[JAG]

All this talk of Power Packs has jinxed me, and thought I would update the group. The leak I had in my power pack on a fitting progressively got worse - even after putting in a new o-ring and backup ring. I found the culprit over the weekend...the manifold at that fitting has a small crack in it - hence the source of the leak that was showing up on the downline fitting.

I have worked on many aircraft over the years, and in tight places (inside the fuel tanks of a Herc, under the dash of a Stinson 108....you get the picture? But I have to tell you, removing that damn power pack on my 1966 Skymaster was one of the worst jobs I have ever done! They built the damn airplane around that power pack!!!! Needless to say - I must correct earlier posts I made about thinking it was a straight forward job. I removed the seats, carpet and side panel on Sunday in short order, and decided last night after work, I would go out to the hangar and remove it, and be home by 9pm....wrong. I took my time draining and capping lines, etc, thinking that if I just have patience, things will go smoothly. Well, that is until...I started to take out the first mount bolt. Of course I am smart enough to start with the most difficult one, and let me tell you did that bolt learn some new cuss words, take some skin and try my patience. It took me about 30 minutes to finally figure out how to get one of wrenches on it (after trying 5 different types and styles. When I finally figured out the one that would do the job, it was another 30 minutes of backing it out, one flat at a time. If that wasn't enough, getting the damn overflow line disconnected was another joy - since new avionics occupy the space above the damn power pack.

Anyway - this job is not for the faint of heart. it took me all of 5 hours to remove that damn power pack, and I still have to go back and do some clean up in the hangar now having just dropped the tools to head home for a shower at 10pm.

Finally - I will be sending the unit up to Rick and Brian Cox to replace the manifold and overhaul this unit to 'like new' condition. I am a bit pleased with myself having purchased an auctioned power pack a few months ago from Mark (advertised on a thread here) - I am able to use the parts off of this power pack and save myself close to $1,000.

Steve - not sure if you have done the work on yours yet, but thought I would give you some feedback. I grossly underestimated the time and effort it would take to remove this pig of a part. I am guessing the install will take a bit longer, as I have to remove some avionics to make the install go a little smoother.
Jeff