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  2. akflyer

    Posted

    Leni -

    That kinda (oh, crap!) makes sense to me... IIRC, the 912UL coolant hoses are 1" inch i.d. and 1-1/16" o.d., but that is from memory which doesn't always get it right. I do have the manual and will look it up if we want to get serious on this.

    1" I.D. is all I needed to know. I think I will give Mark a call and get on ordered up. That will be easier for me to put the thermostat back in my plane when I get home.

    :BC:

  5. lv2plyguitar

    Posted · Edited by Avid Heavy

    CAC plastics in wasilla sells an epoxy that holds up under fuel. I had a CAN AM 800 that developed a leak in the fuel pump housing. The plate was made of plastic. The name of the epoxy is Westsystems G-flex. My fuel pump repair has lasted with the repair being submursed in fuel. No doubt it would hold up to fuel splashing against it on a fuel cap.

    I would like to see a picture of the type of fuel cap you are talking about. Does Airdale sell the caps with the vent tube?

    Thanks

  6. lv2plyguitar

    Posted · Edited by Avid Heavy

    Jeff,

    I sent you a PM, let me know if you got it.

    :BC:/>/>

    Great. Thank you very much. Good news is I got the motor apart. Still in new condition with no corrision after sitting 15 years. Got new seals on the way and look forward to getting it started.

  8. akflyer

    Posted

    That looks like a good thing for any engine that is liquid cooled. It would damn sure be easier to change that out on my 582 than the stock one. The muffler mount goes onto the rear bolt of the thermostat housing and its a bitch to get the thermostat out without taking the muffler off. I think I will order one up and just jump it inline just past the stock housing and wont ever have to mess with the muffler mount again.

    I am assuming (oh shit) that it is for the 1" hose correct :dunno:

    :BC:

  9. akflyer

    Posted

    I think the issue may be that I have the Stant self venting caps that I then drilled out and put the vent tubes into it. When the tanks are full, the gas level is above the threads that are sticking down into the tank. With the ram air pressure the tanks are pressuring up and its blowing the gas out around the vents in the cap lid. When you drill the cap out, it takes out the one way valve in the cap that allows air in, but not out. Maybe I should look for a NON venting cap and try that. The other option is to keep regluing the vent tube.

    If anyone has a picture of the Avid metal cap, please post it up and I will see if I can find a replacement cap at the local parts house.

    :BC:

  10. akflyer

    Posted

    Sounds like you got it out ok, care to recount the experience for the curious?

    Well it was not as bad as I thought, and I am still not sure exactly what the culprit was. I loaded up a bunch of tools and gear and flew into a strip close by in my brothers pacer, then tranfered over to a guys super cub on ski's. We flew into the pond and went to work on it. I brought a coolant system tester with me, but it was so cold, the pump would not work so I popped the head off and changed out the head gaskets. The piston wash looked good and there was no scoring on the jugs or pistons so I put it back together, burped the coolant system and put a new radiator cap on it.

    The damage to the float was not done by an animal. The best I can figure is the way it was parked, after it frozen down to the tundra we got a big wind storm (80-120) and it was hitting the plane from the left side. The action of the wid getting under that wing and trying to flip the plane ripped the seam out on the zipper and then ripped the fabric up pretty good. I deflated the bladder and stuffed it back inside the float and stitched it up best as I could with some cordage. While I was doing this, the 78 yr old guy that flew me into the pond was busy scraping ice off the wings and tail.

    I did a good run up and all seemed well so I ran it up and down the pond a few times to try and scrub some of the frozen grasses off the bottom of the float cause the best I could get initially was about 15 MPH at full power. After a half dozen runs up and down the pond I had a warm fuzzy that the engine was not going to over heat or blow coolant out so I lined up and blasted out of there. A couple turns around the pond gaining altitude showed all systems in the green so I set a course to the lodge and hoped for the best. It was only 11.6 miles away and I had lots of frozen lakes and rivers to set down on if needed. All was well and I flew it straight in to the lodge with about 10 minutes to spare before it got dark on me.

    Next morning the temps had gone from -11 when I landed to 28 above so I went out and put the coolant system tester on it. It held 14 PSIG for 4 hrs so I knew the system was good. We spent a few days cutting firewood for the lodge then I had my brother fly up to get the wife and he flew her home in his plane, and escorted me home. All temps were solid in the green and no more issues manifested so I brought it to Akflyerbobs house, used the bobcat to pick it up and swapped from floats to ski's. I put another 8 hrs on it flying back to the lodge and all around and all seems well.

    I have it in the garage at home now and when I get back from work I will tinker with it a bit fixing a few things here and there then head for the lodge again for newyears.

    :BC:

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  11. EDMO

    Posted · Edited by Ed In Missouri

    Leni,

    would it be possible to drill and tap the plastic caps for 1/8 pipe fittings with the flair, so you could attach a tube to it, or use a fitting and solder the tube to it, and use the fuel-safe stuff that Kitfox uses for fittings? RTV-9, or something like that? isnt the Hysol 9460 fuel proof?

    ED in MO

  14. 1avidflyer

    Posted · Edited by Jim Chuk

    I glued in my vent tubes with some old Scotch Weld 2216 that came with my Kitfox project. I had bought a 5 lb kit of Hysol when I rebuilt my Avid MK IV, and the stuff went bad in about a year. The Scotch Weld is at least 20 years old and it still works fine. I wouldn't glue a structrual part with it, but I've glued all sorts of things and it just works fine. Even glued the side rails on a big truck radiator and it's still holding. It doesn't seem to be affected by the gas either. I never had any fuel come out of my vents, but the bottom of the stem just barely goes through the cap. If that end isn't into the fuel how can it suck the fuel up. Also I thought that the idea of the vent tubes facing forward was so air could come into the tanks to give some positive pressure. Maybe I'm not understanding your question correctly??? Take care, Jim Chuk

    PS wish the Scotch Weld wasn't mixed 2 parts to 3, it would be the perfect adhesive if it was 1-1

    PSS should have mentioned, I have the original metal Avid caps.

