I Didn't Want To... Felt I Had To | Lycoming 0-320 Head Removal

[@beechnasty]

Hey Carl, a bit late, but one recommendation is that as you remove cylinders, put the nuts back on the studs that go through the case halves and tighten on the cylinder flange. Doing this keeps preload on the cam and crank bearings that otherwise gets relieved when multiple cylinders are removed. That loss of preload can cause a spun bearing/engine failure due to oil starvation.

[@flywiththeguys]

Good news, we secured the through bolts!

[@IvanTv131]

@flywiththeguys Probably too late to do that. You screwed up at 6:59 already (you turned the crankshaft without having the thru-bolts torqued). That is exacerbated even more by the fact that you un-torqued the rear set of thru-bolts to remove the rear cylinder and turned the crankshaft with both sets of thu-bolts un-torqued. At this point it is likely that your main bearings have shifted in the case. Likely that a main bearing will spin on you in-flight, or have a main bearing support (part of crank-case) crack due to mis-alignments. If you develop oil pressure problems or an oil leak from under a nut on a thru-bolt, its a complete engine teardown. But you have no other choice that to send it at this point I guess...

[@RustyClam]

Back in the day, I used to rebuild car engines, and there was nothing more satisfying than tearing an engine down, sending the parts to the machine shop, getting them back, and putting the engine back together. And it actually would start up and run. I never got tired of that Volkswagen, Corvair 350, Chevy slant, six Chrysler and outboard motors.

[@flywiththeguys]

Automotive is where I got my mechanic know how. First real car I had blew the transmission 3 months after purchase. I got a transmission from a junk yard, haynes manual, and a cheap set of tools. Worked out in the end. Took me 2 weeks in the evenings, but I got it done. No regrets!

[@Wolficorntv]

Doesn't look too bad. My latest annual all 4 cylinders were sent off for repair (1800 hrs on them!!) Mechanic found pitting on the cam lobes, so planning on a new engine next annual. Not totally unexpected as it wasn't flying a ton before I bought it six years ago.

[@flywiththeguys]

That stinks. BUT I can say going from an old tired engine to a fresh one makes the plane feel like it has all kinds of performance. When I get there I'm just going to rebuild my own. Would be A LOT of fun.

[@paratyshow]

👍✅ great news Carl! Tks for the update.

[@flywiththeguys]

No problem 👍

[@WolfPilot]

Dont be sorry Carl. They have always been called jugs. Cylinder heads doesn't even make sense because the cylinder is attached. In an automotive context, the heads mount to the engine block. I just had to redo #6 cyl to resolve an oil burning issue. Fun times!

[@flywiththeguys]

I'm happy with the results so far. We need to ajust the piston rings just a bit, some of the ones with lower pressure differentials had piston ring gabs literally lined up. I'm hoping we can get all of them back up to the mid 70's!

[@steveb7310]

You definitely dodged a bullet with this one. Especially with the cam, the cylinders look great as well.

[@flywiththeguys]

I agree. We're excited to see the results. AND it looks like the put a storage oil in it, which makes me even happier!

[@ecossearthur]

Boom Boom!! 💥 💥

[@paratyshow]

👍✅ New identity @ecossearthur but still Booming? LOL

[@iansampson2492]

I remember field overhauling the IO540 in my Maule...was so much fun...farmed out cylinders had all ancillaries overhauled or replaced...new hoses ...She looked so good when we put back and ran perfectly....Cheers and good luck

[@flywiththeguys]

Thanks! I kind of feel the same way. Just got the cyl back so it's time for reassembly!

[@ElZorgot]

I have a question about machining aircraft engine parts.... That head you are going to have the FI port installed- does it have to be a machine shop that is somehow certified for aircraft work? Or can something like that be done by any competent machinist?

[@flywiththeguys]

I know in the experimental world the rules are looser and I had a competent machinist do it. But my guy is malicious! He works on some crazy stuff sent to him from around the world. I'm unsure on the certified side. Something I should check into!

[@InMyBrz]

Couple things I would have done different - I would have cleaned up the pistons by glass beading them and probably put NEW rings on them. Lightly honed the bore to put a new crosshatch pattern in them. And maybe pulled out all the valves and relapped them As long as you are in there ?

