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Tempest oil change tools pirep


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I'm sure anyone that did their first oil change on a Mooney wished they had bought stock in the blue paper towel company. It didn't seem like you could get the oil filter off fast enough as it is gushing oil everywhere.

 

The first two oil changes I did, my front landing gear was well lubed. I read all the threads about tips and tricks. The one I was going to try the second time I didn't, but wished I had. I was going to punch a hole on the filter then hit it with some compressed air.

 

And hey if Clarence says he does it, I know I should at least try. After 84 hours on the plane I was just getting ready to do my third oil change. I came across Tempest new easy drain oil filter drain tool. It punches a hole in the filter and the oil drains out through a hose.

 

I bought it, and after a little bit of figuring out the best timing of putting it on and the hose on to it. I tightened everything down and let it do its thing. After letting things drain over night I took it off taped over the hole and spun the filter off.

 

There was very little oil that came out and very pleased with the way it worked. Next time to speed things up I might use it to punch the hole on the top of the filter and try the compressed air. But either way this is a win for me.

 

I bought the torque wrench after the first oil change. It's expensive but after using it for two oil changes it's paid for its self. I highly recommend both of them.

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35 minutes ago, xcrmckenna said:

I bought the torque wrench after the first oil change. It's expensive but after using it for two oil changes it's paid for its self. I highly recommend both of them.

A word of caution about the Tempest torque wrench - mine was a little "strong" out of the box, you may want to check it against a known good torque wrench before using it. I'd guess most are probably ok out of the box, but mine wasn't.

Cheers,
Rick

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Can't you just punch a hole with an awl? What's the advantages of the specific tool?

You could. The tool just has a screw and a spicket built into it so you mount it onto the oil filter attach a hose to it. Twist the screw into it, back it out and the oil drains down the hose. I could use a punch to make a hole if I use compressed air but this is very clean and simple. No hammers needed.


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But then you have a hose with oil that has to drain out.....   Since I wipe the plane off each time I fly it, I have a trash can full of blue rags.  That and a custom bent and fitted piece of sheet aluminum keeps most of the oil off the floor.  Till I drop a wrench in the bucket.

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But then you have a hose with oil that has to drain out.....   Since I wipe the plane off each time I fly it, I have a trash can full of blue rags.  That and a custom bent and fitted piece of sheet aluminum keeps most of the oil off the floor.  Till I drop a wrench in the bucket.

I always let the oil drain over night so by the next morning there is no oil in the hoses.


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Leaving a plane over night to drain is not an option for most shops.  I have a variety of different draining tools and troughs for different airplane types.  In the end what ever works for you needs and makes it spill free is what you should use.

Clarence

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10 minutes ago, Yetti said:

But then you have a hose with oil that has to drain out.....   Since I wipe the plane off each time I fly it, I have a trash can full of blue rags.  That and a custom bent and fitted piece of sheet aluminum keeps most of the oil off the floor.  Till I drop a wrench in the bucket.

I wipe my plane with cotton. Drain filter with shallow aluminum trough, see the Downloads section for a short powerpoint.

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I just bought this tool, but haven't used it yet. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who got sick of lubing the whole nose. Prior to the tool, I'd drill a hole in the top, put a half cut quart jug under it and catch it that way. Not very convenient.

I use the same oil filter wrench, like this, as I do on my car. Touch the gasket and 3/4 turn.

 

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Since there are 4 of us, doing it ourselves cost us about 4-6 hours (travel and work time for the 2 of us doing the work) and only saved us $15 each.  We let our mechanic do it!

Each owner has their logistics. My closest mechanic is a 40 minute flight away and the MSC I use is an hour + flight away. I'm 10 minutes from my plane, and I enjoy working on my plane.


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2 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:


Each owner has their logistics. My closest mechanic is a 40 minute flight away and the MSC I use is an hour + flight away. I'm 10 minutes from my plane, and I enjoy working on my plane.


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You and me both, except it takes me 5 inutes from work or 20 minutes from home to reach the hangar. Changing the oil, including waiting for it to drain, isn't much over an hour [plus time spent looking for things I've set down, and redoing the safety wire once or twice . . . ).

Plus, I get to fly once around the pattern to warm up the oil, and another lap afterwards!  :lol:

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You and me both, except it takes me 5 inutes from work or 20 minutes from home to reach the hangar. Changing the oil, including waiting for it to drain, isn't much over an hour [plus time spent looking for things I've set down, and redoing the safety wire once or twice . . . ).
Plus, I get to fly once around the pattern to warm up the oil, and another lap afterwards!  :lol:

Exactly, not only do you get the enjoyment out of flying the plane that leads to requiring the oil change but you get two added flights for the oil change:) I tell the better half it's a must.....


