I got the day started by redoing the exhaust brace hangar I had made up yesterday. The first piece I did was a longer version of the stock steel ones that were provided which proved to be too short to effectively life the exhaust high enough. The aluminum piece I used was too flexible and didn’t have the long term strength. I could move the exhaust around even when bolted in. So I picked up some 1/8″ thick, 3/4″ wide Zinc plated steel from Home Depot and cut to about 7.75″ long. I then duplicated the layout from the aluminum braces and made it in the steel stock.
I installed the beefier support on the left exhaust and it did a great job lifting the exhaust to the proper height, avoided the oil cooler and was much stronger than the aluminum. I got down on the floor and the exhaust had very little movement so it was definitely much better.
I then made a second brace for the right side and hung the exhaust there as well. Since there isn’t an oil cooler on this side it’s much easier to have the exhaust brace at a higher height which gives more control over the height and position of the exhaust. I got this installed and positioned the exhaust to mirror the left side. I measured the distances from the nose gear assembly, distance from the bottom skins at the firewall as well as the distance from the fuselage to the aft tip of the exhaust pipe as well.
Once the exhaust was positioned I determined the location and angle of the AntiSplatAero Air/Oil separator vacuum valve on the exhaust pipe. This will be used to burn off exhaust crank case moisture/oil. So I located the angle and position on the pipe and removed the exhaust. I took it to a local muffler/exhaust shop and showed them what I needed done and since it’s the same setup they use in automotive racing they did it right then and there in less than 15 minutes. I kept waiting for the “what are you using this for, this doesn’t look like a car exhaust.” But they didn’t ask and I didn’t want to invite the concern by telling them it was for an airplane as it tends to scare people off. Too bad our society has scared people so much about the aviation world that they don’t want to get involved in anything.
With the valve welded in place I remounted the exhaust and got everything bolt back in place. I verified the position and then connected the silicon hose from the air/oil separator to the check valve on the exhaust tube that was welded on. I also secured the tefzel wire that was running to the right side heat control servo to provide some strain relief. I connected up the SCAT tubes to the heat muff including silicon tape under the clamps to protect the hose from fraying.
Lastly I ran high temp RTV along the SCAT tubes to provide some rigidity and also in places where hoses and SCAT tubes could potentially rub together.
myrv10factory 