TonyPynes

Quote: N601RX Tough Break! As long as the insurance was paying I would want a complete tear down inspection. That would remove any doubt for both you and any future buyer. Here is what Lycoming calls a prop strike. They exclude damage that can be repaired with minor dressing as being a prop strike. You might try calling their tech support line. http://www.lycoming.textron.com/support/publications/service-bulletins/pdfs/SB533A.pdf

Yea I only saw two of the tie downs. the third one was coiled in the hole and I missed it as i was trying to avoid the other two. I would never intentionally taxi over tie downs....just the thought of props blowing tie down ropes around under the plane doesnt sound good. Yea insurance will cover it if the FBO doesnt.

This past week I was taxiing from my hangar across the ramp area to the runup area. I felt my front end collapse and quickly shut down the plane and climbed out to see what happened. The good news is my nose gear didnt collapse but the bad news was the nose was sitting in a hole in the tarmac. I went and grabbed a lineman who helped me remove the nose from the hole. Truss looked fine. but the tips of the prop were scraped. I am thinking less than an 1/8 inch, maybe less than a 1/16th from my estimate on one corner of the prop tip. Lineman says the FBO dug holes and had tie downs embedded below the surface so snow scrapers didnt take them off. I saw two of them and was avoiding them and other taxiing planes but did not see the third tie down hole. While I dont remember an RPM dip or anything who knows. Two different mechanics are calling for teardown and inspection. So looks like I am in for a Teardown and Inspection of the engine, governor and prop overhaul possibly. All this on a 50 hour SMOH on engine and prop. Deep breath. Who would have thought holes in the ramp area. Be careful out there.

Coincidentally I am no longer looking. Thanks Scott

So is one of these still available?

From a newbie. It was Mooneyspace that gave me the informatoin I needed to move to a Mooney. Thanks!

Quote: KSMooniac Good to hear! I hate to possibly further rain on your parade, but did your new (good) mechanic check the cylinder bolts too? If those weren't torqued properly/well, then there is a chance your bearings could have spun and blocked the oil holes for the crank. There isn't really any way to inspect the bearings of course, but hopefully this hasn't or won't happen to you. Good luck on the tank work too. Check the easy stuff like the sender gaskets inside the plane first.

Quote: ELT Austin, Do you know how Lou sealed the seam? Did he use any particular sealant? I am looking inot using 3M 2216 on my leak.

Quote: Hank Congratulations on getting it fixed, Tony! Now it's time to start enjoying your new ride!

Good information in this thread. Now that my oil leak is resolved I am going to start on the right fuel tank leak. I have now taken of the mid wing panel where the aileraon controls come through. That was where mine was leaking from. There was a puddle of fuel in their and I also had the smell in the cockpit after it was closed up for awhile. Today afterI had landing from testing out the oil leak repair I noticed very strong fumes in the cockpit while taxiing. Not a good thing and the first time I smelled it that strong. So now that my trip this weekend was in the toilet I am commited to resolving this. I know I should do a strip and seal and I know the right guys to do it but I am going to at least understand where it is leaking first. The seal doesnt look bad inside and I dont think it was ever patched. Course, what do I know. From reading other threads it sounds like it might be the sending unit seal/gasket...just guessing. Monday I will fly it to the mechanic and start checking it out with him. Any tips or tricks are welcome.

I wanted to close out this post with an update on my oil leak. Lou over at Flying Leaf was able to quickly identify and then seal the crankcase halves seal. There was a lot of loose bolts including an incorrectly torqued crankcase. Lou was able to tighten everything up and then seal the seam. I took it for a test flight and saw some oil still make its way to the top of the cowling but after cleaning it up it was apparent it was residual oil - very dark and dirty. I flew it again and found a minute amounts around a seam which tells me we have won this battle. So for me it was a crankcase lower and front seam incorrectly torqued. Unfortunately I was also in the process of finding a mechanic I could work with so I spent over 1000 elsewhere before working with Lou and getting this taken care of. Now on to the right wing fuel leak but that is another post.

Have had mine for a couple of weeks and trips. Love them. Comfortable, communication great. Will buy some for my copilot next.

Just got some Halos about 2 weeks ago and have had a couple of flights with them. I really like them and recommend them. Totally eliminates the head clamp and is very easy to forget it is there.

