I took the day off work today to take advantage of the gorgeous early fall weather, and of course the oil pressure gauge never shifted when I started the engine (a C90) on my Champ. Normally, it stays glued to the 0 position for about 15-20 seconds, then pops suddenly up to 30 PSI, then it never budges until shutdown.
Started and ran for 30 seconds, twice, with a couple dozen blades by hand inbetween, but it never shifted. Cranked the starter with the oil pressure line (pulled off the engine side of the firewall passthrough fitting) diverted into a container to see if I could get any oil out of it; nothing. Looks like there's either a blockage at the crankcase opening (which would be surprising given that I'm running with a filter now), or the pump wasn't doing its thing. The A&P at the field thought the pump might have lost its prime, but that hasn't happened in the ~150 hours I've flown it, and it just flew a week ago.
Think positive thoughts for poor, oil-less Norbert the Champ.
Started and ran for 30 seconds, twice, with a couple dozen blades by hand inbetween, but it never shifted. Cranked the starter with the oil pressure line (pulled off the engine side of the firewall passthrough fitting) diverted into a container to see if I could get any oil out of it; nothing. Looks like there's either a blockage at the crankcase opening (which would be surprising given that I'm running with a filter now), or the pump wasn't doing its thing. The A&P at the field thought the pump might have lost its prime, but that hasn't happened in the ~150 hours I've flown it, and it just flew a week ago.
Think positive thoughts for poor, oil-less Norbert the Champ.
