Mooney whipped my ass today

[Jpravi8tor]

I got all new engine hoses, getting them off took 2 full days! getting them on forget about it!

I have removed all cowlings all scat hoses even the exhaust and still don't have enough room for my meathooks. I'm think i should have removed the engine it would have been easier!

[Shadrach]

The gauge lines are bit of a PITA to connect to the engine as I recall, but the line running from the governor to he prop control fitting is the most time consuming to route and secure. Still, two days seems like an awful lot. Admittedly, it’s much easier to contend with some of the hoses with the engine on a hoist.

[N201MKTurbo]

If you loosen the lower motor mount bolts so the engine can pivot, grab the engine with a hoist. Remove the top motor mount bolts (the 1/4 inch ones), you can pivot the engine down a bit. Just be mindful of the control cables. 

[Don Gates]

14 hours ago, Jpravi8tor said:

I got all new engine hoses, getting them off took 2 full days! getting them on forget about it!

I have removed all cowlings all scat hoses even the exhaust and still don't have enough room for my meathooks. I'm think i should have removed the engine it would have been easier!

There is a pair of hoses on my C that go from the accessory case down to the cowl mounted oil cooler.  They are secured to the firewall with a pair of “butterflied” adel clamps.  Getting those adel clamps loose is difficult.  Getting them back on without tilting the engine mount or pulling the engine entirely is well nigh impossible.  When I installed mine during the engine change I had bad dreams about those oil lines being too short or too long, and in the end I would have liked them to be .25 inch shorter, but it worked out. Thankfully I used the expensive Teflon hose that has a longer service life than standard Aeroquip hose because I dread ever having to do anything with them again….

[Jerry 5TJ]

1 hour ago, Don Gates said:

There is a pair of hoses on my C that go from the accessory case down to the cowl mounted oil cooler.  They are secured to the firewall with a pair of “butterflied” adel clamps.  Getting those adel clamps loose is difficult.  Getting them back on without tilting the engine mount or pulling the engine entirely is well nigh impossible.

I still vividly recall changing those oil cooler hoses in my E model, even though it was close to 30 years ago.   It was awful. 

[Jpravi8tor]

I’m currently hoping to wake up from this nightmare!

[mike_elliott]

If it were easy, anyone could be a Mooney Mechanic

[kerry]

If your battery box is up front, then it needs to be removed to get access to the oil cooler hoses.

[Guest]

23 hours ago, Jpravi8tor said:

I got all new engine hoses, getting them off took 2 full days! getting them on forget about it!

I have removed all cowlings all scat hoses even the exhaust and still don't have enough room for my meathooks. I'm think i should have removed the engine it would have been easier!

Sounds like you’re spending too much time on the first letters in your signature and not enough on the last letters.  It’s a Mooney, they have parts that are a challenge to work on, but not impossible.

[Jpravi8tor]

2 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

Sounds like you’re spending too much time on the first letters in your signature and not enough on the last letters.  It’s a Mooney, they have parts that are a challenge to work on, but not impossible.

true, true there once was a time when all I did was work on piston aircraft but now at age 60 working on the ramp in the sun in Georgia(it was 92 Degrees the other day) can be challenging add in the part where the plane is a mooney and bam instant can of whoopass! I will overcome and one day get this bird in a hangar but until then I shall remain

humbled by my Mooney!

[A64Pilot]

Adel clamps are a whole lot easier to deal with if you first clamp them shut with needle nose vise grips with an awl or phillips screwdriver  in them to hold alignment, wrap safety wire around the base and tighten, with them on the hose of course, then line them up and put the screw through, for double clamps attached to each other it really makes life easier.

[Skates97]

40 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

Adel clamps are a whole lot easier to deal with if you first clamp them shut with needle nose vise grips with an awl or phillips screwdriver  in them to hold alignment, wrap safety wire around the base and tighten, with them on the hose of course, then line them up and put the screw through, for double clamps attached to each other it really makes life easier.

When my AP/IA taught me this trick it was life changing.

[A64Pilot]

Just now, Skates97 said:

When my AP/IA taught me this trick it was life changing.

I think I was working on aircraft for a year or two until I saw it done, it’s like the Ajax on a screwdriver trick or using vise grips to remove panel screws or cutting the head on a panel screw making it a slotted screw. Things you pick up after school

[Guest]

1 hour ago, A64Pilot said:

Adel clamps are a whole lot easier to deal with if you first clamp them shut with needle nose vise grips with an awl or phillips screwdriver  in them to hold alignment, wrap safety wire around the base and tighten, with them on the hose of course, then line them up and put the screw through, for double clamps attached to each other it really makes life easier.

I tell my apprentices to develop some finger strength for holding Adel clamps. No need to destroy them while installing them.  You could also use the Cirrus style of Adel clamp with the locking feature, they hold themselves together making assembly of multiple clamps simpler.

[jaylw314]

They're $35 at Aircraft Spruce  

[EricJ]

I have one of these that works pretty well to hold adel clamps in some cases, but in many cases with limited access it can be hard to find something that works.

https://aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?id=HANDECLAMP-1

[N201MKTurbo]

36 minutes ago, EricJ said:

I have one of these that works pretty well to hold adel clamps in some cases, but in many cases with limited access it can be hard to find something that works.

https://aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?id=HANDECLAMP-1

Nice find, I'll have to get one of those.

[jamesm]

or a couple of wraps of 0.020 safety wire around the adel clamp works some times works.

[Mkruger2021]

The tool above is great which I used to do the same PITA job you just described. Also as a jet mechanic, we use a good old pair of reverse safety wire pliers on the Adel clamp. Then put it in reverse to remove the wire. Use the awl to align it all up before hand! hope that helps.... 

[BKlott]

On 9/24/2022 at 9:45 AM, Jerry 5TJ said:

I still vividly recall changing those oil cooler hoses in my E model, even though it was close to 30 years ago.   It was awful. 

30 years?

[carusoam]

Crummy memories can last through a lot of trauma….  

Best regards,

-a-

[47U]

The Clamp Keeper is good for tight spaces.  It’s works with both #8 and #10 threaded fasteners.  Pricey, though… a 10-spot and change per, but sold only in lots of 5 by Monroe Aerospace.  I’m passing my extras out to my IA and fellow knuckle-draggers.

[MooneyMitch]

30 minutes ago, 47U said:

The Clamp Keeper is good for tight spaces.  It’s works with both #8 and #10 threaded fasteners.  Pricey, though… a 10-spot and change per, but sold only in lots of 5 by Monroe Aerospace.  I’m passing my extras out to my IA and fellow knuckle-draggers.

Yep!! 

[cliffy]

Next time the engine is off put rivnuts in the firewall.