Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

[NC26528]

My recently “re” acquired 1940 BL features a great running O-145 that has a little over 500 hours SMOH. Good news, right? Well, that overhaul took place in 1946, and if the records are correct, the only time since then that it has been opened up is when my dad tore it down for an inspection back in 1962. So since it does throw some oil when running and is in desperate need of a cosmetic restoration, I’d like to disassemble the engine and do an IRAN. Is there a one stop source available for the consumables I’m going to need (namely gaskets), or am I going to have to scour the parts stashes and/or fabricate my own? And yes, I am aware of the head gasket saga, but the most recent threads on this seem to be several years old now. I’m looking for current information.

Thanks for your support

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Wow, I would LOVE for you to start a thread on this tear down, clean up and rebuild! Neat old engine that many of us haven't ever gotten a good look at. A detailed thread of the process would be a GOLD MINE for a future restoration of one.

Cold the moderator make a thread JUST for the use of Michael and keep this one going to have conversations about the process?

Hank

[astjp2]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

A local guy in Utah junked 3 of them because he couldn't get parts to rebuild them. They also don't make as much torque as the continental did. Tim

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Low power isn't really the point to antique/originality guys. We need to preserve our history. I would love to fly one of the really early low HP Taylorcrafts. It isn't about getting there fast, or high ROC, it is about doing it the way the original owners did. Some of us love that stuff. One reason I have never considered putting a higher HP engine in any of my planes.
Each to their own.

Hank

[NC26528]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

I'd be happy to do a expose' on an IRAN of this engine, but I suspect that will not happen for a few months yet. As long as it continues to run well, I'm happy to keep flying (and wiping off the oil).

[NC26528]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

The "ultimate" in performance is not the mission of this airplane... I already own an airplane that does 200+ knots and 4,000 FPM climb.

This is the engine that came in the airplane from the factory and is perfectly capable of sustaining flight around my airport, not to mention the fact that it dragged me across some pretty inhospitable terrain on the 10+ hour flight home without a hint of drama. It has earned the right to remain on the front side of the firewall of this airplane. This T-craft stays original.











That's not to say that there are not a couple of extra horses to be found here and there with some "attention to detail" during reassembly... But we will have to see how that plays out.

[3Dreaming]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

J P Hackenburg & Sons
416 Spruce St
Montoursville, PA 17754
(570) 368-8849

Watch those oil leaks real close. These engines will crack between the cylinders. There was a recent forced landing crash of a BL in Florida. The pictures show quite a bit of oil down the left side of the fuselage. I would not be surprised if they had a failure because of one of these cracks.

[NC26528]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Will do. I recall reading about the "left side oil leak" elsewhere in this forum. At this point, it looks like the breather riser is the source, but I will give it a closer look as soon as I have time.

[M Towsley]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Tom,

This may shed some light on the BL forced landing in Florida:

On March 5, 2016, about 1345 eastern standard time, a Taylorcraft BL-65, N22661, operated by a private
individual, was substantially damaged during a forced landing, after it experienced a partial loss of
engine power while in cruise flight near St. Petersburg, Florida. The private pilot and a passenger
were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the
flight that departed from Manatee Airport, (48X), Palmetto, Florida. The personal flight was conducted
under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot reported that the airplane
had flown about 10 miles from 48X, when the engine began to run rough, and experienced a 50 percent
power reduction. The pilot subsequently performed a forced landing to a golf course. During the
landing, the airplane struck trees and sustained substantial damage to the left wing, which was
partially separated from the fuselage.
The airplane was manufactured in 1939 and was equipped with a Lycoming O-145-B2, 65-horsepower engine.
Examination of the engine by an FAA inspector revealed that two nuts were missing from the No. 3
cylinder head studs, and a third stud was fractured. The cylinder head and fractured stud were
forwarded to the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Washington, DC, for further examination.
Initial review of maintenance records revealed that the engine had been operated for about 20 hours
since its most recent inspection, which was performed on October 8, 2015, and included a check of all
cylinder head bolts for "tightness."
Updated on Mar 14 2016 4:41PM

[Guest]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Thanks Marty for the info, that is an interesting scenario (since no one was hurt). Dave

[M Towsley]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Sure Dave, not a problem. Here is the Kathryn's Report with pictures. The one picture Tom was talking about is down the page.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/03/taylorcraft-bl-65-n22661-accident.html

[NC26528]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Clearly, the root cause was the lack of a flight plan.

[Guest]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Clearly, the root cause was the lack of a flight plan.

I recall when I was living in Kingston, NY around 1980 and an airplane did an emergency landing on the thru way or some other 2 lane road the local news reporter ended her report with "and the pilot had not filed a flight plan".

I learned then that the news only makes sense to you if you know nothing about what is being reported, ie. when the blind are leading the blind.

Dave

[mike lutz]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

One thing to look at on these little Lyc. is when you take the top case cover off, look the cam and followers over. They have had cam problems in the past. However I would think that this many years that has passed all of the bad cams have been weeded out. They run very smooth and quiet. And are able to idle like a sewing machine. To bad they don't have the cubic inches like a cont.
I also have a 55 hp Lyc. that came out of a 38 T-craft years ago. Its in good condition and in storage, hasn't run for a couple years and is pickeled. I really like that little engine. I repaced it with a Cont 65 several years ago.

[NC26528]

Re: Planning O-145 IRAN (Inspect/Repair As Necessary)

Well, I am taking the weekend to do a partial trardown of the engine to address some of the more acute problems, namely the mysterious left side oil leak. It is NOT a crack in the case, its a rocker box gasket that has pulled inside the rocker box cavity, and when it starts to fill with oil, it goes overboard. The ancient cork gaskets have not seen sunlight in decades it appears, so I'll be making some replacements out of silicone sheet that should last another 70 years.

Also took the opportunity to pull the top cover and look at the internals. Pretty clean if I dont say so. The red Glyptal paint is still bright and clean, the rods are nice and tight on the crank, and the cam looks brand new. The cylinders dont show any crosshatch anymore, but look great otherwise.



I have stripped and painted the top cover and made sure the raised Lycoming name recieved a brushed finish to stand out proud. The valve clearance was WAY loose, so bringing that back into spec should result in a bit more valve lift and duration and bring a touch more power.



I'm already seeing some areas that are an obvious boost in power- I really would like to get my hands on another engine to see if there is anything inside to make a "cheater" (for E-AB or airboat use only, of course).

So it looks like the valve lash adjustment and some other minor odds and ends is all this one needs for a while. Hope to be buttoning up tomorrow. Pretty amazing condition for all the sitting around this thing has done in the last 50 years since it was last opened up.