Ivan's RV-7

Storing parts on the shelfTimer icon2h

January 26, 2023

Spent some time putting parts on the shelf.

The original idea was to spray parts with LPS-3, then store them inside vacuum bags. However, as it turned out in the end, these bags are too thin for the aluminum parts: sharp corners tend to rip the bags.

So in the end I just put them in the bags with some desiccants. I sprayed the crankshaft and the camshaft with LPS-3, but then I ran out of it, so the case only got a little of it and the accessory cover and the sump got none. I think that's okay, they are aluminum, and generally, stuff does not tend to rust in my garage. It is not conditioned, but it gets the air from the house and the garage door is insulated a bit. I will review the parts after a few weeks.

The crankshaft.

Spraying the crankshaft.

The camshaft.

Spraying the camshaft.

The parts are on the shelf. The box contains the parts I won't spend much time preserving: the parts to discard (fasteners, gaskets, everything that needs to be replaced at overhaul, and so on) and the parts that are not too expensive in case they got bad (for example, the pushrod tubes and the drain-back pipes).

Major parts

The remaining set of parts is the cylinders (what to do about them?) and the various gears plus the connecting rods. These I want to spray with LPS-3 as I want to reuse them.

I also researched a bit the oil pump. Initially, I thought I need to replace both the housing and the impellers (the gears). However, after reading the Service Bulletin 240W (Mandatory Parts Replacement at Overhaul and During Repair or Maintenance), I found that it says "Oil pump bodies (two-piece)". I think that means that only the old-style two-piece oil pump body needs to be replaced. Will research more.

Also, it says that nitrided/carburized steel oil pump impeller gears can be examined and re-used if they pass inspection. The gears I have are SL18109A (Lycoming part LW-18109A) and SL18110A (Lycoming part LW-18110), which are steel impellers (and they have stamps "C" and "N", for "Carburized" and "Nitrided").

So, overall it does look like I can reuse the whole oil pump (if it passes the inspection).