Re: Building the EX3 - Tips & Hints
ENGINE INSTALL
NOTE: UPDATE OCT 2020. All the info below is for installing the Aerosport assembled engines that are painted black. Later serial numbers will come with the Lycoming assembled engines and they are painted silver. There are several things different on these Lycoming engines that have to be done:
1) You will have to remove a metal shipping plate they install between the fuel servo and the intake air box. There are 4 bolts and you have to fully remove the bottom 2 and just loosen the top 2 and the plate will slip out to the bottom. There should be a gasket already in place. Re-install the bolts; torque and safety wire together.
NOTE: If you have the new style, all black coils......the bracket that holds them will interfere with you installing the fuel transducer ("red cube") it goes on top of the fuel servo and this new bracket will not let you screw it into the fittings you install on top of the servo. So when you remove this metal shipping plate, remove completely 3 of the bolts that hold the servo in place so you can rotate it slightly. Since it only needed a small amount of room, I removed 3 bolts from the aft side of the servo where it mounts to the intake manifold and 3 from the front bracket. I left the pilot left, lower bolts in and then just rotated the servo clockwise (up...as looking from the front) enough to make room to screw in the fuel transformer. That worked. The installation of the fuel transducer is on Page 22 and I discuss it more in a later post here. Note again that the FF18 has an incorrect part listed. AN911-2D should be AN911-2J.
2) You should have some paperwork with the engine (Service Letters, etc) and one of them explains that if you are using a constant speed prop, you will have to knock out the plug that is inside the crankshaft in the big hole just behind where the prop bolts on.
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This plug is installed for fixed pitched props so that oil does not go up to where the prop governor/prop would be. Since we are using the constant speed, we will want to knock out this plug so oil can flow from the engine to them. I used a big punch and hit the plug (hard) all around the edges and center and just gently hit the plug along the very edge with a screwdriver or chisel to pop it out until it comes loose and you can grab it. Notice in the photo the center hole is in the center of the plug, so you can't hit it too much on the very edges. Don't drill a hole as the metal shavings would contaminate the oil/engine.
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3). You will have to install the alternator. The drawing is now in the new Dropbox FWF manual. I didn't have most all of the bolts, nuts and washers needed so check with your inventory and get the stuff you need to order off to CC. One thing they don't show is that you do have to drill out both sides of the mounting holes in the alternator. There is a separate drawing that shows that (not in the manual). If you are looking at the alternator from the front of the aircraft as it will mount, the bolt that the wires will attach to will on the bottom, back, right. The bolt hold on the right is threaded and you have to drill it out to 0.332 so the AN5-17A bolt will pass through it. This equates to a LETTER SIZE Q drill bit. A 21/64" is .3281 and is too small. 11/32" is .3438. The other hole is not threaded and will take the AN7-15A bolt and is to be drilled out to .469". a 15/32" will work at .4688.
NOTE: The last couple of kits I've gotten have come with the SK56121-001 Tension Arm, Alternator and SK56122-001 Boss Mount Bracket, Alternator....powder coated. THIS WON'T WORK as these parts are used as a GROUND for the alternator. You must remove all the powdercoat to bare metal where it attaches to the alternator and engine!!!! (ask me how I know......)
4) I have noticed some differences in the Lycoming Engine as well when flying and breaking in (so far). I found that I do NOT need to put tape on the oil cooler as I did on the Aerosport engine. I used the Aerosport M100 (50 wt mineral oil) in temps around 50 degrees and had no problem with the oil gelling in the cooler as I did on the Aerosport. Here is what happens:
There is a "vernatherm" (like an oil thermostat) in the system that opens and lets oil flow to the oil cooler to be cooled when it reaches a certain temperature. In the Aerosport, it would be around 186-187 or so. In the Lycoming, it's been about 182-183. When the oil is cooler, the vernatherm shuts off the oil flow to the oil cooler and lets it get warmer inside the engine until it heats enough to once again open the vernatherm and let it flow again into the cooler.
Now, the problem. M100, 50 wt mineral oil is very very thick. When it's very cold outside and it's blowing into the oil cooler, it will actually "gel" the oil in there. Then the engine oil heats up to the vernatherm temp (like 182 in Lycoming) and lets the oil go to the cooler.....BUT.....the oil is so cold and thick (M100) that it essentially clogs up the oil cooler and the oil can't flow into the cooler to be cooled .....so it just keeps getting hotter and hotter. I saw my oil temps rise fairly rapidly to like 206-210. If CHT's look ok, then you know it's not an engine problem.
After a bit, it seems the really hot oil finally gets into the oil cooler enough to start to warm up that "gelled" ....cold oil and it starts to flow again and then you'll see the temps drop rapidly back to the 182 range ...... where the cycle is likely to start over and again.....and do it over and over.
The solution has been to tape off half of the oil cooler so it doesn't cool the oil so much. On the Aerosport engine, I never too that tape off...year round....even in OK summer temps.
But the Lycoming doesn't seem to do that. I started with 1/2 of the cooler taped off and with OAT temps around 50, the oil temps rose into the 201-203 range....BUT JUST STAYED THERE. It didn't cycle back and forth as if the cooler had gelled the oil. So after about 10 hours of flying I finally decided it was just that the vernatherm was open and the oil was not gelled.....but rather that the oil was really just staying that warm. I removed the tape and at 50-55 degrees OAT, the oil went to 182 and stays there regardless of OAT.
