rileyspoon
Active Member
912iS with 257 hrs. I've had two instances of low oil pressure. By low I mean 30 psi at 4800 RPM. The first time the situation resolved itself within a few minutes. This last time happened shortly after an hour long flight and a stop for lunch. Shortly after takeoff the pressure went to 30 psi. Both the oil and coolant temperatures remained in the green so I continued on to my home airport. Upon entering final the pressure dropped to as low as 4 psi as I reduced the throttle for landing.
I went to the shop at my airport and we put a gauge on and it showed a max of 23 psi. Talked to Lockwood folks and they said to check the oil pressure regulator but they also said since the pressure went below 7 psi I should have the bottom of the piston rods and the crank checked to make sure they hadn't been overheated. Estimate was about 10K. They referred me to a local place and they said they could do an inspection but if it needed repairs they would send it to Lockwood. OR, I could change the oil and filter, check the magnetic plug and cut open the filter and if it looked good then run it for a while and send the oil off for an analysis.
I pulled the oil pressure regulator out and found a single small piece of metal on the top of the piston, changed the oil and replaced the filter. The magnetic plug didn't have anything out of the ordinary and the filter was clean when I cut it open. After putting everything back together the pressure was back at 60 psi. Ran it on the ground for a while and flew around the airport for an hour on Wednesday. All readings were normal. I've sent an oil sample off for analysis.
I've heard of one other instance of debris causing the oil pressure piston to stick and cause a low pressure. Lockwood made it sound like the regulator was on the wrong side of the filter so debris is not being trapped before it gets to the piston.
Anyone else had similar issues? Based on my engine logs from the flight it looked like I had single digit pressures for only a minute during final and that was at idle rpm so I'm hoping I didn't fry anything.
I went to the shop at my airport and we put a gauge on and it showed a max of 23 psi. Talked to Lockwood folks and they said to check the oil pressure regulator but they also said since the pressure went below 7 psi I should have the bottom of the piston rods and the crank checked to make sure they hadn't been overheated. Estimate was about 10K. They referred me to a local place and they said they could do an inspection but if it needed repairs they would send it to Lockwood. OR, I could change the oil and filter, check the magnetic plug and cut open the filter and if it looked good then run it for a while and send the oil off for an analysis.
I pulled the oil pressure regulator out and found a single small piece of metal on the top of the piston, changed the oil and replaced the filter. The magnetic plug didn't have anything out of the ordinary and the filter was clean when I cut it open. After putting everything back together the pressure was back at 60 psi. Ran it on the ground for a while and flew around the airport for an hour on Wednesday. All readings were normal. I've sent an oil sample off for analysis.
I've heard of one other instance of debris causing the oil pressure piston to stick and cause a low pressure. Lockwood made it sound like the regulator was on the wrong side of the filter so debris is not being trapped before it gets to the piston.
Anyone else had similar issues? Based on my engine logs from the flight it looked like I had single digit pressures for only a minute during final and that was at idle rpm so I'm hoping I didn't fry anything.
