garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Just got back from a joy ride and after shutting down noticed a good amount of oil on the nose gear door. Blowing out the breather tube or so it looked. Another pilot saw me taxiing in and said the plane was smoking as I taxied in. Not a lot but quite noticeable. I did notice the plane had a unusual vibration when I throttled back to descend but felt like a plug fouling. I thought that unusual but was landing anyway. I have been using a quart of oil every 5 hours which seemed a bit high. The engine is only 105 smoh but was not done by a noteworthy shop so I am a bit concerned . Called my mechanic and I'll be bringing in the plane Monday morning. Can anybody out there make me feel better by saying its not too serious?? My mechanic mentioned the these motors are known to get a crack in the case but we'll know better come Monday. I'm hoping its a cylinder problem versus tearing down the whole engine. Any thoughts? Quote
bonal Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Obviously an inspection is needed. Wondering how much oil was in the engine I know if I put more than 6.5 quarts I get some blowing out the breather tube. I would remove the cowl and have your mech observ a run up and of course check vitals and note engine operation . Good luck I hope it's something simple. Quote
carusoam Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Sounds like a ring not seating or not able to seat. Burning a quart in five hours is a large amount, 2X for an engine that is recently broken in. Do you have a JPI? Any challenges on run-up? Is there oil staining on the inside of the exhaust pipe? You really want to know if it is leaking inside or outside. If somebody is seeing smoke on an outside leak it could be oil on a hot exhaust pipe. Are you smelling the smoke or seeing it yourself? Things to consider..., -a- Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 I'm hoping its a simple fix also. Looks like a lost maybe half a quart in a 30 minute flight. started at 6 quarts. Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 No real engine monitor to help with diagnosing. Run up seemed normal. It did seem to run rough when I throttled back to land. Didn't see or smell any smoke inside the cabin but the heat was not on. Didn't look inside the exhaust pipe but I'll check that. I know some oil is expected to be lost out the breather but oil was splattered pretty good on the gear door . Never saw that before. My mechanic did mention to me there may be a problem with oil ring not seating when I told him of the oil usage a while back. Quote
RobertGary1 Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Before you start spending money on mechanics you can pull the lower plugs yourself. One may be oiled up. That's the cylinder to pull and measure. You can R&R plugs yourself, no A&P required. -Robert Quote
jetdriven Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Oil on the nose gear door isn't blowby, it's a leak. A common one is the rocker box drain tube hoses. Quote
bonal Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Oil on the nose gear door isn't blowby, it's a leak. A common one is the rocker box drain tube hoses. This makes sence, if it were an internal problem your mess would be from the exhaust pipe. Removing the plugs is an easy way to see if oil is making it past the rings good idea. I would remove the cowl and get my eyes on every thing. Quote
JaredDavis Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 First thing I check when I see oil on the nose gear is the rocker box cover gaskets. If you see oil at the bottom of the cover, time for a new gasket. Not sure if 1/2 quart can leak out the RBC in 1/2 hour. Quote
Shadrach Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Check the accessory case as well. Did you do a mag check after landing (given the odd vibration)? If a mag has come loose it will puke oil. Quote
RobertGary1 Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 May be s few things going on. But if you were blowing smoke and had a rough idle in final it's worth the few minutes to check the plugs. You can tell a lot about your engine with the plugs out. -Robert Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 Guess I should mention the oil on the gear door is on the outside of the gear door . I didn't do a mag check upon landing as the plane seemed to run fine after touchdown. I really need to get back to the airport and check the exhaust pipe but may need to wait till Monday. Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 Heh, RobertGary1. I thought it was funny the problem I had with the plane today is when I took my brother Robert on his first flight. Oh, and my name is Gary. And yes the plugs will tell a story. Quote
Yetti Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 If you have a handheld laser thermometer you could warm it up, then check exhaust temps. If you have a cooler one start pulling plugs there first. Take your 30 dollah inspection camera and look around for leaks on the side it it leaking Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 well , I had a few minutes to check and the engine is a little "wet" but the oil is clearly coming out the breather tube. It actually dripped a couple of drops while I was there. No oil on the exhaust pipe. I'll run by and pull the bottom plugs in the morning. thanks for all the ideas. Quote
jetdriven Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 The breather tube extends under the firewall. So where is the oil in the gear door coming from? Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 the oil was on the outside of the door. nothing inside. Belly was oily as well Quote
jetdriven Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 The oil on the nose gear door isn't coming from the breather. So where is it coming from ? Quote
Marauder Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Check the oil lines going to the cooler... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Posted March 21, 2015 It appears the breather tube was actually spitting oil onto the outside of the gear door. I don't know but it is aiming right at the spot where the oil was. Can the tube shoot oil out at pressure? Quote
ryoder Posted March 22, 2015 Report Posted March 22, 2015 Mine does this too but not violently. I have a high time engine and it expels some oil on the pilots side nose gear door on my C. The floor get a bit of oil from there too. I think it's normal to have some oil come out the breather but not tons of it. I think it's called blow,by and is caused by worn rings but don't take my word for it. Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Posted March 22, 2015 Im hoping it is just a ring problem. 105smoh on engine so it is hopefully just one cylinder that didn't break in properly. It is coming out fairly heavy. Hoses all seem good. Quote
Wesley brown Posted March 22, 2015 Report Posted March 22, 2015 Pull the cowl Check the plugs for wet or black fowling Sounds like you have ring blow by creating positive pressure in a negative pressure zone This creates the blow by and burns oil above your piston in the compression side of the head. The positive pressure will pressurize your case in return blows oil out of the breather tube. Worst case replace cylinder or hone and re ring if it's within tolerances In some cases rings tend to stick especially with straight mineral oil due to high temps on break in. Just my two cents! Oh pull your filter cut it and see what's in there! Quote
garysuperpilot Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Posted March 22, 2015 That's what I'm hoping. Would explain my high oil usage as well. Quote
robert7467 Posted March 22, 2015 Report Posted March 22, 2015 There should be a hole on your breather tube. Chech that! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.