Ranger

Maxim08 · 20 March 2009, 04:56 PM

It occured to me that some forum members maybe amused at the trials and tribulations of inverting a Fairchild Ranger engine. On that premise, away we go..

The engine in question is a L-440-C5 version rated at 200 hp on 87 octane fuel. I acquired this about 5 years ago and decided that it was best to store it in a heated and dry corner until I was ready to tackle an overhaul.
What I purchased was literally the firewall forward from a Cornell (Pt-19/26). It even had cowlings, nose bowl and prop hub. When I picked it up from far off New York state, it was strapped to a palette that filled the back of my borrowed Ranger pickup (appropriate). The engine sat higher than the top of the cab and filled the bed. A single piece of 3/4" ply was used to wedge the palette in place.

Customs took the whole thing in their stride and calmly asked it I had "anything to declare"!

After photographing everything in sight, I started disassembly.

Before:

Everything was still connected from carb linkages through vacum lines, oil system and bits that have yet to be identified. About 3 hours later it looked like this:

I need a rolling stand to strip and then assemble the engine on so, earlier this week I made this table out of 1/4" angle and rectangular tube.

BTW, TIG welding 1/4" steel generates a huge amount of heat. I used the largest electrode I have, 3/32" and about 100 amps of current. Should of used the gas but it was in the back corner.

Hopefully tomorrow it will be rid of all ancillaries and on the stand.

Regards,
John

jumpinjan · 20 March 2009, 06:05 PM

John,
Here's my Ranger engine stand that I made in '07. I have a second Ranger in another stand that allows full 360 degree rotation. Its perfect for rebuilding purposes!
(Don't you have a MIG welder? Thats the best tool that I have.)
Jan

Jeff Brooks · 20 March 2009, 08:26 PM

John, can you post pictures of the stuff you can't identify? maybe the folks here could. also, do you have a starter, generater and fuel pump with yours?

Maxim08 · 21 March 2009, 04:04 PM

Jan, Nice stand!
I toyed with a rotating stand and certainly see the advantage of not having to manhandle the block around when I invert but my concern was that, to clear the nose of the crank, the working height of the engine would be uncomfortably high during assembly.

Jeff, here are some images of the mystery plumbing. On either side of the block there is an alloy tube of approximately 1/2" ID with the front ends welded closed.

Starboard: This line was inside the air box.

Port. In this picture the line is running near the bottom (top) of the cylinder heads.

There is a semi-circle of the same tubing running around the perimeter of the accessory case.

In the above picture you can see the port 'T' fitting.

Here is where they connect to the upstream side of the intake manifold. (looking to the rear.)

The semi-circular line terminates on the port rear with a -12 flex hose that looks like it would join to a fitting on the firewall.

The pickup in the manifold will provide vacum to this loop of pipes but this doesn't make a lot of sense since there is a vacum pump on the accessory case. A backup system? Perhaps, but why all of the tubing? I'm baffled. Maybe someone has a PT-19/26 or Fairchild 24 out back and they can take a look.

Her's the engine on the stand.

Regards,
John

Von Writter · 22 March 2009, 08:33 AM

Nice thread John, I'm currious to see how this is done, especally the oil system. Is it a Dry sump or??

Jeff Brooks · 22 March 2009, 09:55 AM

John,
I am not certian, but this might be part of a fire detection system.
I have seen on a huey where they have smaller lines that wrap around the engine, and when it gets too hot, the gas trapped inside expands enough to activate a pressure switch and illuminate the fire light in the cockpit.
This might be similar.

Maxim08 · 22 March 2009, 11:11 AM

Jeff, know that makes sense. A friend is checking out a pt-26 Cornell today and we'll see what shows up.

Troy, The Ranger is a dry sump engine which makes sense when you think of trying to keep a full quantity of oil in what is essentially the cam cover. The fact that the Ranger uses a re-circulating oil system and is not a constant loss like the Daimler-Mercedes, is one of the issues that need to be addressed in the 'big picture' of a D VII replica. The tail number that I'm working with used a seperate oil tank. Early aircraft (Jeff!) stored the fuel in the same tank (seperate resevoir) as the fuel. Hot oil from a recirculating system and cold fuel spell 'condensation', not a desirable outcome. The later model (OAW in my case) utilisation of a seperate oil tank should work out OK.

Regards,
John

RFC Pilot · 22 March 2009, 07:20 PM

Hi John,

very interested in seeing the inside of those cylinders.

greatwarpilot · 23 March 2009, 05:15 AM

John,

Nice thread. Glad to see you're making such good progress on the Ranger in short order.

Keith - Haven't seen you around these parts in a while!

Cheers,

Maxim08 · 23 March 2009, 05:27 AM

Keith,
One big reason for moving on the engine now is to see if the cylinders are servicable. The bottom ends are pretty robust short of rusting through neglect but cylinders are getting harder to find.
Regards,
John