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Frank:
I am totally planning on doing as much as I can. I am a highly capable mechanic/engineer. The issue is that I am in Iowa, and the plane is in Oklahoma. I have been troubleshooting with the mechanic down there. I asked him to pull the oil pressure relief valve as it is located before the oil cooler. So if it is dumping oil, there is less oil getting cooled leading to higher temps. See the attached pics. Needless to say, this was a good call. Cleaned the port, ordered the new style adjustable relief valve. Since I will not be back down there for a week or more, I am going to have him pull the oil cooler and send it to QAA for an exchange.
On the propeller side of things, we have to keep in mind that constant speed props work just the opposite of feathering props. CS props rely on pressure to INCREASE the pitch, and feathering props rely on pressure to DECREASE the pitch. That is why if you have a full engine stoppage, you can still feather the prop on a twin. In addition, the governor has a high pressure pump in it, so as long as it gets oil, the governor will boost the pressure to the prop. The SUPER NICE guys at H and S propeller have worked on the props in the past so I called them. He said it is very common to have to adjust a screw on the side of the governor to allow the prop to de-oil faster in feather mode. He said that my prop feathers at a higher RPM because the counter weights in the prop are helping push the oil out. He gave me a test to run, but wants me to send him a picture of the governor so he can walk me through the adjustment.
I am headed down to OK to putts around with it this weekend. I am still very excited about the whole deal. I totally expected this to be a labor of love, so no worries there. I just wish people were more up front about issues instead of trying to hide them. Even if I can't fly this weekend, I am totally stoked to sit in it and make engine noises........you all cant see it, but I have a huge grin on my face right now!!
You guys are great!
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