Mini Sump Oil Change

[gammaxy]

I was surprised when I removed the drain plug and no oil came out. Turns out the spring pressed the bypass valve against the hole tight enough to create a seal. I had to use the hole in the side of the mini sump to drain the oil. This seems to defeat the purpose of the bypass valve since there's no way for oil to reach it.

There is a chance I installed the top seal upside down since it wasn't obvious which way it goes (now I know the curved surface goes up). Edit: There are indentations in my seal that indicate I installed it correctly. My filter doesn't have the flat lip that is shown in the documentation--it is conical instead. I'm not certain flipping the seal will make a difference. How much gap is everyone else seeing between the drain plug and bypass valve?

I bought the Empi 17-2872-0 Mini Sump online and not from Sonex. There's a chance that mine isn't exactly the same as what Sonex sells.

[SonexN76ET]

Chris,

I bought my mini sump oil filter from Sonex. I only get a few drops if I remove the bottom plug too.

Sonex says you MUST clean the filter at every oil change. I think they are right because the filter really captures a lot of sludge. So I just pull the whole mini sump to let the oil drain and to clean the filter.

Jake

[gammaxy]

I can't help but feel like the filter is not supposed to block the drain plug. Having the valve bottom out on the bottom of the sump means when I bolt the sump on, I could potentially be applying a significant amount of force against the pickup assembly and the spring is not serving any purpose except making the sump difficult to install and keeping the filter from sliding out of position--a task that could be performed just as well by a much shorter spring.

I feel like if the top seal was shorter by about 1/8" or slotted like the grommet on the bottom it might make better sense.



Removing the whole mini sump to drain oil sounds super messy. Have you figured out how to do it without making a mess?

[wlarson861]

I remove the return line on the side of the sump to drain the oil. The drain plug on the bottom does not drain the oil as the oil would have to go through the fine mesh filter to exit the bottom oil drain. The side opening does not go through the filter element and drains freely. I have to remove the side fittings to get to the acorn nuts for the filter housing so its not that big an issue. I clean the filter on every oil change. It only requires one gasket so its the same price as the every other clean the screen at 50 hours!

[gammaxy]

I might be misunderstanding something, but there is a bypass valve on the bottom of the filter that I assume is supposed to allow oil to bypass the filter if it is totally clogged. This is crammed against the drain so hard that there is no way it would ever pass any oil (unless maybe the filter becomes crushed). If the assembly was dimensioned the way I believe it should be, the bypass valve would be 1/8" or so above the drain plug allowing the bypass valve to function and allowing the drain plug to function correctly.

Surely whoever designed this thing didn't intend for it to totally block the drain plug. Right? You have to admit that the top seal doesn't even come close to looking like it's supposed to fit the filter. I also like that I only need one gasket, but that is made up for by the clumsiness of it springing apart on me while trying to install the mini-sump against way more spring than should be required.

[SonexN76ET]

Chris,

The diagram that came with my Sonex mini sump filter show the top seal with the curved side to the filter. That is opposite of what you show in your picture.

I think what prevents more oil from draining from the drain plug is the bypass valve. It does sit in there pretty tight.

Jake

[Darick]

I bought the Empi 17-2872-0 Mini Sump online and not from Sonex. There's a chance that mine isn't exactly the same as what Sonex sells.

I can't seem to find the filter on the Sonex web site. Can you direct me to the location on their site?
Thanks.

[gammaxy]

That is opposite of what you show in your picture.

Sonex's Aerovee 2.1 Turbo instructions say: "Use the pick-up tube seal from the mini-sump kit that has the large hole. The curved surface goes toward the pick-up tube". I'm pretty sure that's how my picture shows it.

[gammaxy]

I can't seem to find the filter on the Sonex web site. Can you direct me to the location on their site?

It's the ACV-P06-75 Mini Sump with Filter Kit. http://www.sonexaircraft.com/eshop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=17419

I understand it is required for use with the turbo. I thought I'd try it out on my normally-aspirated Aerovee.

[Rynoth]

I concur that Chris' installation fits what I did per the Aerovee 2.1 installation manual and his quote of the manual. Page 40 of this document: http://www.aeroconversions.com/support/ ... Manual.pdf

I agree Chris, that the fitment of the pickup seal seemed questionable at best. Just getting the mini-sump pressed deep enough to engage the nuts on the threads took a lot of pressure, and the seal seemed to fit pretty cockeyed. The bottom diameter of the seal doesn't match the recess in the filter. If I recall, I replaced the studs in the case with longer studs in the sump hardware kit (this is not called for in the plans) just to make it easier to get the nuts on.

I haven't yet changed my oil for the first time. When I do so I imagine I'll initially drain the sump oil from the oil return line from my oil separator (or the plug that would otherwise connect to this line) before removing the mini-sump. Still probably a messy process.