Any Tips for One Man removal and reinstallation of a J model Cowling?

[M20F-1968]

I always have been waiting for an assistant before removing and reinstalling my cowling.  This gets to be a pain in the Xss and delays my progress.

I have a hotel style luggage stand (the type that fold) which I bought to try to prop up the cowling, but have not really given it a try.  Wondering if anyone has a procedure the they have used solo for a while the is reliable and which has not caused any cowling or spinner damage?

John Breda

[Peter T]

Hey John, I loosen all of the camlock‘s and attach one bungee cord on each side of the lower Cowl to support it so that it does not drop to the ground. I then roll an office chair, with the back removed, under the cowl. I unhook the bungee cords and allow the Cowl to sit on the chair. With the prop in the horizontal position it is easy to roll the chair,  with a cowl on it, out from under the airplane. Reinstalling it is just the reverse. See if that works for you.

Peter

[231MJ]

John, I have tried to do it without taking the spinner off but 75% of the time it did not work well.  Now I just take the 10 minutes of time to take the spinner off.  

Peter's approach is close to mine - I have a large box and a big piece of foam I put under the cowl and then lower it down - kinda hinging it from the back.  The reverse works well to get it back on.  Patience seems to be the trick for me.  I can do the whole cowl in a little about 30 minutes now.  

[PT20J]

First I set the prop horizontal and remove the top cowling. Then I take two of these (don’t recall the length) 

and hook one end around a pushrod shroud tube and the other end in a camlock receptacle about mid span of the lower cowl on each side. This will support the lower cowl while I unfasten the camlocs. Then, I kneel in front of the lower cowl and support it with one hand while I remove the straps with the other and then I can lower it and move it out if the way.

Skip

[M20F-1968]

I don't know if my cowling is particularly difficult to remove, but in order to get it on, I have to elevate the front so it fits behind the spinner, then get the back up and forward sufficiently so the firewall flange is between the outer skin and inner portion on the lower cowling.  Since I have always done this with 2 people, it seems that this has to be done with each side similarly elevated.  Could it be that my J model cowling is tighter and more difficult to install than others?

John Breda

[toto]

I put duct tape all the way around the spinner, sticky side away from the cowl, and use a nylon strap over the top of the engine. I open all of the camlocks with the strap in place, and then I sit on a creeper and pop the plastic clasp open so the lower cowl just falls in my lap. And the duct tape prevents scratching things up on reinstallation.

Here's the strap I use... I'd get one with a stronger clasp if I bought it again, but ymmv. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BSJVW59/

[jonhop]

When I need to remove or put on the bottom cowl by myself, I use an outdoor chair with a carpet runner draped over the arms. I loosen all the camlocks but the top two and then I slide the chair up under the nose to support the cowl. Since the chair doesn't have wheels and is a bit heavy, the chair easily holds the cowl in place. I then carefully remove the top camlocks while supporting the cowl with one hand. I then shift to the front of the plane and slide the chair directly away from the plane with one hand while holding the cowl in place with the other. This allows me to let the cowl slide down the chair/carpet to clear the prop. Once it's out far enough, I lift the cowl off the chair and store it vertically. I use the same procedure in reverse to put the cowl on. 

[EricJ]

I think the only thing special that I do is let the top camlock on one side sort of hang-up in the hole while I disconnect the top one on the other side (after the rest are released).   The top metal brace will pinch the fuselage edge and hold the camlock loose in the hole.  Then I release the other side, then waddle around holding it up from the front and wiggle out the hung-up camlock.   This works for me both putting it on an taking it off.   Took a little trial and error to figure out a process, but now I can do it by myself pretty quickly with not too much trouble.

 

 

[N201MKTurbo]

6 hours ago, EricJ said:

I think the only thing special that I do is let the top camlock on one side sort of hang-up in the hole while I disconnect the top one on the other side (after the rest are released).   The top metal brace will pinch the fuselage edge and hold the camlock loose in the hole.  Then I release the other side, then waddle around holding it up from the front and wiggle out the hung-up camlock.   This works for me both putting it on an taking it off.   Took a little trial and error to figure out a process, but now I can do it by myself pretty quickly with not too much trouble.

 

 

That’s how I do it.

[larrynimmo]

I am different....I have one of those spin around mechanics stool purchased from Harbor Freight.  And wow...it’s so easy.   It completely supports the lower cowl for removal or reinstall.  The seat height has a spring loaded hydraulic adjusted height.  This is so easy...never need a helping hand

another thing I do when it comes to installing the upper cowl is that I completely attach the upper cowl to the lower cowl before I tighten the cam locks below the windshield.  As I do those, I grab the cowl opening and pull up decreasing any gaps as I tightened upper cams.  The idea here is keeping the two pieces aligned together while mating rather than loading tension that might keep some fasteners from perfectly aligning.

to make my plane cleaner I replaced all of my anti-chafe plastic with thin fiberglass reinforced anti-chafe...wish I had done it sooner

[Bartman]

Safety wire is your friend.

Attach a long piece on each side to a cam lock hole and the other end to the metal baffle. After getting it hanging on the wires You can loosen and lengthen the wire and walk it down, then use a well placed wire cutter to detach. It works well for installation too. Just walk each side up evenly.