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18 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:

Real mechanics might laugh at me for using these gadgets:) But I'm far from an A&P and they work well for me having all the time I need to mess around with them.


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Oh and don't believe for a second that I would look down on someone for buying a tool.   Tools are always cool.

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5 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:


Each owner has their logistics. My closest mechanic is a 40 minute flight away and the MSC I use is an hour + flight away. I'm 10 minutes from my plane, and I enjoy working on my plane.


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Yep.  Not knocking those who do their own work.  Good on ya.  We did it for awhile too.  Just letting everybody know that I'm not only cheap but lazy too!  But remember, if it weren't for lazy people nothing new would ever be invented!

The 4 of us live 35 minutes east, 45 south, 45 north, and 45 north of the plane.  Our mechanic is a 45 second walk from his hangar to ours and his rates are good.  I don't even change the oil on my car anymore.  The space below them has decreased and my thickness has increased to the point that it's just too hard.

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19 hours ago, xcrmckenna said:


You could. The tool just has a screw and a spicket built into it so you mount it onto the oil filter attach a hose to it. Twist the screw into it, back it out and the oil drains down the hose. I could use a punch to make a hole if I use compressed air but this is very clean and simple. No hammers needed.


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I had one of these on order from Aircraft Spruce and cancelled the order after waiting for several months. Must have been when they were doing the redesign. I saw they are for sale again at $40. I love the concept but looking at the construction, I'm finding it hard to see $4 dollars worth of materials, let alone their $40 asking price. I wonder if JEGs or any of the oil filter manufacturers have a tool like this. On my F350, it is easy to poke a hole in the bottom of the filter with an awl and catch it in a basin. Little harder on these filters sitting sideways.

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Yep.  Not knocking those who do their own work.  Good on ya.  We did it for awhile too.  Just letting everybody know that I'm not only cheap but lazy too!  But remember, if it weren't for lazy people nothing new would ever be invented!
The 4 of us live 35 minutes east, 45 south, 45 north, and 45 north of the plane.  Our mechanic is a 45 second walk from his hangar to ours and his rates are good.  I don't even change the oil on my car anymore.  The space below them has decreased and my thickness has increased to the point that it's just too hard.

Nope, I totally get it. In that situation $15 is a bargain. I'm still a new first time airplane owner so I go up and see my plane about two times a day:) So it's good times changing the oil and putting hands on to systems I've only read about on Mooney Space.


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I had one of these on order from Aircraft Spruce and cancelled the order after waiting for several months. Must have been when they were doing the redesign. I saw they are for sale again at $40. I love the concept but looking at the construction, I'm finding it hard to see $4 dollars worth of materials, let alone their $40 asking price. I wonder if JEGs or any of the oil filter manufacturers have a tool like this. On my F350, it is easy to poke a hole in the bottom of the filter with an awl and catch it in a basin. Little harder on these filters sitting sideways.

I got mine on pilot shop, pretty much Aircraft Spruce. If it holds up over the years it will be money well spent. But the twist screw is the part I'm most worried about. The little T handle breaking. I have just enough space to mount it on the bottom of the filter and still get the hose attached. So right now it's a win. Far better than the first two times I changed the oil.... But that was because I was being stubborn and thought I can get that filter off faster than everyone else..... But those damn threads just kept going and going and going!!!!


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On a side note when I bought my oil I also got a Tempest oil filter to stock the one about to get used. When I got the filter Tempest came out with a new gasket for the filter. They say it doesn't need lubrication and should come off very easy. Has anyone tried one yet? I won't know how well they work for another 30 hours.


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  • 5 months later...
On 10/24/2017 at 8:07 PM, Junkman said:

A word of caution about the Tempest torque wrench - mine was a little "strong" out of the box, you may want to check it against a known good torque wrench before using it. I'd guess most are probably ok out of the box, but mine wasn't.

Cheers,
Rick

I just found out the hard-way that mine is more than a little "strong"; ask me how I know.  Any idea if we can re-calibrate it ourselves?  I just emailed their technical support.

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3 hours ago, Bryan said:

I just found out the hard-way that mine is more than a little "strong"; ask me how I know.  Any idea if we can re-calibrate it ourselves?  I just emailed their technical support.

I didn't follow up to get the wrench recalibrated. I'm interested in what you hear from tech support. There was a calibration certificate in the box that had some information on where to send it for recalibration, but of course I cleverly filed it somewhere that I can't find it.

Cheers,
Rick

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