Hey everyone just wanted to get some thoughts and opinions about some things before my first annual. This is my first airplane as well and the annual is due this month. I can't find any mention in the logbooks of when the bungees were replaced but I also cant read mechanic scribble or cursive so that doesn't help (20 year old problems). The tailwheel is just a little rubber wheel with zero tread and the rubber is cracking, I'm assuming the tailwheel needs to be replaced. Everything has been going pretty good maintenance wise since I bought the airplane except for the cracked exhaust stub when I first bought the plane. The only thing that's really bothering me which my mechanic doesn't seem to be taking seriously is the clonkyness of startup.
(Engine: IO-320-B1A) Almost every single start up the first 10-20 seconds the engine is firing unevenly. I had him come out and listen to it one day and he said that one of the lifters was sticking and as long as it clears shortly after start up its fine and not to worry about it. I have to keep the engine at complete idle throttle till whatever cylinder is lagging behind starts operating normally otherwise the plane shakes violently and you can hear the cowling clanking against the engine. It goes away after 10-20 seconds, but I would like to get this taken care of. When I took her out yesterday night the airplane was actually backfiring on start up which was very abnormal. The plane does have popping issues when at low/idle RPM while hot after landing which I have also brought up with him and he brushes it off. It's usually not bad if I keep the plane at almost idle cut off with the boost pump on but it runs rough and bobbly and sounds like crap. When I have to do a hot start on the plane after being parked for awhile it just sounds like something you would fish right out of the junkyard; constantly revving up and down and popping. I'm no mechanic but this tells me the engine isn't operating how it should and whatever issue that is causing these problems is most likely to get worse and not better. I would like to do young eagles flights but in the current state I honestly don't think parents would feel comfortable letting their kids get in this airplane if you listened to how awful it sounded on the ground after a hot start. All problems are completely nonexistent above around 1700+ RPM. Oil consumption is a little high but I guess that's normal for chrome cylinders? I don't really keep track of how often I put oil in the plane but I put a quart in every 3-5 hours. I put Aeroshell W100 and Camguard in the plane when I change the oil + filter and do top ups with W100+. I heard you weren't supposed to mix camguard exclusively with W100+ because it was too slippery or something but I can't really find any information that says you can't do it; but just to be safe when I dump a bunch of Camguard in I use W100 for the oil change
What are the troubleshooting steps recommended for fixing these issues? Are the valves sticking? Are the lifters sticking? What is going on here. I don't have the original video I took anymore but I did post it to reddit a long time ago so here is a reference:
Here's all the pictures and logbooks from when I first bought the plane almost a year ago. N777KB - Google Drive
Oil analysis' look really good: Aviation Laboratories - Test Results - Log in
First oil analysis the plane had sat completely idle for a year so results were a bit higher than normal
From what I understand its very possible there is some valve issues and doing a wobble test would be a good idea? Attached pictures of the tailwheel and the bungees in the thread.
Thanks for any help and advice; I am poor and buying an airplane was a terrible idea - Stephanie
(Engine: IO-320-B1A) Almost every single start up the first 10-20 seconds the engine is firing unevenly. I had him come out and listen to it one day and he said that one of the lifters was sticking and as long as it clears shortly after start up its fine and not to worry about it. I have to keep the engine at complete idle throttle till whatever cylinder is lagging behind starts operating normally otherwise the plane shakes violently and you can hear the cowling clanking against the engine. It goes away after 10-20 seconds, but I would like to get this taken care of. When I took her out yesterday night the airplane was actually backfiring on start up which was very abnormal. The plane does have popping issues when at low/idle RPM while hot after landing which I have also brought up with him and he brushes it off. It's usually not bad if I keep the plane at almost idle cut off with the boost pump on but it runs rough and bobbly and sounds like crap. When I have to do a hot start on the plane after being parked for awhile it just sounds like something you would fish right out of the junkyard; constantly revving up and down and popping. I'm no mechanic but this tells me the engine isn't operating how it should and whatever issue that is causing these problems is most likely to get worse and not better. I would like to do young eagles flights but in the current state I honestly don't think parents would feel comfortable letting their kids get in this airplane if you listened to how awful it sounded on the ground after a hot start. All problems are completely nonexistent above around 1700+ RPM. Oil consumption is a little high but I guess that's normal for chrome cylinders? I don't really keep track of how often I put oil in the plane but I put a quart in every 3-5 hours. I put Aeroshell W100 and Camguard in the plane when I change the oil + filter and do top ups with W100+. I heard you weren't supposed to mix camguard exclusively with W100+ because it was too slippery or something but I can't really find any information that says you can't do it; but just to be safe when I dump a bunch of Camguard in I use W100 for the oil change
What are the troubleshooting steps recommended for fixing these issues? Are the valves sticking? Are the lifters sticking? What is going on here. I don't have the original video I took anymore but I did post it to reddit a long time ago so here is a reference:
Here's all the pictures and logbooks from when I first bought the plane almost a year ago. N777KB - Google Drive
Oil analysis' look really good: Aviation Laboratories - Test Results - Log in
First oil analysis the plane had sat completely idle for a year so results were a bit higher than normal
From what I understand its very possible there is some valve issues and doing a wobble test would be a good idea? Attached pictures of the tailwheel and the bungees in the thread.
Thanks for any help and advice; I am poor and buying an airplane was a terrible idea - Stephanie
