The International Cessna 170 Association

I am just starting an O-360 install with the Delaire STC.

I need to get the back of the firewall clean to rivet a few old holes and attach a bunch of new stuff - fuel pump, Atlee dodge battery box, fuel pressure sender, solenoid etc.

What is the best way to reinsulate? Foam from Selkirk? There was a piece of carpet over fibreglass on the bottom half below the heater duct (1956) and clear plastic over fibreglass on the top half. Cessna black goop on the firewall.

First sidetrack was to rebush rudder pedals as per recent discussion. I turned four “top hat” bushings that gave a wider bush area and riveted in. Pilot side only needed doing and they were quite bad, one was at least two pin diameters wide.

Then I thought I might as well rebuild master cylinders as I have never done it. Lots of grey slime in them. I have only taken one apart so far but the compensating sleeve was installed with the v notches up. I think they should be down to allow oil to pass when lock-o-seal is open?

daedaluscan wrote:Then I thought I might as well rebuild master cylinders as I have never done it. Lots of grey slime in them. I have only taken one apart so far but the compensating sleeve was installed with the v notches up. I think they should be down to allow oil to pass when lock-o-seal is open?

Here is a page from the 100 Series Service Manual that might be of help.

Doug

Top right shows orientation of sleeve.
Charlie I put a new firewall on long ago. I used closed cell foam insulation to insulate the cabin side. A bit painful but seeing that your going to virtually remove then reinstall all the wiring and controls, you’re picking a perfect time to renew that insulation, clean and inspect your engine mount structure inside the fuselage.
I guess cement pouring has taken a back seat

I will reply with a question, would you want a piece of foam on the firewall with a fire on the other side making it way to hot to touch? Not me I would use fiberglass.

Tim

Yes, cement is officially paused till I fly again. Nearly done anyway.

Whatever I put on the firewall it will be fire rated. Spruce has some options like the ceramic blanket and the firewall 2000 but that seems to be for forward of the firewall. I am looking for some noise insulation/ deadening and heat insulation.

The specs on this look good from Spruce: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/ ... lator3.php

Tim, your are correct, its not any piece of foam. Its closed cell fire resistant foam (It will not sustain direct flame when you try to light it).
Now right back at you and possibly others. Has the factory installed insulation in the plane, been replaced? After 60 years that sound insulation wrapped it plastic will likely be contaminated from fluids that have worked their way through the firewall (Almost every one I’ve looked out is (as evidenced by the various colour changes in the fibreglass material).
Check and make sure all firewall through holes are sealed. Contaminated fibreglass insulation will act like a candle wick and readily burn.
This is a known problem in Commercial aviation, contaminated fireproof materials have ignited and or significantly added to a fire-event. See Georges recent post to a circuit breaker thread for small bit of evidence.
As a side note, pressurized aircraft interiors are heavily contaminated inside with dust and lint due to the massive amounts of air that are exchanged through the machine during a flight. Nice not to know, over time the contamination builds up into inches inside the airframe and is a major contributor to a fire amongst flameproof materials. Fortunately the FAA / MOT has put a great emphasis on maintaining clean interiors and clean airframes.

c170b53 wrote:.... See Georges recent post to a circuit breaker thread for small bit of evidence.....

An even more convincing accident (if that’s possible) would be Swissair 111, in which contaminated insulation likely played a part in propagating the fire so intense that the cockpit roof melted, the captain abandoned the flight-deck and the airplane crashed into the ocean, killing all aboard.

Feel free to call me with any questions or pics. I used the DelAir kit and many of the mods you described on my 55 C170B. I can save you some trouble and frustration in some of the installations.

Best regards,
John Nielsen
Bloomer WI (USA)
715-568-3980

John I very very briefly looked at the paperwork and I thought the mixture control attachment looked a bit weak. Appears to be just two clamps, have you come up with something better?

JohnNielsen wrote:Feel free to call me with any questions or pics. I used the DelAir kit and many of the mods you described on my 55 C170B. I can save you some trouble and frustration in some of the installations.

Best regards,
John Nielsen
Bloomer WI (USA)
715-568-3980

Thanks for the kind offer, I will take you up on it.

And thanks to Jim for his visit and advice.

JohnNielsen wrote:Feel free to call me with any questions or pics. I used the DelAir kit and many of the mods you described on my 55 C170B. I can save you some trouble and frustration

Feel free to tell us more and save the rest of us some trouble, or at least give us an idea of what we’d be signing up for.

Fitting cowling. The oil door for the dipstick is high and the dipstick is a long way down there. Is there a longer filler tube/dipstick option for an O-360? And do I need to recalibrate the dipstick for a taildragger?

And if anyone has a spare governor oil line for a wide deck O-360 I need one.

daedaluscan wrote:Fitting cowling. The oil door for the dipstick is high and the dipstick is a long way down there. Is there a longer filler tube/dipstick option for an O-360? And do I need to recalibrate the dipstick for a taildragger?

And if anyone has a spare governor oil line for a wide deck O-360 I need one.

What you may be looking for could be the LW75675 oil filler extension: