oil change - no mess

[A2022]

everything drains to the same bucket position.

[Vlad]

Did you have magneto blast tubes? I see two places with aluminum tape. Any reason for removal the cooling?

[A2022]

Did you have magneto blast tubes? I see two places with aluminum tape. Any reason for removal the cooling?

I didn't feel they were doing any good. I believe the airflow is from the bottom up back there, at least on my plane. The small amount of air thru those tubes is just getting washed out during flight. Max temperature on accessories occurs 10 minutes after shutdown so the tubes are useless then.

[A2022]

I also finished my oil change and decided to keep working on the plugs, mag timing, and a compression check. The spark plugs looked good, so I cleaned and reused them. My mag timing had drifted slightly—the right mag advanced 2 degrees and the left 1 degree over the last 100 hours. I’ve reached a point where I can almost predict the adjustment needed before I even start. I reset both to 24.5 degrees BTDC in anticipation of the summer heat. My cold cylinder compression check results were 78, 77, 75, and 72.

Spark plug copper gasket anneal on heating element.

[A2022]

I inspected the oil filter and found it to be clean. It is a pleasure to maintain such a simple, low-cost, and reliable machine, right down to the original air box, carb heat valve, carb heat cable, and baffling. I could not detect any wear in the carb heat mechanism.

[Vlad]

Beautiful engine nice and clean! Couple more questions; Do you run LL or car gas? Your plugs are clean at 100 h I normally mix or run autogas straight from the pump and my plugs looked like yours. Last hundred hours was pure avgas and I got bottom ones fouled badly with lead balls. (Couldn't figure out how to attach an image from a mobile) Secondly; what kind of heat insulation are you running on hoses and wiring?

[A2022]

Beautiful engine nice and clean! Couple more questions; Do you run LL or car gas? Your plugs are clean at 100 h I normally mix or run autogas straight from the pump and my plugs looked like yours. Last hundred hours was pure avgas and I got bottom ones fouled badly with lead balls. (Couldn't figure out how to attach an image from a mobile) Secondly; what kind of heat insulation are you running on hoses and wiring?

I keep the engine compartment as simple as possible—the fewer parts, the better. Regarding your question about fuel, I run 100LL. My bottom plugs do get caked with lead, which I have to pick out, but I’ve refined my tools to make that process quicker and easier.

I have experimented with mogas in the past and had decent results during the winter months. However, several years ago on a hot summer day (37°C), I topped off with mogas at Allen County, Kansas (K88). Upon applying full throttle for takeoff, the engine stalled completely. I didn’t even have to decide whether to abort; the engine made that decision for me. That was the last time I used mogas.

As for the heat insulation on the hoses and wiring, I found that stuff 14 years ago at wirecare.com.