The engine was bolted to its engine mount and the engine mount was bolted to the wall of the shop. Baffels and ingnition and intake stripped off. Then cylinders 1 and 3 were unbolted from the crankcase. Those special very expensive wrenches are NOT required, ordinary box end wrenches work ok, if rather slow. The rocker arms were removed and set aside, the push rods pulled out and labeled. And finally, the cylinders were pulled straight our, being careful to catch the piston as it came clear of the cylinder.
With both cylinders on one side of the engine removed it was now possible to view the inside of the crankcase. I had thought that I might find a rusted mass inside after years of storage...but this time my luck was good, and the inside of the engine was clean and shiney. It looked like new!
I plugged the space where the cylinders had been with paper towels to keep dust and crud from getting into the crankcase.
Next, some research was required to find the best (cheap) source of engine parts and service. It turned out that Aircraft Spruce had a great selection of parts for old Continental engines, and good prices, too. I ordered all new gaskets, intake hoses, push rod seals (all the "soft" parts), plus new hardware...nuts, screws, hose clamps.
I went to the web for advise on a good cylinder overhaul shop. Someone on the Taylorcraft forum suggested Marrs Aircraft in Florida. I called the next day and talked to Mr. Marrs himself. He's an ex-cropduster who at one time had flown out of my wife's home town of Miller, SD. He advertised "Cylinder Overhaul $99 (plus parts)" which seemed almost TOO good. There had to be a catch...maybe his parts were real expensive, or he'd keep my cylinders and want $500 to send them back, or maybe...? But then my father was a cropduster and the Miller connection was a remarkable coincidence.
I decided to send my defective cylinders to Florida. It turned out to be a smart decision.
Link to Compression Test, Engine Paint and Baffels, Magnetos
Return to Index
No comments:
Post a Comment