First Oil Change

[jbs007]

Hi everybody, I finally picked up my "new to me" Mooney (1966 M20E) and flew it out here to San Diego. I had the oil changed in FL before I left. After about 22 hrs on the tac I changed the oil myself and I have a few questions about it.

1. The oil was really dirty, but the burn rate was normal (about 2 qts in the 22 tac hours). Compressions are all mid- low 70's and the plane only flew about 80 hrs in the 4-5 years before I bought it. I am hoping it was really dirty cleaning ouut crap that sat there for years and the next oil change will be cleaner. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

2. I changed the oil and filter, but then I started reading about oil screens. Is this something else I have to check, or is it in lue of oil filter?

3. I have been recommended .5 to 1 qt Marvel Mystery oil with every change. Any thoughts? I had half a qt in the oil in the oil I just replaced.

4. How can I not spill oil everywhere removing the old filter? I have heard of filter relocation STC (anyone have a picture, description or price?) and a "pig funel (never heard of it before).

Unrelated Question: To bleed the brakes from the caliper, do I have to unscrew the nipple a little or do anything else to "open" it?

Thanks for all the help, this forum is great and helped me a lot in purchase!

[Hank]

There are a variety of ways to prevent spilling oil from your filter, ranging from stuffing a roll of paper towels under it to buying all kinds of fancy positionable funnels. I just use a piece of scrap aluminum, but drip edge from Home Depot/Lowe's will work just as well and is pretty cheap. Either way, you just need a piece about 3 feet long and a couple of inches wide.

Here is a photo of mine, and some action shots, too. If you start with simple scrap aluminum, be sure to bend it a little to make a trough shape, or the oil will run off the sides and make a large mess.

[Hector]

I use a piece of scrap aluminum just like Hank is showing in his pictures. You can also purchase a tool from spruce just for this purpose but you really don't need to. A piece of scrap aluminum or aluminum siding works great. I don't know about Marvel. I think you will find people here that swear by it (even though they might be hard pressed to produce real test data to support claims) and others that will tell you it might not do much but if it helps you feel better knock yourself out. I don't use Marvel, but I do use Camguard simply because I don't always get to fly every week and want some additional corrosion protection for my engine.

[1964-M20E]

There is a "finger oil screen" it is a long skinny screen that is removed fromt the engine on the passenger side. It is a real PIA (pain in the ass) to work. I genrally do that one at the annual and let the mechanic do it. I've done it while assisting the mechanic on the annual but it is a pain.

As for the brakes they can be bled similar to what you would do on a car. You might want to work with a mechanic on this.

Generally 50 hours if you have the spin on filter between oil changes but you did right since the plane was not flown much in the past several years.

As for the Marvel oil I've used and not used it durning oil changes. I'm not sure if it does much. Cam guard is another one of those things that some will swear by and others will not use.

[Mcstealth]

Unrelated Question: To bleed the brakes from the caliper, do I have to unscrew the nipple a little or do anything else to "open" it?

Bleeding brakes is not a one person job (On my Suzuki maybe but not reccomended.) Not insulting intelligence as if you are changing oil, you probably know this.

Open your reservoir and fill completely with fluid. As your helper has pumped up the brakes and holding them firm, you gently loosen the bleeder to allow trapped air to escape. On the bleeder you have attached clear flexible tubing so you may observe the escaping fluid, looking for air bubbles. The helper allows his feet to move with the escaping fluid you just released, but he/she does not pump again untill you close the bleeder. Repeat pump and bleed untill you have solid firm brake feel, and no air escaping (even tiny bubbles) from the bleeder. Don't let the fluid reservoir empty as this allows air to enter. If the fluid is really dark and ugly looking. keep adding fluid through the reservoir untill the fresh fluid is coming out of the bleeder. This can take a while. Don't let the brake fluid touch any painted surface and I don't care if it is DOT 5 or 500. Use a box end wrench with the clear tubing threaded first through the wrench so the wrench will stay in place if you take your hands off of it, ie refilling the fluid reservoir.

Piloto, did I get this right?

Sincerely

David

[Marauder]

Unrelated Question: To bleed the brakes from the caliper, do I have to unscrew the nipple a little or do anything else to "open" it?

Bleeding brakes is not a one person job (On my Suzuki maybe but not reccomended.) Not insulting intelligence as if you are changing oil, you probably know this.

Open your reservoir and fill completely with fluid. As your helper has pumped up the brakes and holding them firm, you gently loosen the bleeder to allow trapped air to escape. On the bleeder you have attached clear flexible tubing so you may observe the escaping fluid, looking for air bubbles. The helper allows his feet to move with the escaping fluid you just released, but he/she does not pump again untill you close the bleeder. Repeat pump and bleed untill you have solid firm brake feel, and no air escaping (even tiny bubbles) from the bleeder. Don't let the fluid reservoir empty as this allows air to enter. If the fluid is really dark and ugly looking. keep adding fluid through the reservoir untill the fresh fluid is coming out of the bleeder. This can take a while. Don't let the brake fluid touch any painted surface and I don't care if it is DOT 5 or 500. Use a box end wrench with the clear tubing threaded first through the wrench so the wrench will stay in place if you take your hands off of it, ie refilling the fluid reservoir.

Piloto, did I get this right?

Sincerely

David

And even more fun on older Mooneys' where the reservoir is on the firewall ON THE PILOT SIDE!

[BigTex]

+1 on the aluminum angle extrusion. I have a little can attached to the end that will catch the excess oil. It works great, just make sure you have it located correctly otherwise you end up with an Exxon Valdez situation... Don't ask how I know!

