Good day All,
We are just finishing up at the CopperState Fly-In here south of Phoenix,
Arizona. I sat in on a forum given by a gentleman from Lockwood Aviation. They
are a major US source for Rotax engines, accessories, parts, and service located
in Sebring, Florida.
I'm just going to quickly transfer my notes for those of us that have decided
to go with, or already have, a Rotax in their Europa.
Oil.....biggest cause of concern for Rotax due to the problems caused by the
wrong oil, running the oil too hot or too cold, or mounting the oil container
too high. For the 914, Lockwood recommends Mobil 1 MX4T Synthetic. But if you
use 100LL occasionally, do the oil change every 50 hours. If you use 100LL
exclusively, then do the oil change every 25 hours. The lead in the avgas mixes
in with the oil and slowly covers the oil channels inside the engine until,
like arterial sclerosis, your engine has a heart attack. For the 912 & 912S they
use Penzoil Motorcycle Racing oil 10W40 or 20W50. He says that the Penzoil
still has Phosphorus in their base oil and this prevents the oil from foaming,
turning into a thick mousse, and not to returning to the sump. There are also
many AD's on keeping air out of the oil. Also, oil temp is important to keep
210-230 F range. This can be difficult to do if you set up your oil cooling
system to work well in hot temps, it will cool the oil too much in cooler temps.
And Vice versa. They recommend an oil thermostat to shunt the oil around the
cooler until it gets to temp. When mounting the oil sump, don't place it too
high
in relation to the engine or you may get the oil to siphon into the engine
after shutdown. Then when you check your oil it will look low, you add oil, and
now you have too much and it gets dumped out.
The carb flanges that people had trouble with splitting recently. There are
new flanges out that are stronger material and the clamp has a spacer to
prevent the screw from being over tightened. If you have the old style, then
tighten
the screw until you have a 7mm gap at the underside between the two sides of
the clamp. This is sufficient, especially when using an airbox. Too tight and
you will either squeeze out the flange and it will pop off or it will split
right at the clamp in short time.
Float Bowl gaskets - If you remove the float bowls and the gasket comes off,
reseat it into the groove in the carb......don't try to sit it on top of the
bowl and press it up into place. It will not seat and probably leak...or worse
it will get damaged.
On new engines.....the carbs are set to full open...if you start it up
without a prop you will reach damage level rev in less than a second.
Idle set screws should not be used to set the idle if you can set it at the
throttle quadrant. Otherwise you could bend the set screw mounts if you
hurriedly pull back on the throttle.
If you run an airbox, run the overflow tubes from the carbs into the airbox
so the float bowls see the same pressure as the carbs. If no airbox, do not
extend the overflow tubes as it may be fine on the ground at idle but the
pressure will change in flight.
With the carbs off and upside down when the float bowl is removed, the float
arm should be horizontal.
Synchronizing the carbs is the means of allowing your engine to run trouble
free until TBO. They should be synchronize every 100 hours unless there is
trouble. Unsynchronized carbs cause excessive gearbox wear. Idle should be set
at
1800 rpm...under 1400 rpm the engine runs bad and will probably shut down.
Synchronizing the carbs can be done with a kit they sell and takes about 45
minutes the first time you try it, then only 20 minutes from then on.
Gearbox - On the 912S, the service should be done at about 500 hours. Sooner
if you don't sync your carbs. The gearbox can be removed by removing the two
bolts that attach the fuel pump and let the pump hang by the hoses. Then remove
all the bolts holding the gearbox. I think that he said that there are two
bolts near the bottom that are a different size. Then with the prop off, use a
rubber mallet to lightly tap the back side of the prop flange to evenly remove
the gearbox. If you clean it up and ship it to them, they do a two day
turnaround (usually) for about $100 plus return shipping.
EGT's - they don't recommend them because you can't do anything about it, the
front ones will always be higher than the rear, and at cruise they hardly
ever agree. Nominal temp runs about 1470'F with a max of 1560'F. This is
measured
with their EGT setup that has the probe 36mm from the manifold. If yours is
more then it will run lower, closer it will run hotter.
K&N Carb Filters - Use only the K&N cleaner. If you use solvent or gasoline
you may ruin the filter paper. After cleaning let it air dry then apply the K&N
oil, otherwise the filter will only catch leaves, paper, and bugs. The grit
will pass right through. It should be done about every 200 hours...sooner in
dusty areas and grass strips.
Verify your prop tachs....he has seen most tachs are reading too low. You
should run 5600 rpm for take-off and climbout. But 5800 is max, so make sure
your
tack is right.
And last but not least....he says that if you run a slipper clutch, you
should have the new starter motor to prevent damage to the sprag clutch. US
builders.....contact your Rotax dealer because this guy says that the US Rotax
importer is subsidizing the replacement of these new starter motor at 1/2 price.
Questions contact Lockwood. www.lockwood-aviation.com
Mike Duane
A207 XS Conventional gear
Redding, California
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