I found two problems on my ES that affected oil temp. Not enough air
getting to the oil cooler box and not enough opening in the back of the cowl to
create a low pressure area.
I routed a 2 1/2 inch scat tube from just inside the left inlet back to the
oil cooler and dumped it into the box. I, also, created an electric flap
out of the rear section of the nose gear fairing. It opens to create about
20 square inches of exit area for air behind the engine.
I now see climbout temps on really hot days, at 120 kts, of 215-220 on oil
and 420 or so on CHT. After stabilizing at cruise I usually see 190-195 on
oil and 380 on CHT, with the cowl flap closed.
When I winterize, I remove the scat tube and install a door on the oil
cooler box. On really cold days, I will see oil in the 175 range with door
closed and CHT in 300-320 range with cowl flap closed.
My .02 worth.
Jim Scales
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 7:44
PM
Subject: [LML] Oil temp's on ES
The fellow who bought my last
ES is not happy with the oil temp's he's been seeing lately, particularly on
climb-out. (This is with the normally aspirated IO-550-N.) The
oil temp seems to pop up to about 220 degrees, which he thinks is too
high. In cruise, it only comes back to about 195. He's already
jettisoned the door on the oil cooler, but that didn't make any
difference. I know there are quite a few ES drivers who monitor this
list, so how about some feedback on two questions;
(1) Are these oil
temperatures a problem? (Redline is 240, but 220 does seem high,
no?)
(2) Any suggestions for
getting them down?
We've talked about obvious
things like checking the baffling for tightness. His cylinder head
temp's all seem OK. I think he's considering an after-market, add-on oil
cooler, but that seems like an extreme solution. Ducting more air into
the oil cooler box would create other problems, like ducting it from
someplace, increased cooling drag, and the possibility of robbing cooling air
from somewhere else.
FYI, on another subject, he's
also having trouble with the blade seals on the MT prop, which have been
leaking grease. MT told him they "didn't do it that way any more," but
still want to charge him $600 for a prop with only about 150 hours on
it. This is to remedy what was obviously a design flaw, which they have
corrected. On that same prop, the spinner I got with it was badly
off-center, and the whole assembly had to be replaced. The factory did
send me a new one, but I was still out of pocket to have a prop shop change it
out and re-balance it (total about $350). Seems like MT warranty back-up
ain't all it should be.
Jim Cameron
Legacy in progress