[thinwing]

the alumunum trough idea cannot be used on a Bravo..there simply is no room...so heres what i do..run the engine up and get it hot..crack open the quick drain and take a sharp scribe or phillips screwdriver..punch an air hole at the top end of the filter.Go have coffee or bs with the hanger bums.After an hour most of the oil will have drained back into engine...now take a heavy duty ziplock baggie and pull it arround the oil filter..use 1in opwn end to spin off while surrounded by baggie..about 2 oz will be in bag...remove oilfilter with baggie and cleanup is minimal..kpc

[kerry]

Zip lock bag is a good idea. I would punture the filter first and let the oil drain out of the filter prior to spining it off. The brakes are easy and is a one man job. Open the nipples on the caliper and run the old stuff out. The nipple only needs to be opened enough to get the fluid in. Buy one of those cheap oiling cans at walmart and some clear vinyl tubing. Pump up the fluid at the caliper and check to see if has come up into the reservior. Then do the other side. Top off the reservior when your done. A 2nd person is nice to have so they can tell you when the brake fluid is started to rise in the reservior.

[Cabanaboy]

How about provide some tips on tieing safety wire, i always have a hard time doing that. Photos would be great to. I have the tool and wire.

[N601RX]

I used this pump up sprayer from Lowes. It cost around $7 and will hold a whole quart of fluid which is more than enough to bleed dual brakes and flaps. Once pumped up it takes less than 20 seconds per side. It's also best to screw a fitting with a clear hose into the reservoir run it down the outside and place it in something. That way its easy for one person to tell when its full and their is no possibility of making a mess.

Also if the nipple doesn't have a rubber cap on it clean it out good and let a little fluid drain out of it. Otherwise your probably pushing dirt back into the system.

[BigTex]

How about provide some tips on tieing safety wire, i always have a hard time doing that. Photos would be great to. I have the tool and wire.

I would check out the EAA webinar's. They have a couple on doing safety wire. IIRC, the example they use is an oil filter.

[1964-M20E]

I used this pump up sprayer from Lowes. It cost around $7 and will hold a whole quart of fluid which is more than enough to bleed dual brakes and flaps. Once pumped up it takes less than 20 seconds per side. It's also best to screw a fitting with a clear hose into the reservoir run it down the outside and place it in something. That way its easy for one person to tell when its full and their is no possibility of making a mess.

Also if the nipple doesn't have a rubber cap on it clean it out good and let a little fluid drain out of it. Otherwise your probably pushing dirt back into the system.

So you are saying you reverse the flow from the brake caliper to the reservoir?

This is oppsite of how I have always done either airplane or car brakes. It would work no doubt maybe it has some advantages especialy since the bleed screw on the brake caliper on the Mooney is low in the system and you coudl have some air left in the caliper.

[N601RX]

So you are saying you reverse the flow from the brake caliper to the reservoir?

This is oppsite of how I have always done either airplane or car brakes. It would work no doubt maybe it has some advantages especialy since the bleed screw on the brake caliper on the Mooney is low in the system and you coudl have some air left in the caliper.

Yes, the fluid goes in the low point and the air goes out the high point. I've done cars from the top down, but never tried it on the Mooney. It would seem to me like you would have trouble getting the air out of the caliper with the bleed screw in the bottom, unless you unbolted it and held it upside down.

[N33GG]

Also recommend Blackstone Labs for oil analysis. Free kits mailed to you, $25 per analysis. I like having that history of 6+ oil sample reports for engine wear trend information. YMMV, Anthony

Ditto: With the limited hours flown in the last 4-5 years, I would want the oil checked for the first few changes at least.

[fantom]

How about provide some tips on tieing safety wire.....

Practice!

Oil charges are supposed to be messy....it's a rite of passage

[jbs007]

Ha, thanks everyone! Thanks for the pics Hank, looks like the way to go. Looking forward to bleeding my brakes later today. I might be by myself so I'll do it from the caliper up. I did take an oil sample, but I forget the name of the company right now.

I'd like to do 50 hr changeseventually, but we'll see how the oil looks in 25.

[Newmooneyguy]

This may be redundant, but can't you puncture the oil filter before removing it and open the quick drain? Would that not allow the residual oil in the filter to end up in the engine and then out the quick drain?

[Newmooneyguy]

Also, my buddy changes his oil every 25 and filter every 50. Sound like a good plan.

[fantom]

This may be redundant, but can't you puncture the oil filter before removing it and open the quick drain? Would that not allow the residual oil in the filter to end up in the engine and then out the quick drain?

Yes...that's what I do. Usually let it sit either overnight or for several hours.

[DaV8or]

You have a vintage Mooney, so you can use what I came up with. A piece of PVC pipe, a cap, vise grips and a pipe hangar from Lowes. Rock solid and no mess every time. Combined with the quick drain oil drain and a hose, makes oil changes pretty mess less. Worst part is just the safety wire now and that's not even that bad anymore.

Slide the cut end of the pipe under the oil filter, clamp the hanger to the cowl brace with the vise grips, put the bucket under the pipe, crack the oil filter loose and walk away for a good while. When you get sick of waiting for the last drops to come out, just put the cap on.

[Newmooneyguy]

First oil change today on my M20E by myself. Didn't have stuff to make a trough, but wrapped the filter in a ziplock bag as suggested and it worked great.

[jetdriven]

Dave, you might want to get those zip ties off the engine mount. They saw into the tube and its an 8 grand repair

[tony]

I zip tie things just like Dave. What would you suggest we use as a replacement? What do you use Byron?

[jetdriven]

DG7 adel clamps around the engine mount tubes. The largest tubes IIRC are DG10. I do have one zip tie where the breather hose goes past the engine tube, there was NFW I could get an adel there to work. I wrapped the engine mount tube a few times with electrical tape first.

for those plug wires on the RH side that go to the bottom plugs on #1 and #3, I used a 90 degree twist bar that comes with the magneto kit. You could make one though. That is in picture #3.