AMT 180 Mercury Troubles
03-12-2006, 01:51 PM
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AMT 180 Mercury Troubles
Hi guys, just purchased a used turbine here on RCU from a member, the turbine on its maiden run ran fine - all the parameters were fine. I have a weird issue with the cooldown sequence. The urbine wheel in the aftr portion actually seizes up solid on the rear combustion chamber. After about another 45 minutes it seems to go back into place. But it seems something warps back there. Doesn't seem to be an issue when the turbine is running, just this warp I'm sure is not a good thing on the blades, - myself and a friend noticed it, he's a turbo mechanic, and he said thats not good...
So, we pulled the turbine apart and we confirmed that the rear combustion chamber is at points rubbing. We used a very fine feeler gauge. We couldn't get the shaft apart to take the piece out and examine further, but we had a much better picture of things with the can removed...
Please, speak to me here guys about this issue and this issue alone....
Helimanik
So, we pulled the turbine apart and we confirmed that the rear combustion chamber is at points rubbing. We used a very fine feeler gauge. We couldn't get the shaft apart to take the piece out and examine further, but we had a much better picture of things with the can removed...
Please, speak to me here guys about this issue and this issue alone....
Helimanik
03-12-2006, 02:46 PM
#2
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RE: AMT 180 Mercury Troubles
First of all, Do you know how much time was on the turbine before you bought it?
If you did not know who the previous owner was, and you did not have it checked out by AMT, you take a chance that it has a lot of time on it and issues like the bearings, burner cans, fuel sticks, etc. could be a problem. Do you know if the turbine ever been in a crash, or has it been proper maintained? I don't care which turbine you are operating, AMT, Jet Cat, Simjet etc, when you buy used, you should have it Checked out by the manufactuer, unless you can trust the person who sold it to you.
The issue of you and your friend dissasembling the turbine, I think that was a mistake. These are precision pieces of equipment and should only be worked on the guys at the factory. They have the tools and the knowledge to do it right. My advise to you is to send it to the AMT guys, (USA or Netherlands) and have them repair it. It might be an expensive lesson.
By the way, I have 2 Mecury's. One is over 8 years old with two overhauls and over a thousand flights. The second one I bought used, I knew the previous owner, and have about 200 flights on that one. I send both back to the guys at AMT and have great service. Good Luck!
Ron
If you did not know who the previous owner was, and you did not have it checked out by AMT, you take a chance that it has a lot of time on it and issues like the bearings, burner cans, fuel sticks, etc. could be a problem. Do you know if the turbine ever been in a crash, or has it been proper maintained? I don't care which turbine you are operating, AMT, Jet Cat, Simjet etc, when you buy used, you should have it Checked out by the manufactuer, unless you can trust the person who sold it to you.
The issue of you and your friend dissasembling the turbine, I think that was a mistake. These are precision pieces of equipment and should only be worked on the guys at the factory. They have the tools and the knowledge to do it right. My advise to you is to send it to the AMT guys, (USA or Netherlands) and have them repair it. It might be an expensive lesson.
By the way, I have 2 Mecury's. One is over 8 years old with two overhauls and over a thousand flights. The second one I bought used, I knew the previous owner, and have about 200 flights on that one. I send both back to the guys at AMT and have great service. Good Luck!
Ron
03-12-2006, 05:54 PM
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RE: AMT 180 Mercury Troubles
Hi Ron, I purchased from a well known member, turbine was formerly owned by Malcolm Kay , no crashes and turbine has seen retrofit fairly recently by AMT. As for hauling apart the turbine, we recognized it was extremely delicate - none of the balanced components were disturbed, only the outer can was removed....
Helimanik
Helimanik
03-12-2006, 08:19 PM
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RE: AMT 180 Mercury Troubles
I see you are in Canada. I assume it's fairly cold when you flew it. I had an issue with mine when it was cold out.
The tolerences are so close at the wheel, when it's pretty cold out, the outer housing cools faster and the tolerences close. After it cools completely, all is well. If you are using a blower for cool down, try to keep the rpm around 4k. The factory can remedy the issue with out much problem, but they keep it close to keep the power up. The more clearance, the more power you lose.
I'd give them a call and see what they say. They are good guys and will be glad to help.
Randy
The tolerences are so close at the wheel, when it's pretty cold out, the outer housing cools faster and the tolerences close. After it cools completely, all is well. If you are using a blower for cool down, try to keep the rpm around 4k. The factory can remedy the issue with out much problem, but they keep it close to keep the power up. The more clearance, the more power you lose.
I'd give them a call and see what they say. They are good guys and will be glad to help.
Randy
