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Heat exchanger mount vibration

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bobct

Advanced Contributor
Hi, it's been a long time posting mostly because the old 454's have been bulletproof.

We took a long trip today and I like to look around in the engine room while underway. I usually grow my hair out and wear lots of jewelry for the occasion.

i always notice "something" everytime I do this and strongly recommend everyone do this on occassion as there are things you will never see running in the slip.

Today, I noticed the my H/E I on one engine was bouncing around like crazy. It's slightly higher on the mounting bracket than the other engine. Has anyone had the bracket break from metal fatigue? Ideally, it should be lower (referring to the slot in the bracket) but I think I would have to cut the hose in order for it to drop down.

Am I making something out of nothing or should I be inspecting aircraft for a living?

Bob
 
Never had the HX bracket fail but have had two of the U-Cooler mounting brackets fail....

They may vibrate a bit, at certain RPMs but wouldn't describe it like that....the brackets are adjustable to accommodate different installation angles. The HX only needs to be elevated so that it's cap is at/above the tstat housing....could also be the bolt came loose or broke...
 
Maybe "like crazy" might be an overstatement but it was definitely bouncing around. I noticed the one in question is slightly higher on the bracket than the other side. Bolts are good and tight. I'm going to drop it down a bit lower, it'll be way above the thermo at any height on the bracket from what I can tell.

You get a real appreciation of how hard these engines work and the pounding everything takes when you hear them under load.


Bob
 
bobct said:
Maybe "like crazy" might be an overstatement but it was definitely bouncing around. I noticed the one in question is slightly higher on the bracket than the other side. Bolts are good and tight. I'm going to drop it down a bit lower, it'll be way above the thermo at any height on the bracket from what I can tell.

You get a real appreciation of how hard these engines work and the pounding everything takes when you hear them under load.


Bob
Click to expand...

Yes, good epoxy and two giant tie wrap solved the problem.

MAC
 
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