Engine hung - solo!

Today I decided to try to mount my engine - solo. I thought about asking a bunch of people over to help, but using the wealth of knowledge obtained on VAF, including the "Illustrated Guide to Engine Hanging" available here: http://www.vansairforce.net/articles/IllustratedGuideToEngineHanging/enginehanging.htm, I thought I could try it myself. What the heck, if I run into trouble I could always ask for help.

My engine is an AeroSport Power IO360-B1B ECI engine with vertical induction. The mounts are Lord p/n J-9613-40 mounts.

Once I got the engine on the hoist, it only took me a little over an hour and it was mounted. All mounting bolts went in very easily, especially the first 3. The 4th only needed a little coaxing to get it lined up, but it was really not difficult at all. Maybe I got lucky...

Here are some pics:

Sparky said:

Today I decided to try to mount my engine - solo. I thought about asking a bunch of people over to help, but using the wealth of knowledge obtained on VAF, including the "Illustrated Guide to Engine Hanging" available here: http://www.vansairforce.net/articles/IllustratedGuideToEngineHanging/enginehanging.htm, I thought I could try it myself. What the heck, if I run into trouble I could always ask for help.

My engine is an AeroSport Power IO360-B1B ECI engine with vertical induction. The mounts are Lord p/n J-9613-40 mounts.

Once I got the engine on the hoist, it only took me a little over an hour and it was mounted. All mounting bolts went in very easily, especially the first 3. The 4th only needed a little coaxing to get it lined up, but it was really not difficult at all. Maybe I got lucky...

Here are some pics:

Click to expand...

Congrats. It looks good. You just found out that hanging the engine isn't rocket science, and after you've done it once, you're well on your way to being an "expert".

impressive to say the least

I did the same thing

Mainly because i don't have any friends..which made mating the wings a challenge..

I found the trick was to put the upper bolts in and tighten them all the way (which is counter intuitive, but the bolts all point in towrads the middle so thats why two should be tight)..Then the bottom bolts go in without much trouble.

Frank

Same here

Like you, my install was a solo venture and it took about the same amount of time.

The trick is to follow the instructions and all will go well.

Frank, That's what I did and it works. First I installed the upper starboard bolt and tightened it all the way. Then the upper port bolt (I had to loosen the upper starboard bolt slightly to get the 2nd bolt to align). Then I tightened the 2 upper bolts all the way and installed the lower starboard bolt with no problem. With those 3 bolts tightened all the way, I was then able to install the lower port bolt after using a big tapered punch to gently align the holes. Easy peasy.

I did have to remove the oil filter from the angled adapter to get everything to clear the engine mount. So now I still have to re-tighten and re-safety it.

Sparky said:

Once I got the engine on the hoist, it only took me a little over an hour and it was mounted. All mounting bolts went in very easily, especially the first 3. The 4th only needed a little coaxing to get it lined up, but it was really not difficult at all. Maybe I got lucky...

Click to expand...

Feels good isn't it? Good job Paul. The rest will go much smoother.

Thanks Vlad.

It does feel really good to have the engine mounted. It's a real milestone. One of the major ones!

As far as the rest going smoother, I don't know. I'm not really looking forward to installing the baffles, even though I have the newer style baffle kit.

Me too

I'm in the solo engine hanging club too. Nice work Sparky!

Solo is the only way to mount an engine. I tried it both ways and the "help" always seems to cause more problems than they solve.

Same with the propeller, especially with a Hartzell. Use a 1" nylon strap like from Harbor Freight and a hydraulic engine hoist (you already have one of those, since you mounted the engine). Wrap the strap around the hub and blade bases so that the prop is reasonably well balanced. The hoist holds the prop at exactly the right height. Works like a charm.