    I have plastic auto caps with the vent tubes JB welded in. They leak a little when I full tanks but not bad. The issue I have is if you overtighten the caps to the point they click the vent tube breaks loose. I have re glued them a ton of times. It works but far from ideal.

  15. C5Engineer

    Posted

    I have plastic auto caps with the vent tubes JB welded in. They leak a little when I full tanks but not bad. The issue I have is if you overtighten the caps to the point they click the vent tube breaks loose. I have re glued them a ton of times. It works but far from ideal.

  16. akflyer

    Posted

    Friend here got sick of the glue failures too, ended up brazing steel vent tubes to his steel caps.

    Doug,

    Was that on Avid tanks? If so, can you find out what cap he used?? I would love to find steel caps I could braze the vents into like the early KF tanks were.

    :BC:

  19. horsepower

    Posted

    To the guys that sent in checks, thanks for the help! I appreciate it. you ever get up this way, beer and flying is on me (but that goes without saying to everyone on this forum!)

    :BC:/>

    Its totally worth it for me,theres a butt load of info on this site and its been helpful.Randy

  20. akflyer

    Posted

    Thanks for the offer Ed but about all we need yet on the fuse is to position the strut attach fittings and weld them up. We already fabricated new parts.

    Any updates? You bout got that bird wrapped up an ready to fly yet :dunno:

    :BC:

  22. EDMO

    Posted · Edited by Ed In Missouri

    Ed,

    I think you may have the metal caps that look like the caps for a PA18 or any of the old pipers. The kit fox caps are like that. These Avid caps use the screw in style caps that are found on the newer trucks.

    :BC:/>/>/>/>/>

    What is the world coming to? You mean the trucks now have PLASTIC CAPS? God help us J3 drivers!!!!!!!

    But, couldnt you use the metal tubes bolted thru the plastic caps?

    Maybe look for Chinese sconces with plastic parts? :lol:

    ED in MO

  23. akflyer

    Posted

    Ed,

    I think you may have the metal caps that look like the caps for a PA18 or any of the old pipers. The kit fox caps are like that. These Avid caps use the screw in style caps that are found on the newer trucks.

    Randy,

    Good idea on not running the tube all the way through, that may do the trick. I was just going off the Avid S.B. and making it the way they showed.

    :BC:

  24. EDMO

    Posted · Edited by Ed In Missouri

    I used JB weld on my vent tubes,they are vented caps and have a little pin hole on top,I drilled through that hole but not clear thru the whole cap.Thats what Skyraider told me to do. You are still using the vent in the cap with just an extension of the vent hole.I have seen others with the tube clear thru the cap and they told me not to do that.When you turn my caps upside down you don't see the tube on the inside.Randy

    Now that our Govmt is protecting us from "bad air", the auto systems have unvented caps - This is the ones to use - You can buy a plain one with the handle sticking up from the top, or get the nice chome ones that look pretty and cost more, and the new gaskets are OK with ethenol.

    Being somewhat inventive (might say lazy), I looked for a way to have vent tubes ready made, and finally found a cheap substitute for the homemade ones - I got some sconces at Goodwill for $1 each - these are the ones that have the light socket mounted on a 3/8 diameter gooseneck pipe, which has about 3/8 inch threads on each end, and a nut to hold them to the wall plate - If you want a better looking end, then grind the threads off of the end that sticks out - these are about 4 inches tall - guess you could flair the end? If you find ones with the cheap tin nut, then look at places that have lamp parts and buy some better nuts that fit. Use epoxy or Loctite or some kind of sealer to make sure the nut inside the cap stays tight. If you have the caps with the handle, then put the tube off center. You may have room to put a neoprene washer under the nut.

    Or, make your own?

    ED in MO

  25. horsepower

    Posted

    I have been through several sets of caps. When I first got this plane, they guy that had been flying it for 250 hrs before me never saw the service bulletin from Avid and never did the mod to put the goose neck vent lines in the gas caps. When I was rebuilding the plane, I did the mod using structural adhesive per the S.B. Since that time, I ahve built 3 different sets of caps using various epoxy's and glues found at auto parts stores for fixing gas tanks etc. None have lasted very long and in short order, they allow the fuel to seep inbetween the aliminum tube and the cap and it vents out across the top of the wing until the fuel level gets below the tubing. Last week when I took off with full tanks, I watched the fuel trailing off the wing for an hour until I burned / leaked enough fuel out of the left tank to get it below the level of the cap sticking into the tank.

    So.... What caps are you guys using, and are you using the goose neck vent tube? What are you using to glue the tubes into the cap? Are you having any issue with fuel leaking out with full tanks?

    70% of the time I dont have full tanks for the shorter local flights. But when I head up to the lodge I top off so I can get there and back and play around a bit while I am there.

    :BC:/>

    I used JB weld on my vent tubes,they are vented caps and have a little pin hole on top,I drilled through that hole but not clear thru the whole cap.Thats what Skyraider told me to do. You are still using the vent in the cap with just an extension of the vent hole.I have seen others with the tube clear thru the cap and they told me not to do that.When you turn my caps upside down you don't see the tube on the inside.Randy