Engine Installation and
Move to Hanger
The big Engine Crate
arrived from Aero Sport Power. If you are considering a remanufactured
engine and don't have a core
to exchange, then the AeroSport Engine is the best buy. Many of
the parts that are used
in the Aero Sport Power Engine are new, including the cylinders, crank
shaft and
accessories. We selected the O-320-D2A
with the standard dual magneto package for
its reputation for being
a well proven, rugged and reliable engine.
Some builder’s install used
engines from production
airplanes, but if it was removed from a production airplane, there
might have been a good
reason such as a prop strike.
The Engine looked great!
And, in our opinion Aero Sport Power is setting the standard for
quality. Factory
Lycoming engines never looked this good and are not delivered in as
good a shipping
container. The engine test run datasheet also indicated that Aero Sport
has a better run-in procedure. Areo Sport Power uses the best of Lycoming
and Superior
Air Parts to build what
is basically a Lycoming Engine design. We could really tell that much
care was taken in the
Aero Sport Engine. One very important thing to point out in the following
picture. The builder
must replace the oil pressure fitting, located at the top right near the
engine mounting hole,
with a 45 degree restrictor fitting before the engine is mounted to the
airframe. If you point
this fitting at the right main tire, you should be in good shape. Remember,
this can not be done
after the engine is mounted.
After we installed our
45 degree restrictor oil pressure fitting, we just lined the engine
up very slowly,
installing the top right mount first.
Remember to refer to the Engine
Mount drawing often.
Even though all of the Engine Mounts are the same, they are
Installed differently on
the top and bottom, and the hardware callout is different. If you
keep referring to the
drawing, you won't have any problems.
Once the top bolt and
mounts were installed,
by adjusting the engine hoist up and down as needed to align
the holes, then we
installed the bottom mounts and bolts. The mounts were installed
as follows: Top right, top
left, bottom right, then bottom left. We found it was easier
to install the bottom
mounts and bolts at the same time by adjusting the hoist up as
required to achieve
proper alignment. As the bolts were tightened, the engine hoist
was gradually lowered to
insure the bolts went in as smoothly as possible. Once all
of the bolts were
torqued to 450 in-lbs, then cotter-pins were Installed to complete
this job. Also, take time to enjoy this achievement!
The next big job is the
Cooling Baffle Assembly, which some builders Refer to as the
"baffling
baffle". The best way to start is to look over the entire set of plans,
read over
the instruction set
completely as you are looking at how it all fits around the engine
and cowling. It is
important to visualize the entire assemble before actually starting
to cut or fit
anything. It is just a matter of a lot
of fitting, cutting and time to build-up
the four removable
assemblies. We went with the Oil Cooler mounted on the left
rear to make the oil
line runs as short as possible. It is best to complete the entire
assemble before riveting
the corner parts together to make the assembly go smoother.
The Right and Left Front
Ramps need to be aligned to the cowling, and remember to
leave about 3/32"
spacing for the baffle seal overlap between the front cowling inlets
and Front Ramps. After
everything is fitted, then it is time to trim for the clearance
between the top cowling
and baffle edges. The spacing you are looking for is between
3/8" to 1/2"
to prevent either blowout or chafing with the top cowling half. After all of
this is done, then holes
are drilled to hold the baffle seal in place. We used an upgraded
high-temperature silicon
material, which should last longer.
With the Baffle Seal
completed, we finished off the engine work by installing all of the
remaining Firewall
Forward Systems. The order completed:
Carburetor Install, Carburetor
Control Cable Bracket,
Induction Air Box System, Throttle Control Cable, Mixture Control
Cable, Carburetor Heat
Control Cable, Fuel and Oil Lines, Alternator, Alternator and Starter
Wiring (clamped to oil
pan), Engine Sensors, Exhaust System, Carburetor Heat System, Cabin
Heat Muff and Scat
Tubing, Oil Dip Stick, Oil Breather System, Sensor Wiring, Right and Left
Magneto Harnesses, Top
and Bottom Spark Plugs, fiberglass work for the Ram Air Scoop,
Air Box Seal, Cooling
Blast Tubes, Heat Shields and Propeller Assembly. We ended up
using a Gates 7355
Alternator Belt, which provided the best fit.
Remember to use a high
quality belt because the
prop needs to be removed for belt replacement. Other than using
an Oil Separator, we
have about as stock an engine install as it gets. Why, because it is a
very well known
configuration that works very well! Our
air intake on the bottom of the
engine is wearing a
temporary dusk mask to keep dust out during the final sanding.
Let’s get this “baby” up
to the hanger now!
