ENGINE WORK  December, 2006

A lot of what I am doing right now is wiring related toward getting the engine ready to start.  If it's strictly engine wiring, it on this page.  If it's more general supporting wiring, it's on the avionics/electric page, so be sure to check there for details.  I am also working on the console on the fuselage page.

Dec 1 - fit electronic throttle mount to quadrant  3.0 hr

  This is the mount system for the electronic throttle.  The angle bracket is placed so its centerline is the same as the centerline of the travel path of the clevis, hence the bracket is not parallel with the top of the quadrant.  That's because the lever does not travel the full length of the slot - it travels the length of the slot minus the width of the lever.  The linkage is carefully placed to give me exactly 2" of travel of the transducer rod.  The transducer rod has about 2 1/8" of travel, so I adjusted the mounting and transducer rod clevis end so there is 1/16" of transducer travel left beyond each throttle stop.

Dec 2 - finish quadrant throttle mount, work on wastegate control mount layout  2.25 hr

  Those captive studs I got for mounting the switches panel to the instrument panel sure work great here on the quadrant for mounting the brackets.

Dec 3 - work on throttle quadrant wastegate control mount.  Fabricate & TIG weld quadrant wastegate control mount bracket.  Fine-tune and final-adjust electronic throttle mount.  4.75 hr

  Here is the quadrant with the electronic throttle transducer module final-mounted on the back side of the quadrant, and waiting now for more TIG welding on the wastegate control mount bracket, which will go on this side of the quadrant.  I don't want the wastegate travel to be linear with the throttle travel (I want it to open as quickly and fully as possible as soon as the throttle starts to close), so the clevis for the wastegate control is mounted as high as possible on the RT lever.  Also, the wastegate control needs to travel only 1.5" (vs 2" for throttle), so the correct bracket mount angle is different for the wastegate control than it is for the throttle.  The vertical marks on the top of the quadrant show the lever travel for the center of the wastegate clevis, measured both perpendicular to the top of the quadrant and parallel to the lever centerline.  Once I get the wastegate control fully adjusted, I will install a lever stop at the aft end of the abbreviated wastegate control lever travel.

Dec 4 - Finish TIG welding wastegate control mount bracket.  Update web site  2.0 hr + 1.0 hr doc

Dec 5 - Ream Bowden cable clamp to fit cable.  Back to console work   0.5 hr

  Here is the quadrant with the TIG-welded bracket for the Bowden cable clamp, in the background.  The electronic throttle mount is in the foreground.

Dec 7 - remember Pearl Harbor! 

Dec 10 - I've been getting nervous about how long it's been trying to get the engine ready to start, and worrying that rust or corrosion could form inside the engine from sitting so long.  Each month, I think I'll be starting the engine this month, but it hasn't happened yet.   Got some engine fogging oil and removed coils and spark plugs.  Sprayed fogging oil into cylinders.  0.75 hr

Dec 14 - buy some 5w-30 oil and put 4.5 qt into engine.  Theoretically, that should have filled it, as the spec is 4.8 and the filter is already filled.  The stick showed way overfull, but as soon as I start the engine, the oil cooler will fill, so that's about another quart right there.  Hook up starter switch.  0.5 hr

Dec 15 - route MAP silicone vacuum line  Received SteinAir order, including locking 2-10 switch and their new tungsten bucking bar.      0.5 hr

Dec 16 - After getting the batteries and contactor switch wired, removed spark plugs , powered up contactor and spun engine over a few times, to spread the fogging oil I had sprayed into the cylinders.

Dec 17 - more vacuum line routing and installing Adel clamps to hold the line  0.75 hr

Dec 18 - Cut throttle wires to length and install machined gold crimp pins.  Update web site  0.5 hr + 1.0 hr doc

Dec 19 - finished making DB-9 connector for throttle.  Plugged in throttle, connected ECM switch, powered up ECM for the first time.  Throttle seems to actuate perfectly with the throttle lever.   One thing I noticed is that, when closing the throttle, the last 1/8” of lever travel does not cause any additional butterfly travel; the butterfly is fully closed when the throttle lever is 1/8” from the stop.  When opening the throttle, full throttle butterfly opening is achieved when the lever is 5/8” before the stop. In other words, the last 5/8” of lever travel does not cause any more butterfly travel, because the butterfly is already fully open.  This will actually prove beneficial to me, regarding the manual wastegate control.  When both levers are fully fwd and I pull them back as one, the levers will actually travel 5/8” before the throttle butterfly starts closing, giving me that much more early wastegate opening travel as the throttle butterfly starts to close.   All I have to do now is finalize a few details on the fuel plumbing, check for plumbing leaks, and the engine will be ready to start.  1.0 hr

Dec 21 - One problem I had with my fuel return plumbing is that I had decided to use a bulkhead fitting at the side of the fuselage.  The problem is that the fuselage is dual wall right there, with a gap between the 2 walls.  So, I can't tighten up the bulkhead fitting nut without squeezing the 2 pieces of metal together.  It's a Quick Build, so it's all riveted together already.  I couldn't figure out how I was going to fix that, but I ended up getting some paste epoxy and pushing it in between the inner and outer skins.  1.0 hr

  This pic shows the gap between the fuselage skin and the two brace pieces on the inboard.  This is  fwd of the wing spar holes and aft of the larger hole for the fuel feed line.  This will have a bulkhead fitting for the fuel return line required by automotive fuel injection systems.  The epoxy paste I was able to stuff into the gap between the skins will keep the bulkhead fitting nut from squeezing the 2 pieces of metal together.  The outer skin is a little scarred up from my previous attempts to get the AN bulkhead fitting nut tight without anything between the 2 sheets, but that will polish out.  Also, a closeup pic like this tends to exaggerate how badly it's scratched.  It's kinda cold in the garage, so this epoxy is setting rather slowly, but it is setting up hard after a couple days.

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