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AS Flightlines FT60 mount kit - anyone had any luck with this?

N546RV

Well Known Member
Working on FWF stuff for my Titan IO-370 install, and the FT60 transducer mount kit from AS Flightlines looked like a good way to easily handle this bit. But now that I have the thing, it seems impossible to use as described.

The first issue is that the bracket pocket is an extremely tight fit for the transducer. The transducer won't just slip in, I have to force it a bit. Seems better than a loose fit, but removing and reinstalling the transducer down the line is going to be a wrestling match.

Second, the bolt holes are too close to the top of the bracket. The transducer itself interferes with the rounded corners before the holes ever align. There's no way to get the transducer in here and insert the bolts unless I start removing material from either the outside corners of the transducer or the inside corners of the bracket.

Finally, the mount bolts for the transducer seem impossible to install with the bracket on the engine - the pushrod tubes are in the way. The only way I can see this working is if I install the transducer in then bracket off the engine - but then the bolt to attach the bracket to the case is covered by the transducer.

I'm well aware of the great reputation these guys have, so I'm having trouble just thinking that the kit is problematic. Am I missing some obvious things here? Have others used this kit successfully?
 

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Several folks have posted here on VAF showing their install so I'm sure it can work. Tom has always been very helpful in my dealings with him so I'm sure he can help you get things sorted out.

I actually decided to take a different path however. I'm going to leave the fuel hose to the spider as delivered. I decided to use the approach that Van's uses for the RV-14 with the sensor after the mechanical fuel pump. Refer to the RV-14, Section 43 instructions. They mount the sensor using some clamps to the intake tubes. In fact, I just added the fittings to the FT-60 and prepped my hose clamps yesterday.

Both locations seem to work but I like the simplicity of the Vans approach.
 
TS Flightlines

I'm sure Tom is already on it but it sounds like you have an earlier production unit. Mine was very tight too. I had to do some adjusting with a sanding block. He offered to replace it but I got it installed and didn't want to take it apart.
Tom is the best.
 
I decided to use the approach that Van's uses for the RV-14 with the sensor after the mechanical fuel pump. Refer to the RV-14, Section 43 instructions. They mount the sensor using some clamps to the intake tubes. In fact, I just added the fittings to the FT-60 and prepped my hose clamps yesterday.

I would recommend wrapping that fuel flow sensor in some heat barrier tape (available at spruce). The way it is mounted in the 14 it is right under the flow of hot air from the cylinders. We are seeing failures after a couple of hundred hours.

Vic
 
Hey folks - wanted to follow up here. As mentioned above, Tom sent me an email with some helpful information. I still had a bit of a struggle finishing the install, until I "customized" a wrench for the job. In the interest of helping out others, I decided to take photos of the final process and try to document everything for future reference, so here goes.

First off, a disclaimer - this install was done on my Titan IO-370, with no baffling in place (still on my engine mount fixture). It's possible there are details here that won't work out for a different engine, or one that's installed, but hopefully this still gives some useful ideas.

Before reading this, or getting started, read the official installation instructions. I'm going to write this with the assumption that you've read and understood the broad strokes of the installation.

First off, install the fittings in the transducer and the flow divider as specified above. Straight NPT-ANs on the divider and the transducer inlet sides, 90° NPT-AN on the transducer outlet. However, I diverged from the instructions here, and did not loosely install the supply hose that goes to the injection servo. Not having this installed will become important later on.

Before proceeding, it may be useful to test-fit the transducer to the bracket on your workbench. As I discovered, it's a pretty snug fit, and it's good to figure out the force required to seat it while you're not working in tighter confines by the engine. One way to help get into alignment, if the bolt holes are not quite aligned enough for a bolt to pass through, is to use a screwdriver. Put it through both bracket and transducer and apply some leverage to move the transducer as needed.

Next, we're going to loosely install the bracket (without the transducer) onto the case. We need the bracket to have some freedom to rotate, both fore/aft (ie pitch) and left/right (ie roll). What worked for me was to get the bolt finger tight, then back off about a turn and a half or so. (see first photo below)

With that done, it's time to add the transducer. Fit it into the bracket and get the upper mount thru-bolt holes aligned. Remember the screwdriver trick above if needed to get everything aligned. Thanks to us leaving the case mount bolt loose, we can "pitch up" the bracket to get a straight shot at the upper thru-bolt hole. Once it's aligned, we'll use that same "pitch up" position to insert the upper mount bolt while avoiding the adjacent pushrod tube. (see second photo)

Note also that the "pitch up" maneuver requires some "rolling" as well. This is why the bolt has to be so loose - that "right roll" is necessary to allow the two upper fittings to clear each other. (third photo)

We're almost ready for the best part, the case mount bolt, but first we need to connect the two upper fittings together. This sets the vertical position of the transducer and, by extension, the bracket.

Now about that case mount bolt. Tom said it could be tightened with a stubby wrench and "some patience," but I spent literal hours trying to figure out some manner of maneuvering to get a wrench up behind the transducer, and never even succeeded in getting it on the bolt once. So, after reevaluating the situation, I decided that a custom tool was in order.

The basic problem is that you're coming up from below with the wrench, trying to work in between the cylinders with both hands, and trying to guide the thing onto a bolt that you can barely even get a finger on. I'm no stranger to working with bolts I can't see, but the space constraints make this something special.

What I did was to take a cheap 7/16" combination wrench, and bend it roughly in a U-shape. The length of the box-end section needs to be roughly the distance from the bolt to the bottom of the transducer inlet fitting. This turned out to be about 2.5" in my case. The main bend is about 90°, and I ended up adding a second ~10° bend further up, to bring the free end up further from in between the cylinders. I also ground the box end down to better work in the tight space between the transducer and bracket. (fourth photo)

Now we just have to fish the box end down between the cylinders and up into the little cavern, guide it onto the bolt head by feel, and get it snugged down and torqued. (fifth photo)

You did remember to put the lock washer in there, right? Also, this is why we didn't pre-install the supply hose earlier - that'd block the use of this fancy wrench.

The rest is pretty easy. The lower thru-bolt can be installed without interfering with the cylinder. Getting the supply hose started is a bit on the fun side, but not too awful, and it can easily be tightened with a standard combination wrench, angled in from above. (last two photos)

Hope this helps, and thanks again to Tom for the personal support!
 

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Thanks to Phillip for posting his creative solution! My stubby wrench was pretty short, And my hands are kinda small-----those of you that know me know that, so I personally didnt have alot of issues with the center bolt. YMMV as they say.

The AFP version bracket does not have the vertical wrench slot that the Bendix/Avstar version does, because I felt it wasnt necessary. But, we may modify the AFP version on the next production run to have the slot.

Tom
 
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