I
removed the engine on Friday. Dropped the pan today, Sunday. The first thing I
saw was the spring from the pressure control valve dangling from the bottom of
the engine/engine mount. Then, as now expected, the pressure control valve
sitting in the pan.
Well, to quote Mythbuster's "There's your
problem.". So, now to re-read the install to see what I missed and perhaps add
some Lock Tight.
There is plenty of room to corner drill the plate. Screw on the cap. Torque
it. Mark the cap where it needs to be drilled. Drill the cap. Drill the plate.
Safety wire it.
What brand of sealant do you use? I'm buying some stock.
Scribe the pan rail where that hole in the plate extends over the edge of
the rail, to be sure the sealant bead closes off that location.
Red Locktite is "Stud and bearing mount" Very strong bonding. Needs lots of
heat to kill it for part removal.
In aluminum to aluminum you might get all of the threads left in one piece
or the other. I kept flywheels on Cosworth cranks with red Locktite. Hardened
Locktite is like chunks of a diamond loose in the engine. The less you use
internally the better. Quickly wipe away the excess where able. A single 1/8"
bead of sealant on the pan rail is plenty so long as it fully connects both
surfaces. Run around the inside of the pan bolt holes of course. Let it gell up
for a few minutes before installing the pan. This for advanced players, and
maybe a bad idea for aircraft, but if you just let it gell up real good, say for
15 minutes, and oil the opposing surface very lightly, before installing the
pan, it will seal fine. And, the pan will come off with all of the silicone
stuck to it and nothing on the engine. No mess. The best part was (for me), you
can put it right back on the engine and it wouldn't leak. Important when running
a baffle plate between pan and engine.
That very pickup screen is what made Mistral's engine oil foam
so badly and then over heat. talked to Frances about that in the engine tent the
first time he came to Sun&Fun. They were afraid to leave the pattern with
it, so It was not seen at the show. They had very little excess capacity in the
oil coolers. Typical of engineers. They calculate the rejection they need and
buy that exact cooler.
They made up their own oil pump body so the rear rotor got its own supply
of oil. The FD twin turbo engine has this same pump mod in stock form. They took
out the multigrade 50 Wt. airplane oil. Put in a straight weight car oil. Its a
car engine you know.
No long polymer strings to help foam the oil. I bet the airplane oil came
out of the rotors like clumps of black snot.
A real airplane with a rotary engine in the rotary line would have
been a big help for all concerned.
The first rotary racer I built I used a Pontiac bug screen and made a
trumpet shape for the end of the pickup. Mistral threw away the screen and put a
flat screen in the baffle plate about in the center of your mounting plate. I
don't know if they modify the pickup tube end.
I see you have very little room to work in that awful looking pan. Too
Bad.
FYI, I lapped the flange on the pickup dead flat, and put it on with two
new screws torqued and safety wired.
I used no gasket or sealant. That is because that cheap paper gasket
would worry to death and many of my gifted engines had a piece of that gasket
missing, letting in air, and foaming the oil.
As you can see, a little silicone stuck to a "already too small"
bug screen can get you into trouble quickly.
Love the motor mount.
Recheck the oil pan screw torque after a few hours.
If there are no (or very few) sparklies in the pan or oil filter paper, you
are good to go. The filter will get a very few very small sparklies and some
silicone sealant is normal and acceptable. Check the filter paper on every oil
change.
Lynn E. Hanover