[@flywiththeguys]

I thought about those things. Should have done it. Not hard stuff to. to. Easy enough for me to take them off again. About an hours worth of work really. =)

[@99bx99]

When I was racing my Long EZ I'd pull the cylinders a couple times a year for one reason or another. I got the time down to one hour, 45 minutes to have all four sitting on the bench. Then.... about 8 hours to reinstall them, ready to push out of the hanger.

[@James1095]

Fascinating video. There's quite a lot of lead in 100LL avgas, I would be real careful handling those piston crowns with bare hands, wash thoroughly before handling food or touching your face. There's likely a fair bit of lead in that ash.

[@terryterry1655]

may i know if there is any Lycoming engine overhaul facilities in USA or Canada that allows owner of 0-320-d3g to overhaul under supervision and start up an engine overhaul centre back home (Malaysia) with Certificate of Accomplishment/Achievement.?thx in adv. btw ..any video on how to remove on from my PA28-161?

[@Kiwi0Six]

Six years? Nothing. The little Lycoming (O-290) on my bird had 730 hours and hadn’t run in 35 years! I’m cheating though and replacing it with an overhauled IO-360. (More power!!! 🤯) Looking forward to the vids on all your upgrades!

[@i.r.wayright1457]

On what aircraft? An 8KCAB? BTDT, you will need a prop, governor, engine mount, baffles and a hole in the firewall for the governor. You will need to fabricate a small metal box for the hole. If the paint bubbles on your cowling after the upgrade, get some 1/8" Fibrefrax from Aircraft Spruce. Glue it on the inside of the cowl with a couple coats of 3M 1300L contact cement, spray paint it silver and seal the edges with silicone. My customer was amazed after we did that. He said, " I can now put my hand on the cowl right after landing, and it is cool to the touch."

[@flywiththeguys]

I know what you mean. I'll have a LOT of power in this, but may consider putting the Rotax 915 on it.

[@Kiwi0Six]

​@@i.r.wayright1457 For me, it's on a Thorp t-18 that is being rebuilt. (BTW, The O-290 is smaller than any Decathlon ever had.) It's getting an entire new cowl, so that isn't an issue, and the firewall is being reworked as well. It's getting an all new Dynafocal engine mount. Thanks for the hints.

[@maheralazzawi7814]

good job

[@Blaircraft.Engines]

Good stuff!

[@flywiththeguys]

It looks like they put some storage oil in it and ran it all through the engine. It's incredibly lubricated and doesn't smell like normal oil. Another saving grace!

[@9HighFlyer9]

Does that make it an io-320? Or does the designation stay the same?

[@flywiththeguys]

The designation stays the same, but for all intensive purposes it will function like a IO.

[@Jeffrey-Flys]

Looks AMAZING after sitting for 6 years…. Was it pickled????? 😮

[@flywiththeguys]

I think so. The oil inside is THICK and stinks. Even my A&P thinks they did.

[@daveself6386]

Good luck with the champion plugs, ohm them out and you will find them all over the place, run some tempest plugs. Champion plug quality has gone down the tubes, i wouldn't run them in my mower anymore

[@flywiththeguys]

Thanks for the info. I've been hearing that recently. We'll see how things go.

[@jackielinde7568]

Just take the engine off and slap a Corvair 180HP Turbo engine in it's place. :P (I'm joking, but people have used Chevy Corvair engines in airplanes.)

[@flywiththeguys]

I'm seriously considering doing a crazy and going with a Rotax 915! All custom, more than enough power for fun, and it'll SIP fuel.

[@Ren200Z_MotoringLife]

simple engine , interesting

[@flywiththeguys]

Very! It's kind of crazy the FAA is so prohibitive in the process. We could have lower cost, higher efficacy, more reliable engines.

[@eugeneweaver3199]

🙌🙌🙌

[@flywiththeguys]

Agreed!

[@edstoro3883]

You should of run the entire video at warp speed. I would have gotten the same amount of information. Zero. I came here hoping to educate myself. I failed.

[@silverbucketaviation28]

First comment

[@flywiththeguys]

Was it? I have no idea. =)