Prop control stiff and responds sluggishly after oil change

[DXB]

My grasp of prop governor function is a little tenuous, and so I'm reaching out for some guidance.  I flew yesterday briefly and noted no issues with my prop control during run-up or in flight.   I then changed my oil and filter, refilling with the same oil as before (Aeroshell W100).  When I did a runup before recowling, the prop control was suddenly very stiff, and I had a hard time getting it to reach the end of its travel, which is needed to produce an rpm drop at 1700-1800rpm.  I let the oil temp warm up some more and tried at again - same issue.  Since the governor sits right under the oil filter on the back of the accessory case,  I wondered if I'd left a shop towel or rag behind that was impeding travel of the control arm on the governor.  I inspected the area carefully and found no such issue.  I then noted the cable to be hard to pull out even with the engine off with no oil pressure, so I'm guessing the issue is intrinsic to the cable or the governor?  I was going to try lubing the cable next, but I really don't get what I might have done to cause this problem in the course of an oil change.  I'm also not feeling enthusiastic at the moment about going into the air again without such understanding.  

[takair]

The stiffness of the cable is likely unrelated to the oil and likely the result of somehow repositioning the cable.  The cable is really just repositioning a valve and you should notice little difference with engine running or not.  I think it would be best to investigate if something changed.

[RLCarter]

Check to make sure you didn't bind the cable somehow while in that area. You could remove the cable from the prop gov. that would isolate the two, but my guess is the cable was moved some how and is not pulling straight anymore 

[DXB]

Thanks it's a relief to know it's not the governor or downstream of it.  Will focus on the cable!

[Tx_Aggie]

Did you ever find the resolution? Mines doing the same after an oil change recently.

[EricJ]

7 minutes ago, Tx_Aggie said:

Did you ever find the resolution? Mines doing the same after an oil change recently.

+1 on disconnecting the cable at the governor.   That should isolate whether the resistance is in the cable or the governor.   They're not easy to get at, but it's a good start to diagnosing.  

[Tx_Aggie]

21 minutes ago, EricJ said:

+1 on disconnecting the cable at the governor.   That should isolate whether the resistance is in the cable or the governor.   They're not easy to get at, but it's a good start to diagnosing.  

Thanks I appreciate it. 

[carusoam]

On 5/14/2021 at 9:11 PM, Tx_Aggie said:

Did you ever find the resolution? Mines doing the same after an oil change recently.

Let’s invite @DXB Dev to the conversation....

Best regards,

-a-

[DXB]

17 hours ago, carusoam said:

Let’s invite @DXB Dev to the conversation....

Best regards,

-a-

Sorry never figured this one out  it just went away.  I think it might have been the cable.

[takair]

On 5/14/2021 at 9:11 PM, Tx_Aggie said:

Did you ever find the resolution? Mines doing the same after an oil change recently.

The bend in the cable to align with the governor occupies roughly the same space that your mechanic wants to be in to change the oil filter.  Very possible it inadvertently got rerouted a little.  Sometimes it doesn’t take much to cause issues like this.  In Dev’s case, likely vibrated back to its happy place...sometimes you need to help it back....

[Tx_Aggie]

Fortunately my control only needed to be greased a little bit, all was fine firewall forward. Thanks for the comments though, I’ll keep all of this in mind for future reference!