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5 yr. hose and rubber parts replacement


corvette33

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Rotax should be sending a pilot to make the first flight after the hose replacement. I'm not looking forward to it.

 

Have your mechanic go with you and tell him/her that up front. Gaurentee it will be right. I go on all my test flights after heavy MX.

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Opticsguy, my plan is to get altitude and stay in close to the airport on my first flight. The good thing is that I didn't have to send out my BRS at the same time as the hose replacement! :unsure: The guys like Roger, Tad and Jeremy who do a lot of these replacements are well taken. There are some rubber parts that needed replacement and I can't second guess Rotax for the reason this was a 5 year program and not 6 or 7 or ??. I do know that Rotax has provided us with a very reliable power plant for our CT's. Also, I have been told that Rotax has a partnership with our government where theirr 912 engine is used for the unmanned spy drones. This must have given Rotax a lot of info regarding the life of components. We all have a good suspicion that this 5 year replacement is driven, in some part, by Rotax protecting themselves for litigation. I did not find any hoses that were soft or that showed cracks internally but I didn't inspect 100% of the interiors of the hoses. I do know that the engine mounts that were near the exhaust pipes were degraded and needed replacement. If some of the hoses were near exhaust areas, perhaps they were degraded but then again, all hoses near the exhaust had fire sleeve on them. Removal of the fuel hoses in the upper fuselage where the wings attach should never have been designed the way it was. Determination of the proper location and then drilling the access holes for removal of the fuel hose band clamps was a difficult process for us this first time. If I had to do another CT, it would go much quicker but it still shouldn't be necessary to have to do this. It angers me that access holes were not provided during construction of my plane and that removable hose clamps were not used at construction. There is a good possibility that one can "nick" the steel fuel line while trying to grind off the band clamps thru a 1/2" hole and if this happens, lord help the guy who has to repair this! I have a pretty good method of doing this and will help anyone who needs the info. but I'm not a licensed expert such as the others who are here in our forum. Arian is also available at FD USA and he's been helpful too.

 

Tad, great idea. I have a mechanic who I can trust and he's gone up after other repairs but not quite of the magnitude as this one!

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Hi Dick and All,

 

Hi Dick,

 

You should have no worries. They're just hoses and you should have run it during a carb balance after it was all done.

 

Hose can go bad inside as well as out and they can be soft when they fail. So feeling for a soft hose and saying it is 100% is not best best of choices by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I have not had one problem out of at least 10+ hose replacements. One little drip on on line found during the carb balance after the engine was put back on.

 

Here is a tip. Put the constant compression hose clamps right up next to the flared end on any of the metal pipe fittings like on the aluminum tubes and the coolant tank on top. This is absolutely the best practice. the only constant compression clamps I have seen leak were placed too far back off the flared end. Don't place it on top of it, but up close. If you can do it with the coolant screw clamps then that's a better practice too.

 

 

I do tell all my clients to fly 3 close in laps in the pattern and at altitude before leaving to go somewhere.

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Rotax 912 is also installed uncowled on open ultralights and trikes, exposed to severe sun, weather, and elements.....

this might explain some of the official replacement requirement...... the lowest common denominator.

 

Tad, to what do you attribute a 5 year hose turning to "Jello"? This is indeed some bad rubber and something to be avoided. maybe excess heat effect? Did it present as unusual softness or irregular flexibility prior to removal, or could it have been palpated as such in situ?

 

As to the work of the mechanic and taking him along for the first flight, it can take a little while longer than the initial test flight for a deficiency to arise. For me, it was 2.7 hours after 'preventative' maintenance for a very minor tappet cover oil drip, that directly led to the failure of the push rod cover o-ring at the block....... ended up a birdie on the eighteenth hole after no oil in six minutes.

 

Ergo my preference for IROAN. This is permitted in Canada. (along with -12, and inflight adjustable)

 

Mike Glatiotis

03 CT2k C-ICEY

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Rotax 912 is also installed uncowled on open ultralights and trikes, exposed to severe sun, weather, and elements.....

this might explain some of the official replacement requirement...... the lowest common denominator.

