Some years ago there was a similar topic in "Cub Clues" the Piper J3 type Club Paper which spoke of a company in the US that remanufactured the rear case in order to correct that pump problem. That problem has been around Cont. A65 engines for years, It bothers my Piper PA17 Vagabond in very warm weather, especially if I still have light winter oil in the engine come warm weather . I believe the oil over time drains down from the screen area past the oil pump gears and the rear case wall and prime is lost that way. What Viscosity oil are you using? I like using a somewhat higher Viscosity oil especially during hot weather.[ not that we see much real hot weather here in the North ] These old engines were designed and built long ago. Maybe motor oil was thicker back them ??? I don't think that Multi-viscosity was even invented back then. Ron Hynes, Alberta, Canada
--- On Sun, 2/21/10, wctcx3 <[email protected]> wrote: From: wctcx3 <[email protected]> Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Oil Pump Loses Prime To: [email protected] Received: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 9:07 PM I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this problem. I have a 1946 Ercoupe 415-C, with a C-85. I have had a loss-of-prime problem with the oil pump for all of the 37 years I have owned this airplane. So, you can appreciate that my frustration is absolutely complete. Oil pressuure is consistently at 33 to 35 lbs at cruise, and not less than 20 lbs at hot idle. If the airplane sits for a week or longer, however, the oil pump loses its prime. I prime it by disconnecting the oil pressure gauge line and pumping oil through it with a small hand-pump oil can. Once primed, oil pressure comes up to 35 lbs less than 3 seconds after engine start. The engine was field-overhauled in 2000, and the oil pump gears and pump cover plate were replaced at that time. The accessory case was magnafluxed also. We recently checked the oil pickup tube for cracks and found none. The tube was properly attached and safetied. I am inclined to think the accessory case is worn internally, in the pocket where the oil pump gears are located, as the problem has gotten worse over time. That is to say, in past years it could go a month or more without losing prime, but now prime is lost in a week or so. What do you all think? Might it be time for a new accessory case? Thanks. WCT __________________________________________________________________ Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca
