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Engine Prep
 | 2010.12.20: (0.0)
Tasks that are more easily performed on the engine before it is
mounted.
Tach drive cap
The engine has a mechanical tach drive on the rear accessory case,
which as the name implies, is meant to drive a mechanical
tachometer. I'm not planning on installing a mechanical
tach. Rather, I will get my tach indication electronically,
provided as a pulse train from the P-Mags and displayed on the
EFIS. Anyway, the tach drive on the engine therefore needs to be
properly capped. The cap doesn't need to be a pressure seal
(there is already an oil seal in the tach drive mechanism), just a
dust cap to keep the dirt out.
The engine as received from Aerosport had just a plastic dust cap
which is meant for shipping / storage, not flight-worthy. I
purchased a cap manufactured by Andair and sold by Spruce. Like
all products I've seen from Andair, it is beautifully designed and
machined, and not very cheap... But this cap from Andair solves
a common problem that's been reported by many RV folks: Other caps on
the market have no provision for safetying, and have been known to
depart the airplane in flight. The Andair cap has a crown with
holes for safety wire. On the inside, it has an O-ring, so it
should form a good seal.
Here's the temporary dust cap as received from Aerosport:
Naked tach drive with the dust cap removed:
Inside of the Andair cap (notice the O-ring):
And finally, Andair tach drive cap installed and safetied:
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