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Modification on spinner bulkhead after prop reseal

My Hartzel was beginning to seep a bit and causing a little grease on the windshield of my RV-8. The aircraft was built in '05, so figured it was about time to have the hub resealed, anyway. The prop is currently at the prop shop but I got a progress report today. I was told that the cylinder has to be torqued during reassembly and that there is no guarantee that the forward bulkhead would be properly aligned for the spinner screws. I was told that it may require drilling new holes in the forward bulkhead. Anybody every have any experience with this issue? Any prop maintenance on other airplanes I've owned have never had this issue. The guy at the prop shop said that they see it frequently on Van's RVs.

Aerobaticjunkie
Roy Myers
RV-8
N215SM
 
Roy

The prop shop I first used was at an airfield. So I dropped the plane in and when I picked it up they had elongated the holes to refit the front plate. When I asked them about it they said it was standard practice and it’s now been like that for nearly 10 years and another prop overhaul.
The other option is if the front plate is moved significantly is to drill all new holes and fit new nut plates. Or if you don’t like either option buy a new front plate and drill it after the overhaul.

Regards

Peter

PS if you do a search this has been previously discussed.
 
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I had a friend who had the same thing happen to him on his RV7. If its not too late, ask the prop shop to mark the dome/hub and simply reinstall it with the marks lined up.

For my friend, I had to machine the bulkhead to have radial slots for the 4 mounting holes.
 
Same thing happened to me. Just rebuilt my engine and had the local prop shop IRAN my Hartzell.

But I got no warning. They didn’t know I’d I had a front bolt-on bulkhead or not so I can’t be too aggravated with them.

I had to elongate the original holes in the front bulkhead. I tried to make slots following the arc of the bolt circle but did it by hand so sort of close, but not perfect. No problems with the spinner during the first test flight.
 
Many thanks for your replies. Your remedy was about the same suggestion I heard from the prop shop. Unfortunately, they didn't mark the hub and the prop is about to be reassembled. I don't blame the shop for this as they are aware that this is an issue with the Van design. They apparently torque the cylinder to a specific value during reinstallation, which sounds like a normal procedure, since the cylinder is screwed into the hub. The prop shop told me this morning that they normally send the finished prop assembly back to the owner with the forward bulkhead unattached, aware that some tweaking will be necessary for everything to line up. So much for a quick and easy hub reseal. :(
 
Hi Roy, who did you use for the reseal? I'm in Fort Myers and need my RV10 Prop done; I'm retired AA as well. Cheers Barry
 
Another reason to go with the screwless spinner mod!
Stewart Willoughby, 6 final assembly
 
Hey, Barry. I decided to use Aircraft Propeller Works out of Auburndale, Fl. In the past I have used Miami Propeller, however, they are backed up for at least a month...nobody wants to work nowadays so they're short labor. I was referenced to Aircraft Propeller Works. I quickly found that they pickup and deliver for free in Florida. That was a big one for me as I live down in Naples. Their turnaround was 23 to 25 working days when I asked about a complete overhaul. It appears that it's going to actually be a little less than 3 weeks for just a reseal. I have a polished prop and I like it that way, hence no need to pay the extra $$$ for an O/H. Price will be just under $2100 with parts. Give them a call. Nice guys and prompt with communication. Hopefully, their work will be outstanding, as well. 800-426-4800
 
I don’t believe marking the dome to the hub will work as the dome has to be tightened to a specific torque value on the hub and they aren’t going to stop tightening it until that torque is reached, not when the lines match up. Since the forward bulkhead is screwed to the dome the position of the holes are going to change. When I had mine overhauled last year I had to slot the attach holes on the bulkhead to rotate it so it matched the spinner holes.

Ted Lockard
RV-10
 
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