 

Tad, to what do you attribute a 5 year hose turning to "Jello"? This is indeed some bad rubber and something to be avoided. maybe excess heat effect? Did it present as unusual softness or irregular flexibility prior to removal, or could it have been palpated as such in situ?

 

As to the work of the mechanic and taking him along for the first flight, it can take a little while longer than the initial test flight for a deficiency to arise. For me, it was 2.7 hours after 'preventative' maintenance for a very minor tappet cover oil drip, that directly led to the failure of the push rod cover o-ring at the block....... ended up a birdie on the eighteenth hole after no oil in six minutes.

 

Ergo my preference for IROAN. This is permitted in Canada. (along with -12, and inflight adjustable)

 

Mike Glatiotis

03 CT2k C-ICEY

 

Mike, I don't know why it was failing. It was swelled up on one end and gooey.

 

I will confess that I tightened the fuel line too tight going to the gascolator. The plane ran fine during all my post MX checks. BUT...... once we went WOT the fuel pressure started to drop off and set off the alarms then the engine started to starv for fuel. We were able to set back down with no problems.

 

This was not detected during my post run up because I never used to do a WOT test. Now after any hose replacement of any kind I chock the a/c and do a WOT test to monitor the fuel/oil psi and any other systems.

 

I guess my kung fu grip got the best of me :lol:

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I had a bad interior coolant hose on my 4 cyl. Outside looked fine. The inside was trashed. Plus fuel hoses start to flake on the inside and the outside won't tell you a thing. If those hose flake and it hits the carb you may still be on the 18th hole.

I have done several hose replacements. Other than mine a couple had fuel hose starting to flake, but was caught early enough.

 

 

It's like changing tires on a car, why wait until you get a blow out to change them all. Why change oil until the engine fails. Why see a dentist until your teeth rot. We do many things in life for preventive maint so why not our engines. Many will say it's expensive and no one would disagree, but it's part of the game. We're all in the same boat and unfortunately we all have to cough up the money to follow our dreams of flying. We all may have a price we say something isn't worth it, but safety for yourself and your family shouldn't ever be about money.

 

Own a boat that lives in the saltwater and it's the same game. Money

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Hi Dick and All,

 

Hi Dick,

 

You should have no worries. They're just hoses and you should have run it during a carb balance after it was all done.

 

Hose can go bad inside as well as out and they can be soft when they fail. So feeling for a soft hose and saying it is 100% is not best best of choices by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I have not had one problem out of at least 10+ hose replacements. One little drip on on line found during the carb balance after the engine was put back on.

 

Here is a tip. Put the constant compression hose clamps right up next to the flared end on any of the metal pipe fittings like on the aluminum tubes and the coolant tank on top. This is absolutely the best practice. the only constant compression clamps I have seen leak were placed too far back off the flared end. Don't place it on top of it, but up close. If you can do it with the coolant screw clamps then that's a better practice too.

 

 

I do tell all my clients to fly 3 close in laps in the pattern and at altitude before leaving to go somewhere.

 

 

Hi Roger :D

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Hi Roger (and Tad too, good to see you back posting with us). Reading the dialog here, I again think how important this forum is for owners and those interested in Light Sport. A good example is this hose change. I think about how difficult this hose change would be if it weren't for the input we get from it. Some of us might know the mechanics here who add so much to our knowledge and be able to work with them personally to get thru this. For the others who don't have this resource and would have to attempt to get the right replacement materials and then get it installed properly, this might be a long and (more) expensive project. I've said this before but I really appreciate the input I get from the mechanics and other experts here.

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I agree, great reference board and healthy honest discussion.

 

This flying stuff is not forgiving, and safety is the utmost concern.

 

Thanks guys, for the opportunity to jump on board.

 

Mike Glatiotis

C-ICEY

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