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Over Shimed?


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Hello
When my engine mount was replaced by a new one, the alignment between the propeller spinner and the engine cover became the same as in your photos. I asked FD France and they said it was normal.

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I have been working with Frank on this.  The pics above are where Frank ended up, and I'd say it's acceptable if there's no rubbing anywhere around the circumference of the spinner.  Before doing anything the engine was badly misaligned, I'd say there was at *least* a half-inch gap at the top of the simmer to the upper cowl, I could literally slide my finders along the top of the cowl and into the engine bay.  I have a pic but it's not my airplane so I won't post it unless Frank okays it.

We ended up replacing the engine mount isolators, since during the rubber change Frank had done a couple of months ago those didn't get done (grrr).  I hoped that would bring up the spinner but it barely moved it, so Frank had to re-shim the engine (after looking everything over carefully and making sure the engine mount was bent anywhere).

We're working under the supervision and sign-off authority of an A&P who's a friend of mine, I'm acting as an advisor and assistant since I have a lot of experience with the CTs that neither Frank nor the A&P have.  They are getting the crash course though!  😆

That's just to give some background on how the airplane got to where it is in the maintenance. It did take a lot of shimming to fix, the upper shims were completely removed and additional shims added to the lower stations.  It's still sitting a little lower than mine sits with the same prop & spinner, but I think it's okay.  IIRC the factory spec if for 5° down on thrust angle, is there a good method to measure that or does the "center it in the spinner hole" method work fine?

 

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Matching the spinner to the cowling is fine. I've seen more spacers than that from the factory, so I would say you are okay. Just make sure your bolts are long enough to have threads exposed through the lock nuts once tightened up. Also if you added spacers on the bottom you will need to lengthen the steering rods to keep your rudder cable tension.

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5 minutes ago, Tom Baker said:

Matching the spinner to the cowling is fine. I've seen more spacers than that from the factory, so I would say you are okay. Just make sure your bolts are long enough to have threads exposed through the lock nuts once tightened up. Also if you added spacers on the bottom you will need to lengthen the steering rods to keep your rudder cable tension.

Thanks Tom.  Frank moved some shims around at my suggestion after the first attempt to make sure there were a minimum of two threads showing past all nuts.  The pictures show the results with that setup.

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Thanks for the information. Yes, Andy has been a master technician and teacher on this. If you want to share some pictures feel free to do so Andy. 
Tom I will refer to Andy on lengthening the steering rods and how much.

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Roger, I think the clearance is sufficient now.  Could have to do that at a later time.

Another observation not shown in pictures is the tip of the prop is only 2 1/4 inches from front wheel pant.

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If the steering rods fail to comfortably fit now they can be lengthened. If you have enough threads out by the engine compartment steering head then start by screwing each one out two full 360 degree turns and then check it. If you don’t have those extra threads to do this then you may have to lengthen the ones on the inside.

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Hi FMay,

First how did the muffler shroud get so far back it got a hole in it? I would patch it.

Yes screw the outward. So you have enough threads on your rod ends to screw them out a couple of turns. First hold the rod with a pair of vice grips so it doesn’t turn when you break the 13mm nut lose. Remove the screw that holds the rod end and steering head together. Now rotate the rod end two full 360 degree turns. Now put the steering head screw back in and hold the rod again so it doesn’t move and tighten the 13mm nut. Now do the same to the other side. 

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7 hours ago, Madhatter said:

In my conversations with E-PROPS several years ago they said the spinner was designed to fit over the cowling on the CT. It worked for me but takes longer to set up.

E-Props installed my Glorieuse on my CT, and I have the same result as Frank. Samy from E-Props told me that is conform and I can cut a little bit the cover in case it's too close.

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12 hours ago, Madhatter said:

In my conversations with E-PROPS several years ago they said the spinner was designed to fit over the cowling on the CT. It worked for me but takes longer to set up.

That's how mine fits, but I didn't really have to "set up" anything other than putting it on.  What kind of set up do you mean?

I've also heard some don't like the lip of the spinner being so close to the cowl and trim it down with E-Prop's blessing.  Mine's pretty close, just a couple mm at closes point, but I've yet to see any rubbing.

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12 hours ago, FMay said:

Madhatter,  I can see how that would work, but, many more shims would have to be added to the bottom. A longer bolt would be needed also.

Less shims will bring the spinner closer to the cowling 

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13 hours ago, FMay said:

Madhatter,  I can see how that would work, but, many more shims would have to be added to the bottom. A longer bolt would be needed also.

I keep longer bolts and a bag of washers on hand just for this issue. 

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