Rotax 914 oil pressure

[SDQDI]

I was just wondering what oil pressure other 914 users were getting? (Well even 912 users for that matter)

 

My oil temps in this weather struggle to get to 90 degrees and normally on start up I get well over 4 bar and then that settles down to between 3 and 4 once oil temps get up around the 90. Today though I noticed my oil pressure only reading 2 bar after flying (been doing some ll training and had done an hour or so) and was wondering if any other 914s get down that low.

 

Oil level is still nearly to the full mark and looking the engine over I couldn't see any leaks or obvious problems, everything is still running fine and 2 bar is still in the green but just thought I would ask to see if that is lower than normal for others and to see if anyone has had a similar thing.

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Can sometimes be caused by oil flow leakage past the relief valve or maybe weak spring my engine looses a bit of pressure when it outside temps are high.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Remember folks, there is a difference between the words loose and lose.

 

 

[gareth lacey]

Wed flight at 9.30 am , pressure at cruise 3bar temps 84 912

 

cheers gareth

 

 

[planesmaker]

Mine has always ran low but did come up a bit when I changed the spring on relief valve. Tom

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

It's normal...within range.

 

 

[Scotty 1]

Hi Sam, Still got the oil cooler partially covered? Low level and working harder it might need uncovering a bit. What temp was the oil at?

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Remember folks, there is a difference between the words loose and lose.

[rhtrudder]

Remember folks, sorry my mistake

 

 

[SDQDI]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Scotty the temp was still down between 80-90 degrees so still cold. It's a struggle to get above 90 unless doing a full power steep climb for lots of thousands of foots:gagged:(Sorry Dazza, I couldn't resist)

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

What oil are you using by the way.....?

 

 

[SDQDI]

Aeroshell sport plus 4

 

This morning I gave the wire on the sensor a little wiggle and couldn't get the pressure below 3 bar today. Could it have just been a connection problem?

 

All seemed to be good today anyway, I change my oil and filter every 33 hours and only have 4 or so hours till then so will monitor the pressure till then and then do a good cut open and examine of the filter just to ensure nothing amiss. But after seeing it today I'm happy and not too worried, just seeing it yesterday lower than normal got me worried:blush:

 

 

[rhtrudder]

We fitted bypass thermostats to the intake side of the radiator , the bypass line is connected back into the same hose, easy to do, done over 600 hrs on my 914 , no more bits of cardboard on the radiator. doesn't warm the engine up much quicker but holds temps on long descents a lot better . We bought them through JG worth a try only down side is more hose clamps. Again sorry for the bad grammar , takes me back to high school when me and storchy sat for our English exams or should that be storchy and I

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

The newer model oil pressure senders on new engines seems to work better. I always put a DOB of high- temp silicon ( permatex red) on electrical connections especially temps and pressures. My gauge needles rarely move once warmed up.

 

 

[AVOCET]

Aeroshell sport plus 4This morning I gave the wire on the sensor a little wiggle and couldn't get the pressure below 3 bar today. Could it have just been a connection problem?

 

All seemed to be good today anyway, I change my oil and filter every 33 hours and only have 4 or so hours till then so will monitor the pressure till then and then do a good cut open and examine of the filter just to ensure nothing amiss. But after seeing it today I'm happy and not too worried, just seeing it yesterday lower than normal got me worried:blush:

Gees , no need for the red face ,

 

This IS exacly the safty culture that saves lives , and needs to be applauded .

 

You need to investigate evey abnormality and DONTasume any thing .

 

If only ide looked ! Famous last words , that only a few get to utter .

 

Mike , still here ,

 

First time ive been able to post in a while !

 

Cheers

 

 

[Downunder]

In the "oils" service bulletin rotax recommend running oil temp to at least 100C once per flight day.

 

 

[rankamateur]

In the "oils" service bulletin rotax recommend running oil temp to at least 100C once per flight day.

That to boil the condensation off?

 

 

[Downunder]

That to boil the condensation off?

Yes, I imagine it is.

 

I know a few people who run quite cool all the time and seem unaware of this.

 

I run a constant 102 to 110 (in summer) and am happy with this.

 

The oil thermostat helps in this regard.

 

 

[facthunter]

If you register 85 (depending on WHERE you measure it It is sufficient as the oil will get hotter in other parts of the engine. Temps well over 100, I only am happy if the circumstances are not normal Ie long climb on a hot day and you have to reach a certain altitude , and the oil is a synthetic Synthetic is known to be suitable for higher temps than mineral based oils. That's what you are paying for. Nev

 

 

[Geoff13]

I certainly wouldn't want to run any engine without getting the oils up above at least 90. Even synthetic oils develop condensation moisture.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

I certainly wouldn't want to run any engine without getting the oils up above at least 90. Even synthetic oils develop condensation moisture.

And additionally synthetic oils are hygroscopic ...they readily absorb water, and have little anti corrosion qualities.

 

 

[Scotty 1]

One thing with the Hornets they are designed to run in the tropics with the open cowl so I have the oil cooler half covered all the time. Even in summer and a full power climb temp still only gets just over the 100deg mark (as the manual says) and on cruise settles back down to between 80 & 90deg. Have thought about the thermostats, but as it is, it is working ok and is one less thing to go wrong. Main reason I looked at the thermostats was to reduce the warmup to less than 5 to 6 minutes, but I don't think they reduce the time by much at all do they?

 

 

 

[Scotty 1]

Thanks for all the replies.Scotty the temp was still down between 80-90 degrees so still cold. It's a struggle to get above 90 unless doing a full power steep climb for lots of thousands of foots:gagged:(Sorry Dazza, I couldn't resist)

Can't go too many thousands of foots high Sam course I'm scared of them high foots...........Maybe I've been kicked up the bum too many times with them high foots.

 

 

[Downunder]

Main reason I looked at the thermostats was to reduce the warmup to less than 5 to 6 minutes, but I don't think they reduce the time by much at all do they?

I would agree with that. I have a thermostat but it still takes a while to get temps up. They are good at regulating inflight temps but I use a pre-heater to get some heat into the engine before start up.

 

Warm up time does add up and count towards TBO.

 

 

[Scotty 1]

I would agree with that. I have a thermostat but it still takes a while to get temps up. They are good at regulating inflight temps but I use a pre-heater to get some heat into the engine before start up.Warm up time does add up and count towards TBO.

Tell us more about the pre-heater you use. Would like to get the warm up time down a bit, but it does give plenty of time for checks (and double checks).