First Engine Start

[michaelj]

I hit a major milestone today. My 0320 powered Long EZ sipped its first quart of 100LL. The engine has about 1800 hours total but a zero time on the complete top overhaul. I only ran it a couple minutes at a time but noticed that the oil pressure (new oil pump) ran up to 80 psi. Does anyone have the spec on an O320E2D?

 

A trip to the big dance is not possible this year but I do plan on flying my new EZ to Rough River. With a coat of paint and a set of seat cushions we'll be ready to head to the airport.

[KS canard builder]

That is Great!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!

[HardKnox]

Congrats! That's huge. I hope everything continues to go well. The oil pressure should be 60 to 90psi for the normal range (25psi at idle). The oil pressure on the 0-320 is easily adjustable, but you'll want to do it when the engine is very warm (HOT). Its normal to have 80 to 90 psi with cold oil and high RPM on the ground. The test is a hot engine at cruise, when you'll want the psi to be adjusted to right at 70.

[Lynn Erickson]

I hit a major milestone today. My 0320 powered Long EZ sipped its first quart of 100LL. The engine has about 1800 hours total but a zero time on the complete top overhaul. I only ran it a couple minutes at a time but noticed that the oil pressure (new oil pump) ran up to 80 psi. Does anyone have the spec on an O320E2D?

 

A trip to the big dance is not possible this year but I do plan on flying my new EZ to Rough River. With a coat of paint and a set of seat cushions we'll be ready to head to the airport.

Congrats, that is a big milestone

The Lycoming oil pressure is 60 to 90 psi during normal operating temps. normally it is adjusted to 65 to 70 psi. keeping it on the lower side helps by having a lower pressure on the crank seal. adjusted to a lower pressure the valve can open faster during cold starts which can cause a spike pressure of over 300 psi which can damage the oil cooler and crank seal. after engine start adjust the RPM to keep the pressure under 90 psi until the engine warms up. the pressure is adjusted by a threaded adjustment screw on some models and by adding or subtracting washers between the spring and spring cover on other models. the washers are standard AN - 4 washers. Lycoming does have 4 different springs available and the adjustment can be made by changing springs but they are not cheep so most use the washers.

[BLUE MAX]

Do you have some pictures? Maybe take a small vid clip of the engine running.

 

CONGRATS by the way

[michaelj]

Thanks for the great responses! With two replies that are in total agreement I'm confident that you guys read the book. I'll post some pics soon. With a 320 the firewall filled up with gadgets pretty quick.

[Neverquit]

Question from a total aircraft engine novice, is it okay to run the engine without a prop? Seems safer to make ajustments, etc. without that big chopper in the way.

[argoldman]

Question from a total aircraft engine novice, is it okay to run the engine without a prop? Seems safer to make ajustments, etc. without that big chopper in the way.

No and No

 

You don't want to run any engine without a load (at any more than Idle) secondly even though you don't have the cowl on, the prop aids in cooling.

 

You don't want shake and bake.

[michaelj]

Think of the prop as the other half of the flywheel. Without a prop it won't cool and could overspeed in a heartbeat. And yes, tangling with a prop will ruin the fun. There are a lot of ugly stories out there where prop and flesh occurred.