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Recommended Firewall Components Pre-installation

Megs4sale

Well Known Member
Searched through the forum and found some recommendations to pre-install a few items prior to bolting down the engine mount. Such as VA-186 oil cooler mount and VA-187 4? flanged duct. Figured I?d mount the oil cooler, air/oil sep while at it. Any other recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I would leave the oil cooler off until you're almost done with the firewall forward as it's kind of in the way and you'll want the room to get behind the engine for wire routing, scat tubes, etc.
 
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Searched through the forum and found some recommendations to pre-install a few items prior to bolting down the engine mount. Such as VA-186 oil cooler mount and VA-187 4? flanged duct. Figured I?d mount the oil cooler, air/oil sep while at it. Any other recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.
I mounted the engine mount on my fuselage without thinking about this. Now I'm finishing up the canopy and thinking about what to do before mounting the engine, so I'll be here watching this thread. Meanwhile, I have a question: Which air/oil separator are you using and where are you mounting it? I had been leaning away from one because of the tightness of everything firewall-forward in this plane.
 
With the exception of anything planning on mounting on the FW, I would leave everything till the engine is mounted and the time has come to install the particular item. RV14A/IO390 has a generous amount of room to work on things and pre-installing items might only get in the way.
 
I will leave the oil cooler off thanks to the advice given and glad to hear there?s a lot of room left to get things done after the engine goes on. I have used the antisplat aero air/oil sep on my previous RV8A and currently on my Sport Cub and they work great. Have installed them both post-engine anyway so they are pretty easy to go on. Their instructions are very good for locating it properly.
 
FWIW, I followed the manual order exactly and attached the engine mount to a bare (but for the heater boxes installed much earlier) firewall. I then went through Section 43 pages 2-4 and mounted everything on the firewall specified prior to engine hanging.

My engine should arrive this afternoon (at last!!) and I'm planning to hang it on Thursday after taking the wings to the hangar in order to clear space in my garage. Fun times. :)
 
Ken, speaking of Engine delivery, When did you order yours? I ordered mine the end of February. I still don't have a delivery date. I'm kit 499. Thanks
 
Ken, speaking of Engine delivery, When did you order yours? I ordered mine the end of February. I still don't have a delivery date. I'm kit 499. Thanks

Hi,

I ordered my engine back in mid-January with an expected delivery date of mid-April. It's since been delayed five times. I was ready to hang it over a month ago.

I'm guessing that yours will be ready in early September.
 
I will leave the oil cooler off thanks to the advice given and glad to hear there?s a lot of room left to get things done after the engine goes on. I have used the antisplat aero air/oil sep on my previous RV8A and currently on my Sport Cub and they work great. Have installed them both post-engine anyway so they are pretty easy to go on. Their instructions are very good for locating it properly.

Don,
The only thing that is worth doing, if not already, is to install the plate that covers the right side heater box. This is an added item that was not in my kit and VANs added it later which covers the forward exit air (only on the right side)
 
I will leave the oil cooler off thanks to the advice given and glad to hear there?s a lot of room left to get things done after the engine goes on. I have used the antisplat aero air/oil sep on my previous RV8A and currently on my Sport Cub and they work great. Have installed them both post-engine anyway so they are pretty easy to go on. Their instructions are very good for locating it properly.

Don,
The only thing that is worth doing, if not already, is to install the plate that covers the right side heater box. This is an added item that was not in my kit and VANs added it later which covers the forward exit air (only on the right side)
 
The area of the oil cooler is accessible after bolting off the engine mount. If you follow the plans (section 43) you will not have any problem. Think well before install it if you add holes in the FW or not for instance.
 
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