Another high oil pressure problem

[Johns]

Starting for the first time my Arovee, rebuilt by Great Plains Aircraft.Oil gauge went way over 100lbs and blew out the oil cooler in a matter of seconds. Fortunately someone was watching and I shut it down immediately. Also the oil was full of air bubbles.. So there must be a way to adjust the pressure down. I have not built an Aerovee so please keep it simple if there is a way to do so. Thanks, John

[gammaxy]

I recommend verifying that the oil pressure relief and control valves are installed correctly.

The instructions are on page 13 of the manual. I recommend you get familiar with the manual regardless of your status as a builder.
http://www.aeroconversions.com/support/ ... Manual.pdf

I assume you have a bottom oil cooler? I have a top mounted one which I think is better for simplicity and oil changes require less work. I only mention this since now might be a good chance to decide if you want to change styles.

Did you follow the instructions about priming the oil pump on page 60 of the manual? I don't know that it would have prevented this problem, but it would let you spin the engine at a relatively low rpm while maybe getting a feel for what the pressure is going to do when you actually start the engine.

Are you using the VDO 360-001 sender? It's a 0-80 psi sender. I think it would have to be configured incorrectly to read 100psi, but I could be wrong. In any event, you did blow an oil cooler, so the pressure must have been pretty high. Where did the cooler break? If I remember correctly, this is the second time this has happened to you?

I tend to see pretty high pressures right after engine start (70 psi?). My engine seems to run best right after start around 1300 rpm. I admit that sometimes it goes as high as 1500-1600 rpm before I pull the power back. After 10+ seconds, I'm usually able to idle closer to 1000 rpm until the oil starts to warm. Was your engine spinning fast when the cooler blew?

[kmacht]

If great planes rebuilt it why not call them and ask what's up. I would have expected them to do at least a test run if rebuilding an engine for a customer.

Keith
#554

[Johns]

Chris, after doing research in Tom Wilson's VW book I am going to check the pressure relief and control valves. I'm thinking that should be the problem. My Rpms were at about 1500 upon starting. If that doesn't work I will contact Great Plains. Thanks for the replies!!!! John

[vwglenn]

This might sound really stupid but are you sure you didn't overfill it? I think It would be a really easy thing to do especially if it's a taildragger.