Things to check at oil change

[OR75]

Upgrade to the silicon rocker cover gaskets and you will not have to worry about them again.  They are reusable, don't leak and problem free.

 

I still prefer the cork material gaskets.

[aaronk25]

I still prefer the cork material gaskets.

And why is that?

[fantom]

Often overlooked at annual and oil change time is checking and cleaning the oil pick up (finger) screen.

The maintenance manual calls for it, but it's a bit tough to get at and requires a little time on a creeper, so most shops skip it.

At least as important as cutting open your filter and probably more so if you're worried about the heath of your engine.

Check it out.

[jetdriven]

I just did that oil screen plug today. I have done is about 5 or 6 times in the past two years, and it still took an hour and a half, a creeper, sitting on the ground, 3 pairs of pliers, and two wrenches to do it. One of the most difficult jobs on the engine to do.  But worth doing every few oil changes.  Note, even with cam failure and a filter full of metal that screen was clean.

[tomn]

my hoses are also very old...24 yrs. My mechanic is hesitant to change them at annual, because apparently it is not an easy process given how tight the space is in a Mooney engine. He recommended changing them at overhaul, but for me that may still be a couple of years away (original engine, 1800 total time on it, 24 yrs old). For you guys who changed the hoses, how difficult is it?  Can it be done at annual, or should I wait for the overhaul?

Thanks

Stefan

'89 M20J

Stefan, the mechanics I have talked with since mine broke all say they should never go past 8 years of age - one said 6 years. They are not that expensive and the downside is not good. Something to think about.

Tom

[romair]

Hey Byron

I did a search on hoses on the forums, and noticed that you posted you invoice for the hoses you bought. You had listed the following hoses: Fuel pressure, Oil pressure, oil cooler X2, firewall to pump, pump to xducer, and xducer to servo. Also, in the same thread there was mentioning of MP hose. Does this include all the hoses firewall forward that need to be changed?

Thanks

Stefan

'89 M20J

[jetdriven]

Yes thats all hoses FWF but thats a 1977 -A3B6 conversion. The A3B6D has one different oil cooler hose (much longer and a 90 on the end), and 1978 and later M20J's have electrical transducers forward of the firewall for fuel and oil pressure. 1977 hoses go to a bulkhead fitting on the firewall for mechanical gauges.  In that case, the 1978-and-later hoses are a little shorter, but not much. Get the length from thr Mooney M20J IPC.

 

Manifold pressure gauge hose is a simple rubber hose. you can twist off the old hose ends and re-make it easily.

[jetdriven]

Assuming your aircraft has not been modified, if you give PHT, Inc. your aircraft make, model, and serial number and engine type they will send you an entire or partial hose kit. Tell them you want 124J integrally fire sleeved hoses. Mine fit perfectly, but they have a 90 day return policy. Byron walked me through it.

Jim

When I did the A3B6 engine, the accessory case is different. The hoses wont fit, and nobody had the hose info. Plus we didnt have the hose routing and saw 3-4 different routings. We hung the engine, installed some -4, and -6 AN fittings on everything, took a roll of auto parts store vacuum tubing and gave it hell with the measuring. Those hoses come in 1/8"  increments. 4 hours later we had the hose lengths, and it turned out awesome. I sent the list back to PHT and told them if they have a customer with an A3B6 conversion in a 1977 M20J, this is what they want.

[romair]

Mine is a 1989 J, A3B6D. I noticed in your previous post that you included the information about the correct oil cooler hoses. My engine is the stock engine with no mods, so hopefully PHT will be able to give me the correct size and length. Next will be convincing the mechanic to do it...

Stefan

[OR75]

normally, all hoses should have a ring with manufacturing date and a code that would allow a manufacturer to duplicate ( length and fittings)

variances can be teflon vs. rubber for the inside, firesleeving, cloth or teflon or steel braid cover.