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Rotorway-Rework
6. Engine is installed, finally! Keep your eye on the clearance for the fuel manifolds with the airframe. Very close. I had to cut down the torque link about a 1/8" to allow for enough adjustment. Mark well your ignition wires from the CDI module. The engine bay is very crowded at this point and good labeling pays for itself in less frustration.
2. I labeled everything. It might be current knowledge during the build but memories fade! Notice how tight everything is, not much room for error. When the harnesses get installed it really gets compact! Again, take your time and plan it out before cutting or drilling.
3. Notice that the oil sump, fuel rail, fuel shutoff and fuel pumps are installed. When the hoses and harnesses are in place your access is very limited. This is the time to route things properly and plan for future maintainability.
4. His overview shows the airframe almost ready for the motor. I've been 80% ready for about a month at this point! The jack I bought at Harbor Freight made the actual lifting pretty straight forward. However, the original gear height was lower that this one. We got the engine up only to discover that the jack no longer went high enough! Down with the engine and blocks were added. Up again, except now the blocks were poorly positioned and we couldn't move forward enough. Down with the motor. Finally on the third try SUCCESS.
5. This is how it all started, my desire for a new 162F engine! A long road to get here. This engine is dimensionally the same as my original and with the new style mount should just fit nicely. Yeah right! The fuel injection manifolds stick out and come real close to the airframe. They also were a concern when jacking the engine into place. During this whole project there were problems at every turn. All were resolved but it was very frustrating at points!
1. The early Exec's had large one piece access panels for their seatbacks. With the CDI ignition you mount the coils and pressure sensors to the split passenger panel upper half. It is important to have a good ground to the assembly as mounted to the panel (no washers). Space is at a premium, trial fit before any drilling. Make sure that everything clears on the engine side.
The two major concerns during my upgrade project were obtaining parts (economically) and the welding of the airframe. Most of the weldments can be purchased but without dimensioned prints I had to be innovative in getting the tech data. There were numerous shortcomings with the factory prints and instructions both written and video.