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Exhaust pipe query

rgmwa

Well Known Member
An experienced A&P (Australian equivalent anyway) saw a picture of my engine installation on another forum and made the following comment:
"... the way the exhaust pipe outlet hangs off the end of the exhaust 'can', will cause it to crack the can badly ( trust me,...been there, done that !) ...solution:....weld a 1" steel strip from the exit pipe to the little bit of steel by where the front pipe goes into the top of the can.........end of problem."

I can see what he's getting at, and was wondering if anyone has experienced any problems in this area, such as cracking in the welded joint where the exhaust pipe connects to the muffler?
 
I maintained a diamond HK36 that cracked off there twice and cracked the other end twice in 3 years. The shop that had reinstalled the engine had a misalignment of the exhaust hangers. Relieved the alignment issue and it never happened again.
 
Might be - -

how much of the tail pipe you cut off. If left in full original length, could cause a problem. I'm close to 600 hours, and nothing yet.
 
Thanks all. I've got no reason to doubt what I was told, and I'm sure if there were problems they would have been reported here. Maybe it's something to add to the annual checklist.
 
An experienced A&P (Australian equivalent anyway) saw a picture of my engine installation

Rotax experienced...?

An on-going problem is Lycoming/TCM experienced A&Ps (and Australian/European (including very much UK) equivalents) passing judgement on Rotax engines/installations that they aren't familiar with.

Believe me, they are very different and what might be bad news for a heritage engine/installation doesn't mean doom for a Rotax.

Muffler is a standard Rotax design and they probably know what they are doing... ;)
 
Probably not the answer you are looking for but this works well

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I suspect that the oil on your aircraft's belly is not coming from the exhaust pipe but rather it is oil mist coming from your oil tank breather tube and your engine-driven fuel pump venting tube -- a slight amount of oil misting from these tubes is normal. Be sure that the exit points of these two tubes are properly located per the plan's spec.

As Tony noted above Extreme Simple Green (the one that is safe for aircraft use) is really effective in cleaning off belly oil and grease.
 
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