SB-00088 for RV-12iS published - Inspect and optionally replace attachment hardware for radiator

[greghughespdx]

Van's has published SB-00088 for the RV-12is, which directs owners to inspect their radiator per the document before further flight, and provides steps to revise and replace mounting hardware that is designed to reduce potential fatigue stresses.​

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SB-00088 Rev 2 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes

Directs owners to inspect the RV-12iS radiator, attachment, and surrounding space; includes instructions to replace/modify the radiator mounting hardware. Revision 2 includes clarified steps and figures.

www.vansaircraft.com

 

[Amadeus]

Van's has published SB-00088 for the RV-12is, which directs owners to inspect their radiator per the document before further flight, and provides steps to revise and replace mounting hardware that is designed to reduce potential fatigue stresses.​

​

SB-00088 Rev 2 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes

Directs owners to inspect the RV-12iS radiator, attachment, and surrounding space; includes instructions to replace/modify the radiator mounting hardware. Revision 2 includes clarified steps and figures.

www.vansaircraft.com

Neither of my two radiators exhibited any signs of wear/rubbing but I will complete the steps necessary to achieve compliance with this Service Bulletin in hopes that I can stop buying radiators.

 

[Bob Y]

Yea, no wear marks on my failed one either…

And from someone who had to replace their radiator at around 300 hrs, if you perform this SB, have some 1” heater hose on hand. Had to cut mine off the old radiator, as it had fused itself to the radiator. Maybe with less hours it won’t be an issue, but if you don’t want to risk having to run to the auto-parts store during your SB, have some on hand.

 

[mikefox]

Thank you for the new design …much appreciated!

I didn't want to buy a fourth radiator for our club’s 12iS plane that has 1200 hours (we fly close to 30 hours/month) on it. We slightly modified the lower cowl to make room for the lower corners of the radiator after the first one started leaking. And we double checked any other possible place the cowl could contact the radiator.

I’m looking forward to finally fixing this issue now with the newly designed radiator.

 

[HEB1022]

I am reviewing the SB. Is it necessary to disconnect the coolant and/or oil lines in or out of the coolers to perform this bulletin?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Amadeus]

I am reviewing the SB. Is it necessary to disconnect the coolant and/or oil lines in or out of the coolers to perform this bulletin?

Thanks in advance.

Yes to the coolant lines as the trimming/deburring would need done on the bench. No reason for the oil lines to be removed.

 

[fehdxl]

Thank you for the new design …much appreciated!

I didn't want to buy a fourth radiator for our club’s 12iS plane that has 1200 hours (we fly close to 30 hours/month) on it. We slightly modified the lower cowl to make room for the lower corners of the radiator after the first one started leaking. And we double checked any other possible place the cowl could contact the radiator.

I’m looking forward to finally fixing this issue now with the newly designed radiator.

Us too with our club RV-12 in Nebraska! Newly designed...hope it's the last one of four...or maybe five... too many.

 

[madmax4499]

Mine is touching in the lower corners, does this kit push the radiator back away from the cowl?

 

[Bob Y]

No, it doesn’t. You need to trim the cowl of you need more clearance.

 

[HEB1022]

No, it doesn’t. You need to trim the cowl of you need more clearance.

What does the SB kit actually do to the radiator/oil cooler position?

 

[Bob Y]

It eliminates the two mounting points on the sides of the oil cooler and adds a rubber mount to the two bottom bolts. The top mount remains unchanged.

 

[HEB1022]

It eliminates the two mounting points on the sides of the oil cooler and adds a rubber mount to the two bottom bolts. The top mount remains unchanged.

I can sorta make that out on the plans, but I can't figure out how that helps the issue of the radiator comign in contact with the cowling. Am I missing somethign?

 

[FlyingDiver]

I can sorta make that out on the plans, but I can't figure out how that helps the issue of the radiator comign in contact with the cowling. Am I missing somethign?

That's not the problem it's solving. You solve the contact problem by trimming the cowl opening back.

 

[Bob Y]

Sorry, I can’t speak to Van’s root-cause explanation, as I have no signs of rubbing on my failed radiator, and I have the required 0.5” of clearance around the entire opening. I can only assume their revised mounting is based upon some type of FEA. Once you find yourself OAG 100 miles from home due to a drained radiator, you’ll accept any potential solution. Fingers crossed.

 

[CessnaTPA]

I'll be doing this SB soon. Seems pretty straight forward but would be nice to see more pics and hear any tips from those that have already completed it.

 

[Bob Y]

I'll be doing this SB soon. Seems pretty straight forward but would be nice to see more pics and hear any tips from those that have already completed it.

Ok, I'll share my experience, but you have to evaluate what you take from it, as others may chime in later indicating they followed the directions exactly without issues. I did three things differently from the SB instructions on my aircraft and a friend's, and I've got a second 12iS friend that is in the process of doing the same...

• First, the rubber grommets insert into the radiator just fine without cutting and adding RTV, so we eliminated that step. Not sure the intent here.
• We did not install rivets in the holes left from the nut plate removed from the oil cooler. Not sure of the value of this step, but if they had been installed, it's difficult to see how they wouldn't have interfered with the new mounting bracket.
• Lastly, we did not use the provided nuts to secure the sides of the new bracket to the oil cooler. We installed the nut plates that were removed from the oil cooler on the new mounting bracket. Van's already had the bracket punched to accommodate these nut plates (you can see the unused holes in the SB photos too), but chose not to use them for some reason. It is difficult to understand how one would have been able to have reached behind the radiator with a wrench to tighten the nut & bolt after mounting, as the space is very tight. And if tightened prior to installing the radiator, not sure the angle would have been correctly aligned to insert the bolts on the bottom of the bracket/radiator.

