Engine Analysis

Lycoming O-360-A1A s/n L-36691-36A
Shipped from Lycoming 17-Mar-99, received from Van's 21-Apr-99.
First engine run 26-Mar-00, first flight 3-Jun-00.
0-22 hrs run with preservative oil.
22-62 with Aeroshell 100 mineral oil.
Then Aeroshell W 15W50 with oil & filter changes every 50 hrs.
Oil samples are sent to Aviation Laboratories, Kenner, LA for analysis, & filters are cut open & inspected.
                     Oil Consumption & Analysis Tot Hrs Hrs Oil Hrs/qt     Iron Cu Nickel Cr Silver Mag Al Lead Si Ti Tin Moly
03-Oct-00 Result: Normal 105 43 3 14     25.8 34.4 3.3 5.6 0.0 6.0 7.8 4481 8.4 0.1 2.7 0.2
11-Mar-01 Result: Normal 150 45 2.5 18     20.0 26.8 1.4 3.2 0.0 3.2 5.8 4198 6.1 0.0 1.2 0.1
20-May-01 Result: Normal 203 53 2.5 21     17.2 4.8 1.0 2.5 0.0 0.7 4.4 3837 4.9 0.0 0.9 0.0
4-Aug-01 Result: Normal 251 48 3.0 16     15.0 17.3 1.0 6.6 0.0 0.5 5.1 3793 4.7 0.0 1.9 0.0
7-Oct-01 Result: Normal 291 40 2.5 16     18.9 12.4 1.3 2.3 0.0 1.1 4.9 3729 0.0 0.1 1.3 0.5
17-Mar-02 Result: Normal 333 42 3.0 14     18.9 14.1 2.2 3.0 0.1 1.5 5.0 3918 6.4 0.1 1.7 0.5
2-Jun-02 Result: Normal 386 53 2.5 21     13.2 12.2 0.9 2.3 0.0 1.5 5.1 4104 5.2 0.1 1.0 0.2
31-Aug-02 Result: Normal 435 49 3.0 16     9.8 9.6 1.3 1.7 0.3 1.4 3.4 3518 5.6 0.1 5.1 0.3
22-Dec-02 Result: Normal 483 48 3.0 16     12.7 9.0 1.1 1.7 0.0 0.7 3.9 3844 6.1 0.0 1.0 0.2
27-Apr-03 Result: Normal 530 47 2.5 19     12.8 8.8 1.5 1.9 0.0 1.4 3.9 3936 5.1 0.0 1.3 0.2
11-Aug-03 Result: Normal 580 50 3.5 14     14.5 8.7 1.1 1.9 0.0 1.3 4.4 3702 5.2 0.0 0.7 0.2
2-Nov-03 Result: Normal 629 49 3.0 16     19.1 8.6 2.1 2.5 0.0 0.4 5.5 5396 5.8 0.1 2.5 0.4
1-Mar-04 Result: Normal 678 49 2.5 20     14.1 7.2 1.5 2.0 0.0 0.8 5.0 4155 3.7 0.2 0.0 0.3
6-Jul-04 Result: Normal 730 52 2.5 21     15.9 5.8 1.4 2.0 0.0 0.4 4.3 3888 2.7 0.1 1.2 0.3
10-Oct-04 Result: Normal 781 51 2.0 26     18.0 7.3 0.7 2.1 0.0 0.2 4.9 4584 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0
                                       
                                       
  Compression Tests Tot Hrs Cyl 1 Cyl 2 Cyl 3 Cyl 4                          
01-Jun-00 1=75/80; 2=75/80; 3=68/80; 4=71/80 2 75 75 68 71                          
12-Mar-01 1=67/73; 2=68/76; 3=68/76; 4=67/74 150 74 72 72 73                          
20-May-01 1=74/80; 2=75/80; 3=72/80; 4=74/80 203 74 75 72 74                          
7-Oct-01 1=74/80; 2=75/80; 3=72/80; 4=74/80 291 74 75 72 74                          
2-Jun-02 1=76/80; 2=76/80; 3=74/80; 4=73/80 386 76 76 74 73                          
23-Dec-02 1=76/80; 2=73/80; 3=74/80; 4=72/80 483 76 73 74 72                          
11-Aug-03 1=75/80; 2=75/80; 3=72/80; 4=71/80 580 75 75 72 71                          
1-Mar-04 1=76/80; 2=76/80; 3=76/80; 4=76/80 678 76 76 76 73                          
18-Oct-04 1=74/80; 2=76/80; 3=75/80; 4=74/80 781 74 76 75 74                          

SPECTROMETRIC OIL ANALYSIS - POSSIBLE SOURCES

ELEMENT INDICATES WEAR FROM:

Sn - Tin Bearing and bushing overlay, piston plating. TCM/Rocker arm thrust washer plating.

Ni - Nickel Shafts, anti-friction bearings, values/guides and rings.

Fe - Iron Steel components such as cylinders, gears, crankshaft, rings, roller bearings, valve train, cam shaft, wrist pins, and rust.

Mg - Magnesium Certain accessory sections, some Lycoming oil sumps, Bendix 1200 series magnetos and traces in some aluminum alloys. Additive in some automotive "Snake Oils".

Cu - Copper Bearings, bushings, thrust washers, and some valve guides. TCM/Six cylinder starter adaptor gear.

Ag - Silver Bearings, bushings and platings. Master rod bearing. TCM E-185 & E-225 front end bearing.

Cr - Chromium Plated engine parts such as compression rings or cylinder walls. TCM/Exhaust valve stems with Nitralloy value guides. Roller/Taper bearings.

Al - Aluminum Pistons, piston pin plugs, crankcase, cylinder heads, oil pump housing, bearings, and can confirm airborne dust.

Si - Silicon Airborne dust and dirt, Usually indicative of improper air cleaner service or induction system leaks. EXCESSIVE DIRT IS ABRASIVE AND WILL ACCELERATE WEAR. Silicon gaskets and sealers.

Pb - Lead Bearing overlays, contaminant from leaded gasoline.

ENGINE OIL ANALYSIS/Tulsa, OK 1995

An RJ-ll phone plug is installed for the data logging output for the Grand Rapids EIS-4000 engine monitor. It transmits all the monitored engine parameters every 2 seconds. I periodically capture a data set on a portable PC, then I can analyze the data producing a graphed display.

As I move the vertical cursor left & right, the numbers for each parameter change. I can also select the parameters that I want to see graphically. This was a great help in early flight testing, when I was trying to adjust the plenum cooling to balance the CHTs.

On my first flight the CHT spread was 378-460. Of course that was partly due to the new engine. Now I usually see a spread of around 360-380 in cruise.


Last Updated on 6-Dec-04
By Chris Good