So, on the Lycoming, don't put any tape on the cooler unless you happen to see the "cycling" of the temps back and forth. That lets you know it's oil gelling in the cooler.
Getting to be fun now and looking like an airplane with our boot cowl on and now the engine.
If you haven’t already found them, there is a great folder in Dropbox called CCK PICTURES and folders in there with them broken down by category. There are good photos of the engine area but do note that photos 4 & 5 that show the connection of the ignition wires on the coils ARE WRONG! I will discuss this in more detail a little further in this thread when we get to that area, but just note for now that it is wrong.
HERE IS A LINK TO A VIDEO I DID ON PREPPING THE LYCOMING VERSION https://youtu.be/YrKjyj_wc5Q
HERE IS A LINK TO A VIDEO I DID OF THE COMPLETED, INSTALLED ENGINE WALK AROUND SHOWING THE INSTALLED COMPONENTS AND WIRING. https://youtu.be/0_7oj1Xy5Fg
NOTE: There is 1 error in the video where I talk about installing the crush washer between the oil temp probe into the spin-on oil filter adapter. I say in the video that the smooth side of the washer goes towards the ADAPTER and that is incorrect. The smooth side goes towards the probe and the crumbled side goes towards the adapter......the opposite of what I said in the video. You can see the details on FF10 on Page 12 of the FWF Manual and also in the instructions that come with the probe. You only tighten to finger tight and then only 1/2 turn (per the instructions for a "straight threads".
FIRST, BEFORE YOU HANG THE ENGINE, PUT SOME WEIGHT ON THE TAIL! Without the wings being on the plane, the plane will be very nose heavy. It won't tip over very easy but you can see it doesn't take much so just strap some weight to the hand hold on the tail to be sure.
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Before installing the engine I like to go ahead and do what I can on it like installing the TOP spark plugs (they ship you the same plugs they did the engine "run-in" with, so you will see they are used); oil filler tube; oil pressure hose plug, etc. I don't install the bottom spark plugs yet because right before starting the engine for the first time, we would remove them anyway to cycle the cylinders using the starter only to get the preservative oil out and get the oil pump primed with fresh oil before the first start.
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They say to use Champion Anti-Seize 2612 on spark plugs. It is very thin and only a very small amount should be put around the end of the plug before installing it.
FOR THE 340 engine or engines without the spark plug adapters, torque to 160 inch lbs. or 13.3 ft. lbs.
For engines like 363i Lycoming with the SPARK PLUG ADAPTERS, torque the adapters (7/8" socket) to 35=45 ft lbs and SPARK PLUGS (5/8" socket) to 20 ft lbs. This is per the instructions give in the Lightspeed Manual.
Also in the Lightspeed Manual on Page 7, it says to gap plugs to .026" with max wear to 0.35". This engine is a 9:1 compression with 20 degrees timing so these are the values to use. I go ahead now and check the gap on all the plugs and I also go ahead and check the torque on all 8 of the adapters and install and torque the 4 top spark plugs only. The bottom 4 I just screw in finger tight for now.
The FWF manual on Page 18, Section 2.4 is WRONG.
CC363i. Lycoming uses the adapters and plugs straight out of the Lightspeed kit and they use their installation instructions.
I go ahead and put a mark on the flywheel so that I can put it back on the way it was originally on from the factory. I use a sharper to write an arrow on the flywheel pointing to one of the prop lugs holes it attaches to that I have sharpie marked it all around the hole. The engine factory actually runs the engine about 2 hours before shipping it (the papers showing the "run-in" runs should be in your engine logbook folder) so the engine should be completely finished with all components installed (lucky me, I got the first engine and it they had taken all the parts off before shipping like the mechanical fuel pump, intake manifold, fuel servo, etc etc.) . The flywheel is taken off when we install the ignition pick-up sensors.
FOR LYCOMING ENGINE: These are shipped with the flywheel already off. If you look at the hub on the engine, you will probably see a sharpie “O” at one of the holes. Then look at the back of the flywheel and you should see the same “O” stamped next to one of the holes there. Match these up when you install the flywheel.
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Follow the FFW MANUAL, Page 12 FF7 and install the VP5608-001 Nut, Tachometer; (NOT USED ON LYCOMING ENGINE)
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Oil fill tube and safety wire it. Be sure the gasket is on first.
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Install the oil temp probe SP71328-007 per the figure and safety wire it. Note the instructions on Page 12, FF10 where it says in the text to put the crush washer SMOOTH SIDE towards the temp probe and the crinkled side towards the engine oil filter adapter. For the straight fitting like this is, it says to only finger tighten and then 1/2 turn only with the crush washer used.
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The SP56203-003 and -005 fittings that go onto the mechanical fuel pump may not be in a regular parts bag. The one that looks like a "T" is the -005 fitting that goes on the left side of the fuel pump and the straight one is the -003 one that goes on the right side of the fuel pump. This straight one came on the engine but was installed on the left side where the "T" -005 fitting will go, so you move it to the right side.
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Also in the engine bag with these parts are 2 other parts. One is in a little, brown Lycoming box and says "Adapter Assy-Fuel Drain Valve" or LW-75444 SNIFFLE VALVE; and another blue, 45 degree fitting AN915-1D. My last couple have come with everything already installed except the Sniffle Valve.
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Both these parts will install onto the fitting that is coming out of the carbon fiber intake manifold. The blue, angle fitting goes INSIDE the silver fitting in the intake and then the "sniffle valve" (the Lycoming part) will screw onto it and have a hose that will provide a drain of excess fuel.
