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IO-390-EXP119 Oil Quantity Level for Prop Control

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RazorB

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I've recently bought a newly built RV-14 with a -EXP119 engine, Hartzell HC-C2YR-1B prop and Hartzell S-1-79 governor. It has just about 25 hours total time on all. When I test flew and brought it home everything with the prop was working fine but then it become very sluggish when cycling the prop on preflight and inflight. The oil level started at 7 qts when I first bought it but had gone down to about 5.5 qts over about 8 hours. At 5.5 qts the RPM and oil pressure was hardly changing at all when attempting to cycle the prop on the ground. I filled the oil to 7 qts and it's fine again. The Lycoming manual says oil quantity should be between 7 and 3.5 qts. Any idea why it seems to need more than 5.5 qts to control the prop correctly?
 
I don’t have an answer to your specific question, but I encourage you to determine the exact level of your oil by calibrating your dip stick. You may find that your oil quantity is not what it appears.
 
andoman said:
I don’t have an answer to your specific question, but I encourage you to determine the exact level of your oil by calibrating your dip stick. You may find that your oil quantity is not what it appears.
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Yes, thank you. I intend to do just that at the next oil change which is coming up soon.
 
I believe most EXP and Non-EXP operators are running 4.5 - 5.5 quarts, definitely less than 6 quarts. The engines tend to blow it out if it is above 6 quarts. Have not heard of anyone have prop issues.
 
I've only encountered this (on an O320) after replacing the prop, and it was therefore empty of oil. My engine cut out when I cycled the prop during the first runup.

Could you have a leak, maybe at the governor or prop? I'm not a mechanic, but it seems like pumping oil (rather than just pressurizing it) takes a lot more work from the governor.
 
Jetmart said:
I believe most EXP and Non-EXP operators are running 4.5 - 5.5 quarts, definitely less than 6 quarts. The engines tend to blow it out if it is above 6 quarts. Have not heard of anyone have prop issues.
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I certainly didn't find anyone mention anything about it when searching for info. Van's didn't really have anything for me either. I'm hoping to hear something back from Lycoming about it.
 
tass said:
I've only encountered this (on an O320) after replacing the prop, and it was therefore empty of oil. My engine cut out when I cycled the prop during the first runup.

Could you have a leak, maybe at the governor or prop? I'm not a mechanic, but it seems like pumping oil (rather than just pressurizing it) takes a lot more work from the governor.
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I haven't seen any signs of a leak.
 
RazorB said:
I certainly didn't find anyone mention anything about it when searching for info. Van's didn't really have anything for me either. I'm hoping to hear something back from Lycoming about it.
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There has been discussion on Facebook on the Rv-14 page. Try searching "oil level". There are a few links posted there as well as a comment from Greg regarding their demo aircraft.
 
RazorB said:
I've recently bought a newly built RV-14 with a -EXP119 engine, Hartzell HC-C2YR-1B prop and Hartzell S-1-79 governor. It has just about 25 hours total time on all. When I test flew and brought it home everything with the prop was working fine but then it become very sluggish when cycling the prop on preflight and inflight. The oil level started at 7 qts when I first bought it but had gone down to about 5.5 qts over about 8 hours. At 5.5 qts the RPM and oil pressure was hardly changing at all when attempting to cycle the prop on the ground. I filled the oil to 7 qts and it's fine again. The Lycoming manual says oil quantity should be between 7 and 3.5 qts. Any idea why it seems to need more than 5.5 qts to control the prop correctly?
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5.5 qts should be fine, almost ideal if it's truly 5.5 qts. Most 390's live well between 5.0 and 6.0 qts. RPM makes a big difference, below 1,600 RPM probably will not cycle regardless of oil level.
 
dmattmul said:
5.5 qts should be fine, almost ideal if it's truly 5.5 qts. Most 390's live well between 5.0 and 6.0 qts. RPM makes a big difference, below 1,600 RPM probably will not cycle regardless of oil level.
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I had read that so I made sure to have the RPM up to the Lycoming recommended 2100-2200 as verified by an optical tach as well as the G3X.
 
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