Your New Engine

[Jpm757]

I have purchased 2 Lycomings from Vans in the past 6 years, an IO-360 M1B and an O-360 C1A. Both engines are advertised as "Constant Speed ready". Both engines were delivered with a governor mounting pad, oil line and a plug in the front of the crank. Remove front plug, add a governor and good to go for constant speed. The O-360 will be a fixed pitch setup, and according to the Lycoming Service letter I need to remove the front plug, pierce the rear plug, remove governor mounting pad, oil line, replace front plug and plug front of case. Numerous posts have mentioned simply removing the rear plate on the governor and replacing it with a cover that has a machined slot to allow oil to flow out of the crank and back into the crankcase. Both engines were delivered WITH the above mentioned plate. I called Lycoming Tech Support and got the following response. Both engines as delivered are in the same configuration as they were run in the test cell, therefore according to Lycoming you can run these engines right out of the box for fixed pitch operation. However, on the advice of the Tech guy we both agreed that It would be prudent to follow the Service Letter procedures to ensure warranty coverage.

 

[PilotjohnS]

Not so fast

My IO320 was delivered as you described. Lycoming said it was set up for fixed pitch without any mod.

there are two ways to set the engine up for fixed pitch:
1) follow the service letter and as you described plug the oil return line, pierce the front plug, etc.
2) LEAVE the engine as is from the factory with the constant speed setup. Remove the governor cover and make sure the slot is in the cover to drain pressure from the oil return line. reinstall cover. Make sure the prop plug is installed (It should be that way from the factory)

with option 2 there is no reason to risk damaging the crank piercing the plugs

Please search this forum, I have a picture in a previous post on what the proper governor cover looks like.

 

[PhatRV]

I got the an email from the Lycoming tech support about the same thing. I followed his instructions to the letter, including ordering all the genuine Lycoming parts to convert it into fixed pitch prop.

 

[Steve Watkins]

Just one data point

The M1B in my RV8 has a little over 1000 hours on it in configuration #2 as you wrote it above. Plugs intact, Oil return line present, and the cover with the slot in it. The only issue I have had with it was that at about 900 hours the governor pad cover warped slightly, causing a small oil leak. The plate is pretty thin and it cupped outward about 0.010" between the bolt holes. New cover plate and gasket solved it. Just one report, YMMV.