Lindy
10/4/2008
For some reason, the company that holds our website has suspended our service. So while I'll have to figure that one out on Monday, I won't get to publish this log entry until after that issue is resolved.
Anyway, today I wanted to get the alternator installed. I didn't quite get it done, but here's what I did do...the brackets that are part of the install kit from Van's are universal, so they are adjustable. I first matched up the smaller bracket to the alternator to drill the bolt hole. Then I roughly figured out where to position the bracket on the engine case, and installed four bolts, but not tightened. The forward two bolts on the main bracket use a locking plate to safety, and the rear two bolts that go thru the secondary bracket and main bracket will get safety wire.
I also put the adjustor arm in place, just hand tight to keep it "hanging" for now.
The reason I didn't get the alternator installed, is because I need one of two things...bushings for the alternator to fit the AN6 bolts, or bigger bolts. Bigger bolts means bigger holes in the brackets. Not a problem, but I need to buy bigger bolts. Bushings means I can use the bolts I have, but I have to first find bushings, then buy those. Always something...
So I moved on to getting the copper bars made to connect the master solenoid and starter solenoid. I found a piece of 1/2" copper bar at our avionics shop to use (FREE!) this week, and making the bars was a simple task of snipping off the length, then drilling holes. Here they are in place...oh, I also put rubber nipples on the ends of the starter wire-
After lunch I decided to go ahead and install the exhaust. I was gonna wait until I had more of the "inside" stuff done on the engine like control cables, but I kinda need to know where the hot pipes are gonna be for making any wiring and cable runs. Here is the first stage installed...
The Vetterman crossover exhaust fits PERFECTLY, and is very easy to install. It took some time to get it all done, but it is straightforward.
The next step is to install the tailpipe section using the ball joints with a spring tension fastener. Makes it very easy to take apart, and adjust the angle of the tailpipes. This is kind of a cool view!
Here's a close up of the ball joint and spring tension hardware.
The next step is to install the exhaust hangers. These are simple metal clips with a rubber hose shock absorption system. There are two hangers from the engine sump (seen at the top of the pic) to the tailpipes, then a tie rod between the two tailpipes to prevent swaying.
The last part is the heat muff for cabin heat. I'm not sure this is the final location on this, but for now it seems reasonable to bring the cold air straight down from the plenum, then right on over to the cabin valve on the firewall.
After this is all said and done, the tailpipes must be no less than 25 degrees in relation to the bottom of the fuselage. I set this up before I made the hangers, but to verify that it's still in position, I checked again. This picture shows the angle of the fuselage at 11 degrees-
I set the red tab at 36 degrees to mark the 25 degree difference, and then set the protractor on the tailpipes...
It's hard to see in the pictures, but both tailpipes sit at 36.5 degrees, giving 25.5 degrees of difference. Works for me!
Today was a GREAT day in the garage! I needed that!
6.0 hours