Installing engine Baffles

[4-Shipp]

Is there a trick to installing the inner-cylinder baffles without bending them excessively. I have a fresh new set of baffling and if removing the old was any indication an easy way of installing the new is not obvious. I'm beginning to think that it may be necessary to remove the intake manifold. Anyone have any secrets out there?

Bruce

[cessna170bdriver]

deleted by the author

[jrenwick]

I recently had to remove and replace my #4 cylinder, so I had all the baffles off that side of the engine. I didn't remove the manifold. It takes some bending and cussing, but it is possible to remove and replace those baffles with the intake manifold in place. Don't be afraid to pinch the baffles as much as necessary to get them in. They should spring right back into shape.

John

[W.J.Langholz]

4-Ship

I did what John said.........somehow I learned a few new words when I was doing it so you may want to be by your self......

W.

[GAHorn]

Bruce Shipp is a former Air Force Instructor Pilot and current SWA pilot, so he does not use, nor even know, those kinds of words, Dubya.

Now, if he'd been a Naval aviator, he'da invented some new vocabulary. If he'd been a Marine, they'd have to say them again s l o w l y.....

[Brad Brady]

Miles,
In viewing your photos I believe, I noticed that you haven't installed the the 470 type of push rod tubes. Is there a reason for not doing so?.....Brad

[W.J.Langholz]

Bruce Shipp is a former Air Force Instructor Pilot and current SWA pilot, so he does not use, nor even know, those kinds of words, Dubya.

Now, if he'd been a Naval aviator, he'da invented some new vocabulary. If he'd been a Marine, they'd have to say them again s l o w l y.....

Mr G Man you must have forgotten, I grew up in a Jar Head House my dad was a DI from PI, 20 years worth.........the last part of your statement could almost be viewed as cause for confrontation ....I'll let it slide this time

W.

[4-Shipp]

Well, I have not started to install the baffles so no cussing there, yet!

However……I have been cleaning out the wells in the bottom of the fuse behind the rudder pedals. I removed the pedals to facilitate cleaning the old firewall blanket remnants off the lower part of the firewall and to have ready access to repair a crack in the lower fuse skin down by the bottom left engine mount bracket. The master cylinders, mounts, rudder tubes and everything else was covered by a thick layer of oil, hydraulic (brake) fluid, fiberglass remnants from the firewall blanket and countless other “dust bunnies”. Now there is a job that will make you cuss!

I found all types of treasures buried in this reddish goo. To my surprise I found the three missing bushings from the rudder pedal assemblies.

This all started with the replacement of the plexi glass underlay on the sub panel. It has progressed to removing everything that goes through the firewall, new firewall blanket, all new engine controls, R&R’ing a cylinder (exhaust valve work), new engine baffle kit, new plexi glass, CBs for fuses, new p-leads, lots of new wiring (although I have opted against the total re-wire for now) and fix the crack in the fuse skin.

What I have learned:

1. When installing the center cylinder, you must install the rocker arm pin before you install the cylinder.

2. The first time you install a cylinder it takes 3 hours.

3. The second time you install said cylinder it takes 30 minutes.

4. It gets real dirty behind the pedals.

5. If you rub one stubborn spot of caked-on 56 year old greasy, grimey dirt, it will get smaller very quickly.

6. If you keep rubbing, it will still get smaller, but never totally disappear!

On a brighter note, I am having a local laser cutter reproduce my plexi sub panel cover. I am in the process of painting the back side of the blank to match the panel and then he will cut the holes and reverse etch the lettering. I will then come back and spray white for the letters. I will keep you posted on how this comes out and the cost. I expect it to be reasonably priced and turn around is less than a week. More to follow.

Bruce

[hilltop170]

Bruce-
If you get that plastic panel figured out, you could start a nice business selling them. I would buy one.

My old one is still serviceable but several of the positions have changed functions and are no longer labeled correctly. It would be nice to get a new one with the correct labels. Let us know if your's comes out well enough to repeat.

After investigating what color the original 1951 C-170A panel actually was when it was new (the Cessna colors mean nothing these days), I went to the auto parts store touch-up paint section and bought every color that was even close to the dark red from the original panel. "Dupli-Color" acrylic lacquer touch-up aerosol in a shade called "Dark Canyon Red" is almost an exact match of the original burgundy-brown instrument panel color. Under the panel were several examples of the original color that had been out of direct sunlight and had faded very little. It was amazing how bad the painted part of the instrument panel had faded. I sprayed the back side of my old plastic panel and covered up the spots where the old color had fallen off. It looks good but still has some wrong labels. A new one would be really nice.

Let us know how your's turns out.

[n2582d]

Does Joy Warren of the 120-140 association still make these plexiglass panels? Here's a quote from jlwild last year that is another source on these:

On the 120-140 forum site I found a lead for the plexiglass instrument panel plate. The good news the fabricator makes them for 170, 170A, and 170B. The sad news he does not make them for the 1955 170B model serial numbers. For those of you needing a new part, the Fabricators name is Cecil Neal, 913-831-1465 (H).

See http://www.cessna120-140.org/Classified/plexpanel.htm

plexpanel.jpg