Breather tube fitting prob

I wonder if anyone has encountered and has a solution to this little dilemma. This is the breather tube port fitting on the back of my Mattituck IO-360.


The 90-degree NAPA hose fitting that Van's sells -- and which, of course, I bought -- isn't going to work as a connection between the fitting (PLUS, I just learned from this thread that that shouldn't be used anyway) and the breather tube (not shown but clamped to the firewall) won't work because (a) there's an engine mount in the way and more important (b) there's an oil filter in the way. The engine employs the right angle oil filter adapter. Maybe I could use a flexible hose of some sort, clamp it to the engine mount somehow and snake it around the outside of the oil filter but, man, that's a long way around. Is there an easier way that people have found? (Paul Dye's tip here seems interesting enough to explore, although I'd like to see the route to where it connects to the tubing to the exit)

Breather tube fitting problem

I got a 45 degree fitting from a friend who was not going to use it on his RV-6. I don't know the part number but they are available.

John Ciolino

I have the same setup

And had the same problem, it took two guys, beer, and a lot of headscratching but it has worked flawlessly for almost 60 hrs now.



I used vans standard stuff that they give you. We basically cut the napa tube to where you are left with a short stub, coming out of the 90 bend, that is enough to slide over the engine nipple. next we routed the hose underneath one of the engine mount bars. I secured it loosly with a zip tie, not to make it tight but enough so the tube doesnt slide all over the place when the engine is running. In other words, it can still move, but controlled. yep the 90 degree bend is not a perfect 90 degree bend anymore because it needs to bend back a little to touch the mount not a biggie because the hose is flexible and needs to move with engine movement anyway.

Finally I mounted the aluminum tube to the engine mount with cushion clamps, mounting it to the firewall is simply not an option with our setup, and was able with a little carefull (tube collapses easilly) bending to position the open end over the exhaust pipe.

It was easy to do and works great, the hardest part was envisioning it.

Oh, this is a taildragger mount, dont know what you have or how much the mounts differ.

good luck

marco

I wanted to follow up on how I resolved this problem, with the appropriate thanks for people who also wrote me off-list to give me some advice.



First, I threw the breather tube (the NAPA part) that I bought from Van's in the hopper and replaced it with this stuff. It's a little bit more flexible (but to be honest, not by a lot). I formed it to go around the oil filter, and secured it with an DG-18 adel clamp to an angle to a DG-11 adel clamp (the wedge type DG-12s are terrible for the engine mount, I've found, even though the non-wedge version work just fine).

It doesn't touch the engine mount at all and it barely comes in contact with the oil filter, which I don't think is going to be a problem (if it is, I'll adjust it more).

The longer tube also gives me something to use to adel-clamp-to-adel clamp the oil temperature probe wire and the magneto P-lede, which I guess is a bonus.

I had to really kick the snot of the Van's supplied aluminum tube, cutting off the flared end, straightening and then recurving the top and cutting the bottom off and recurving things there.

With a 7A, the engine mount makes it pretty much impossible to follow Van's direction for mounting AND get the aluminum tube directly over a standard Vetterman exhaust, so I got it close and I'll let the airstream carry it back to the exhaust. Besides, people I know say the method simply changes the fresh oil on the belly problem to burned oil on the belly problem.

I'm not trying to figure out this chatter on this thread about cutting a "slot". I've not seen that in the instructions or drawings and this thread doesn't have a picture to show what they're talking about. (hint) It sounds like a 1/4" hole drilled in the tube would work fine. We'll see.

Oh, by the way, I THINK this is the last component I need to install on the engine. Yes, I have to put the spark plugs back and further torque some connections and install a few more Adel clamps for some wires, but I think this marks the unofficial end of engine installation, almost three years after the engine showed up. Warranty? Blah. Who needs a warranty?

Engine movement

Bob

Looking at your photo I would make sure you have some slack between the breather on the engine and the engine mount fixing, to allow for engine movement. These engines really rock around on start up.

Peter

I would think the curvature of the tube represents the slack necessary. It's a much longer piece of flexible material than Van's plans call for. If I grab the tube between the mount/clamp and the breather port, you can easily move it up or down (left and right a bit more problematic because of the oil filter). It's not an inflexible stretch by any means.

The main purpose of the clamp at the engine mount is to keep the tube away from the fuel line and off the oil cooler lines.

One thing I would point out on the breather tube is to get it as high as possible above the engine. I had mine like yours that came straight back to the aluminum tube and always had a bit of slobber after every flight. I routed it up a couple inches above the highest point of the engine and now barely get one or two little drops out of it even after a couple hours. My local auto parts has a whole wall of formed hoses in every imaginable shape making it easy to route the hose. For the breather by pass cut about a 3/8" slot about 2/3 down the tube and dent in the top of it to create the opening. Don

You think I should go above the engine mount there, instead? Would it be OK just to let it rest against the engine mount there? Is a hunk of rubber gonna bother the engine mount?

Good Hints

I appreciate the helpful hints on this task as it is on my endless "to-do" list.

Can anyone share some specs on the aluminum tube? Is it 3/4 OD, 2024, 5052, or 6061 as a preferred material? I would imagine minimal wall thickness, about .035?

Guidance, anyone?

Don

It's 3/4" OD -- that's the flared end, which I had to cut off, but the tube is easily clamped onto it -- but I wouldn't know what kind of aluminum it is other than to observe that it's really strong and difficult -- impossible -- to bend without a crimp here or there.

Bob Collins said:

You think I should go above the engine mount there, instead? Would it be OK just to let it rest against the engine mount there? Is a hunk of rubber gonna bother the engine mount?

Click to expand...

Mine goes above the engine mount and the rubber rests lightly on it. Remember this is close to the the same plain as the engine mounts and there is not very much movement there. On my Cub I needed to route the breather on the right side of the and found a perfect molded hose with two 90 degree bends in it. Neat thing about this store is all of their hoses are on a wall in the back so you can stand there and spot something that will work. Don

OK, thanks. I'll replace it and move it.

OK, I ripped the other installation out and rejiggered things.