts and fly the
crap out of it.

Had really good luck using the extremely thin hobby stuff, then
painting the thicker stuff down the seam (sparingly) after the thin
stuff is dry.

Is an "approved" repair for TCM products, and I have used it with good
results.

You hit the nail on the head, it is a "wicking" leak in most cases,
and a wicking sealant will stop it...

Regards;

TC

Minor oil leakage seems to be a nagging problem with IO-360s. Our old
engine (in an Arrow IV) always leaked some oil for the last 1000 hours
before we swapped it for a factory rebuilt. (At that point, the engine was
actually beyond TBO, and leakage was not a major consideration in deciding
to do the engine swap.) Every year during the annual our mechanic would
chase down the leaks and do what he could to minimize them. One important
step was retorqueing the case bolts.

At worst, our oil consumption ran about 1 qt/6 hrs, including leakage. At
that rate (which included "real" oil consumption as well as leakage), we
were advised that our leakage was not serious -- really more of a nuisance,
so we lived with it.

One thing we learned with the old engine was that leakage was MUCH worse
when the oil level was above about 6.5 qts.

My recommendation: Sure, go ahead and have your A&P do use whatever simple
means are available to minimize leakage, but unless it gets severe (1 qt
per 4-5 hrs) I wouldn't go beyond that.

-Elliott Drucker