Quote: jbreda Take your old part, use some mold release on it, and hand lay it up to make a new fiberglass copy. John Breda

I will be riding my Road King to the Smoky Mountains this weekend. And the technique we used to find the leak was clean engine completely, powder it with baby powder, run engine, shut down and look.

Quote: Mitch He's great except for his choice of motorcycles.

Quote: ReggieM Hey Tony, I'm glad that you guys figured it out. Lou has a tendency to be aggressive in his troubleshooting. He definitely doesn't like to get beat by the machine - Reg

fantom, I agree, as a new owner this has been the best place for me when I was searching, when I was doing prebuy and now that I am an owner this where I found my mechanic. Not to mention all the help with troubleshooting gremlins.

Ross, Yep it looks like some stuff has got to be moved. ELT, I will post how it is fixed. Lets hope it isnt pull and seal. With only 50 hours on this engine I REALLY dont want to do that. But this is hitting the windshield and getting worse so it will have to be fixed either way. I am just glad that we now know for sure. It was very obvious where the leak was. It was great working with a mechanic(Lou Pugliese) who was ready to get to the root of the problem quickly. Will keep updates coming.

Scott That is my hope too. The area is pretty difficult to get too without taking the lower cowling off and maybe some baffling so I am wondering if it was an area of neglect from a torque point of view. And I promise everyone on this and other forums I visit will know the rebuilders name if he doesnt stand behind his work.

It was overhauled by an independent in a small town in Texas. Cases and major work sent out but he assembled. I am in NC. While I plan on pressing for costs I am not sure how successful I will be recooping costs at this point.

correct

Update: The leak has been identified. After spending some troubleshooting time with Lou Pugliese of Flying Lead Aviation in Asheboro, NC (Thanks Reggie for the recommendation) I now am 100% confident that the leak is the crankcase halves seal. With me in the left seat controling the engine and prop and Lou cleaning the engine, watching and eventually using powder we were able to eliminate the usual suspects and found the lower front leaking seal at the crankcase. So next steps are to check torque, use some PRC around the bolt in the area leaking and see if we can fix it. But at least now I know. Will know more later this week or early next on the success of our fix. I can now recommend Lou to anyone in the Piedmont area. A great guy I enjoyed spending a few hours with the identify the leak. He also found a few other areas that needed correcting. Nothing major. More to follow.

I grew up rebuilding engines, transmissions and body work. Then I began rebuilding harleys including splitting cases and stopping leaks on very old and thin crankcase halves. Nothing feels better than overhauling a topend and bottom and putting it altogether again with a wiring harness you made and routed. I can only imagine what it must feel like rebuilding your own plane. I bet it is great. I hope one day to rebuild my own with A&P oversight It was a lot easier rebuilding in the garage behind the house. Maybe I need to get a hangar home so I can take my time. Heck if I was a little younger I would go get my A&P. I went to Motorcycle repair school after being discharged from the Navy. Was going to work at a friends dealership as a mechanic until I realized they at that time paid less than the guys sweeping up the contruction sites. Roads not taken I guess. Now I am an IT director. Go figure. This time tomorrow I will know where I stand on the leak. Hopefully with most of my money still in my pocket.

I actually read your post, was it here or on AOPA, about your experience with the leak. Sounds brutal. Reggie who I met online on this site recommended a mechanic who sounds like a good troubleshooter and familiar with different leaks. I plan on being in his shop tomorrow morning and run the engine while he checks for leaks. He has experience with crankcase seals and crankcase cracks and locating them. I cant wait to figure this out once and for all. I figure it has to be a 1) prop seal, 2)crankshaft seal (even though it has been replaced), 3) crankcase halves seal, 4) crankcase crack (50 hours since machined by Divco -I hope not), 5) prop governor, or 6) some errant hose or connection that I can't fathom right now. But after a couple of thousand dollars I have no idea which one. Which sucks. I will have to think about your thoughts on the leak occuring even while on the ground. Haven't considered that. Anyway I am at the point I just want to know what it is so I can start figuring out the damage, fix it, and get on with flying. I canceled a long promised birthday trip for my wife to visit her family this past weekend because I think the windshield spray is getting worse and I am scheduled to fly her to visit our children in Austin, Texas this coming Saturday. So unless it is a small issue I am screwed and will be paying her to visit via airlines. This is not the fun part of ownership. I am ready to move past it. I will post tomorrow when we find some answers.