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Maybe a little over kill, but cool nun the less.
No kidding. Wouldn't do it on a motorcycle, but in an airplane... I imagine it takes a very long time to hit the ground... or at least it probably feels like a long time.Up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane - such a failure might be a tad more serious, or even on the ground if it's your house the plane hits.
I found this picture of what someone did to secure the sight glass on a oilhead engine in a plane he was building.
Wouldn't do it on a motorcycle, but in an airplane... I imagine it takes a very long time to hit the ground... or at least it probably feels like a long time.
I thought about doing something similar years ago after reading posts of them popping out. Instead I just carry a small Nalgene jar with a spare sight glass and a few quick-disconnect O-rings.
It shouldn't really pop out, but at least I won't be waiting for one if it does.
And if it does pop out, why wouldn't the new one pop out as well?
So if the sightglass is in good condition, why would it pop out? All I can think of is high crankcase pressure.
How likely is that?
And if it does pop out, why wouldn't the new one pop out as well?
And, how long have you got before all the oil is gone and the motor gets wrecked?
Believe it or not, this sightglass thing bothers me more than FD failures or all the other 'issues' the boxers have.
It seems that a friction fit plastic and rubber object will degrade over time and numerous heat / cooling cycles.
That was something I never ever had to be concerned with on my old airheads. Using a dipstick to check the oil was pretty darn easy and functional. The glass is not an improvement IMO.
I could be wrong, but I believe the oil sight glass does have an internal metal frame...much like an oil seal.
Is it the whole thing that pops out or just the see-through lens?
Its just the see through lens with a rubber o-ring around it.
Rubber O-ring?
The spare oil sight glass that I have looks more like an oil seal with a glass window....so does the one in my oilheads.
Rubber O-ring?
The spare oil sight glass that I have looks more like an oil seal with a glass window....so does the one in my oilheads.
Only in Hollywood do planes go totally out of control when an engine quits...remember the 2nd Indiana Jones movie.
When the engine quits, its a glider. How do you think we land?
Yep an oil seal that after numerous heat and cooling cycles degrades in fit tension allowing it to self remove from the engine, usually while running down the road. This leads to a rapid oil draining situation for the engine. Ain't that just a wonderful "feature"?
Yep an oil seal that after numerous heat and cooling cycles degrades in fit tension allowing it to self remove from the engine, usually while running down the road.