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Touring Motor Gliders Association (TMGA)

Carb bowl debris


edwalker

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Last year I had the Rotax 5 year rubber replacement on my engine done. I'm fortunate to have one of the best Rotax engine gurus in the country at my home field, and I worked with him doing the replacement. Everything went well, and the engine ran smoothly all year.

At my annual condition inspection yesterday we pulled the carb bowls and found a tiny piece of debris,  in the bottom of the bowl (see attachment). We first thought it might be float deterioration, but the floats looked fine, weighed up precisely, and were not in the batch of floats covered in the service bulletin. Even though the fuel lines were cut clean and flushed last year, I wondered if the insertion of the new lines on the hose barbs might possibly dislodge marginally attached rubber fragments, and these lines are downstream of the fuel pump screen.

Since many of you will be doing this replacement, it might be worthwhile to check the bowls after an engine run-in period to check for any debris. It's something that you can probably do yourself if you get stranded with a rough engine:

 

The rest of the annual was unremarkable. The tail fork and linkages, rudder travel and rudder cable attachments at the pedals were normal. 

 

FB carb.jpeg

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I had another conversation with the IA this morning, and he was able to examine the debris more closely with a magnifier. He said that it was most consistent with the coating material applied to the floats, and didn't think it was hose material. So the theory now is that it was likely from the floats rather than the hose material. That's a bit more concerning in that it represents deterioration over time as opposed to a one time event.

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Hi, Mike 

The rubber replacement materials are about $1000, and the rest is labor. If I remember correctly it took at least a full day. My IA is a Rotax expert, so it might take longer for someone less familiar with the engine. He did mention that the Phoenix installation makes this replacement easier than some of the other LSAs he’s done where the engine has to be partially disassembled to gain access.

Ed

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