Here are few photos I took during my fabrication. Sorry, but none of the installation. To remove the brackets, we used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel and deburred with a drum sander on a rotary tool (Dremel). You can see we took precautions to avoid damaging the radiator by using cardboard and a metal plate.

Again, take what you want from my experiences. Share if you ended up doing anything differently.

 

[Fisherpd]

I agree with not cutting the grommets. I spotted that after cutting so I did use the RTV but there was no reason for it.

The rivets holes that used to hold the nut plate match to the rivet holes in the new bracket. Riveting through them both will set the angle between the radiator and oil cooler.

I had to remove the oil cooler to set those rivets. A rivet squeezer with a "no-hole" yoke might have gotten in there with the cooler on the aircraft, but I don't have one. Since I have not filled the oil system yet, it was not a big deal.

 

[Bob Y]

You know something, we briefly thought we were supposed to rivet the bracket to the oil cooler, but quickly dismissed the thought not willing to accept the angle would be correct for the lower bolt alignment. I guess others can be confident that’s not an issue, but I still like the idea of being able to remove the bracket from the oil cooler - for the next SB that comes out asking us to drill out the rivets for a new bracket . Thanks for the clarification others can follow.

 

[UNCRV]

Yes the mounting bracket should be riveted to the oil cooler if you follow the instructions. Didn’t realize this and set those rivets blank only to realize they needed drilled out because the bracket wouldn’t fit and then realized the bracket had holes for the rivets. I wasn’t thinking when I first put them in. Sucks that I had just installed the radiator and oil cooler about a week prior to this SB coming out.

 

[mikefox]

It was *not* explicitly stated in the SB, but the bracket was needed when installing (Radiator-1). The bracket parts and instructions were included in the Radiator-1 shipment which worked out well. Thank you VANS Folks!

I wasn’t sure about cutting the grommets, but did as the instructions said. Either way, I think the grommet will get squeezed to fill the hole. I did use the caliper tool to measure the inner diameter of the hole on the radiator and the grommet at the groove with the groove being slightly smaller.

Bob Y’s idea might yield more movement for the adjustment angle. Thank you Bob for posting your pictures and ideas; I’m always amazed at folks here thinking about a different way to solve an issue (we all want a radiator that doesn’t leak).

As Bob surmised in his post, I didn’t reuse the MS21051-L3 since the SB showed using the AN 3-4A and associated washer and nut I circled in orange in the accompanying picture of the SB instructions.

 

[jetset44]

Just finished SB-88 and thought I’d pass along a few learnings in addition to the great ones above. It was pretty straightforward and I was able to complete it in about 4 hours.

• To trim off the large vertical edge at the bottom, I used a Dremel with a cut-off wheel. It worked well but was slow, taking around 30 minutes. To trim off the mounting ears on the top, I used a hacksaw to cut about halfway through the tab, stopping when the hacksaw got too close to the radiator face. Then I used pliers to gently bend the tab back and forth a couple times and it snapped off easily. All edges were then dressed and deburred with a Dremel drum sander and a file.
• To rivet on the mounting bracket, I did not have to remove the oil cooler. But to fit the rivet squeezer in to the tight quarters, I had to temporarily remove the rubber isolators and large washers on each side. Just remove one isolator and rivet that side, then reinstall and do the same to the other side. Then install the AN-3 bolts. I did not re-use the nutplate as others suggested, since it’s easy to access the nut and bolt from the front when installing per the plans. And just to confirm, the radiator fits perfectly with this bracket fully riveted on first.
• I also did not need to cut the grommets or add RTV, they are easy to install as is.

Steve

 

[csmith3603]

Ok, I'll share my experience, but you have to evaluate what you take from it, as others may chime in later indicating they followed the directions exactly without issues. I did three things differently from the SB instructions on my aircraft and a friend's, and I've got a second 12iS friend that is in the process of doing the same...

• First, the rubber grommets insert into the radiator just fine without cutting and adding RTV, so we eliminated that step. Not sure the intent here.
• We did not install rivets in the holes left from the nut plate removed from the oil cooler. Not sure of the value of this step, but if they had been installed, it's difficult to see how they wouldn't have interfered with the new mounting bracket.
• Lastly, we did not use the provided nuts to secure the sides of the new bracket to the oil cooler. We installed the nut plates that were removed from the oil cooler on the new mounting bracket. Van's already had the bracket punched to accommodate these nut plates (you can see the unused holes in the SB photos too), but chose not to use them for some reason. It is difficult to understand how one would have been able to have reached behind the radiator with a wrench to tighten the nut & bolt after mounting, as the space is very tight. And if tightened prior to installing the radiator, not sure the angle would have been correctly aligned to insert the bolts on the bottom of the bracket/radiator.

Here are few photos I took during my fabrication. Sorry, but none of the installation. To remove the brackets, we used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel and deburred with a drum sander on a rotary tool (Dremel). You can see we took precautions to avoid damaging the radiator by using cardboard and a metal plate.

Again, take what you want from my experiences. Share if you ended up doing anything differently.

 

[csmith3603]

Howdy there;

I had a repaired radiator that leaked very little on the springs that I pulled off and also got the new RV-12iS Radiator-1 along with the SB-00088 kit.
Weird the old radiator had four holes and the new one had three holes. Instructions were for using the old radiator pictures. Liked replacing them small
nuts suggestions! Had to shave the cowling again. flying without leaking again. WOW.