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After 3 years of flying with aluminum tape blocking my front two cylinders, I determined it was time to replace this with something more permanent.  The job ended up being much simpler than I thought because I didn't need to remove the lower front baffles. This would of been a major pain to take off because of the prop oil line as well as the lower attachment points. I used some Popsicle sticks to pry the lower baffle from the engine to be able to get a squeezer set below. The right side was super easy because I was able to get all of this accomplished without removing the lower cowling.  And the right side is finished off!  The left side was a little more complicated, only for the simple reason that I needed to remove the lower cowling because of interference with the rivet squeezer.  I took this opportunity to seal up some small gaps where air might leak by. I definitely don't have a cooling issue (my CHT's are typically in the high 200's), but every little bit helps.  Now for the serious issue of the day. It was chilly out so I decided to fire up my hangar heater. The fan started to run, but there was never the ignition of fuel, or even any smell of fuel. Time to investigate.  Seems like this cracked hose could be the culprit!  $3.25 and 30 minutes later the girl was producing heat again. This heater is simply amazing.  I have been not very happy with my wheelpants attachment bracket. There is a lot of play in my wheelpants, and that is due to what I believe is the 063 aluminum not being rigid enough.  This thing has seen better days. I can look at it funny and it will move.  I ordered this piece of 4130 SHEET 12" X 24" X .090 stainless steel from ACS. At first I thought I would make an entirely new bracket out of 4130. However, that would require the wheelpants to be realigned, which would be a pain. My new thinking is to make a 4130 doubler to the existing bracket and rivet them together.  I removed the wheelpants bracket and took everything home to work in it in my warmer basement shop. I am hoping I can get by with just adding a beefy doubler. If this ends up working out, I will paint both parts with AZKO to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion, but for now, it's all experimentation. 
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Last Modified: August 13, 2023 |