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Camshaft cooling nozzles?

T

tomhanaway

Well Known Member
My io-382 is about to be built.
One option is camshaft cooling nozzles.

Do these provide any real benefit to engine or cam longevity?

Thanks,
Tom H.
 
My understanding is that lycoming engines have some difficulty getting sufficient oil to the cam shaft because of its position up top and as a result, frequently show pitting and wear. "Ney nozzles" provide additional oil to this area and are recommended by many, including Mike Busch (see his EAA webinar "All About Oil")
 
I have them in my IO 360 A1A. There have been some nay sayers on this forum with nothing but "I heard" comments.
I have had them for 1000 hours, no problems. I have nothing but good things to say about Chuck Ney.
 
Nozzles

tomhanaway said:
My io-382 is about to be built.
One option is camshaft cooling nozzles.

Do these provide any real benefit to engine or cam longevity?

Thanks,
Tom H.
Click to expand...

The cam nozzles are for lubrication not cooling. Some angle valve Lycomings have piston cooling nozzles, similar but different purpose.
Google Ney Nozzles for a lot of information on this subject.
 
The Lycoming has a tendency to eat up the cams and followers. Lycoming Flyer has several articles about it. I would do it if I had the option.
 
Fly the plane and you have nothing to worry about. Even with a Cam lube nozzles, if the cam and tappet bodies are allowed go dry... then rusts and pits, you will have the same issue.
 
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I think they provide great benefit. I wouldn't build and engine for myself with out them.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
 
Mahlon,

Did all the Mattituck TMX engines cone with nozzles?

Therefore, does mine have nozzles?

BTW, good to see your voice again!

:). CJ
 
When I had my engine built by JB Aircraft in Sebring FL, he recommended this be done. He had ECI modify the case for the cam squirters. Here is a picture of them. You can see the little gold colored nozzels below the cam. Thread on the rebuild here.

cam3.jpg
 
Is it possible to have cam lubrication nozzles and piston cooling nozzles installed on the same engine?
 
Yes, as long as the crankcase is machined to install them. Some say that the additional oil being sprayed around will cause more oil vapor in the crankcase and then naturally cause higher than normal oil consumption due to oil breathing issues. I never found that to be the case. I don't think you really need piston oil nozzles until you get compression rations at or above 9:1. But I guess there is no down side to having both other tan expense to install. If I had to choose between the two and had standard tappets in the engine ,I would go with the cam lube, hands down.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
 
Thanks Mahlon, I was considering building an angle valve IO-360 for my RV-14 project and was wondering if the two mods were compatable. I ended up buying a new Lycoming IO-390 so I guess I don't need to worry about it too much, but I appreciate the information. I am sure there will be other projects in the future and the knowledge may come in handy some day:)
 
Piston Oil Squirters!!!!

... Over the years we have conducted many different tests in our dyno cells on piston oilers as related to cooling. We used a special thermal paint on the bottom of the piston crowns that changes color with heat. When compared to the color charts upon diss-assembly of the engine, you can see exactly the temperature the pistons are running at peak. Piston crown temperatures dropped by 375 deg on the pistons with oilers as compared to those without oilers. This is a good thing when looking at the piston to cylinder expansion relationship, and will definitely extend the life expectancy of these components. A side benefit of this mod is with all the extra oil flinging around in the crankcase, the need for camshaft squirters is totally eliminated. The only down side is this heat removed from the pistons needs to go somewhere. The oil is now the cooling media, and the heat needs to be removed from the oil. This will in most cases require a larger oil cooler to solve the problem. Most engines with piston squirters will run slightly higher oil temperatures. Some say that higher levels of oil vapor are created in these engines, but the simple installation of an oil separator will take care of that if needed. I will always elect to install oil squirter nozzles in an engine we are building. Thanks, Allan...:D
 
Somewhere at some point there has to be an optimum delta between piston and barrel temp. This would be the sweet spot where piston/bore clearance is as good as it gets. I bet nobody can tell me what that is for a standard steel bore and a new stock 8.5:1 piston.
 
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