aaargghhhh !!

[skywords]

This is what kept me from my Sunbeam work today.

The wife's van (2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager 119,000 miles) has been acting up. The idiot light for oil psi keeps coming on at idle. Now keep in mind I'd rather have a root canal than work on this thing but it demanded my attention today.

First I drained the oil and refilled with Rotalla 40 helped but still no cigar. This vehicle has been leaking oil for a while now and I had always thought it was the front rocker cover gasket (3.3L V6). Next I went to the auto-parts house and purchased a new sender, rocker gasket, and oil filter. The last filter change was done by a Chevron Oil Stop many months ago.

Now in order to access the sender you need to remove the oil filter. When I put the wrench on it I found it just spinning freely. Ah Ha found the problem and the oil leak. Installed new filter and tested but still had idiot light all though in came on at 800 rpm rather than 1350. Getting there, so off comes the filter again and change the sender fixing the problem. By the way those Mopar electrical plugs suck. Almost resorted to the ball peen method of removal.

Moral of story: Change your own oil and filter and pay more attention to the car your wife is driving.

 

[Nickodell]

Sherlock Holmes lives!

 

[Jim E]

Got to love those Chrysler mini vans...mine has so many warning lights lite up on the dash I have to wear sunglasses when I drive it to cut the glare. But the oil light has not come on yet, though it does have a very loud rocker clack for the first 10 minutes or so until it warms up. Stopped changing the oil a long time ago, just dump a quart of what ever is handy in it. I would sell mine in a hot minute but with all the lights on and as old as it is would not get much for it and it does beat walking.

 

[Sownman]

But the oil light has not come on yet,

Probably indicates an electrical problem.

 

[Jim E]

Yeah that or it was fixed the same way Dad fixed the ABS.... piece of black tape over the light...

 

[skywords]

Yeah that or it was fixed the same way Dad fixed the ABS.... piece of black tape over the light...

At the bus yard where I drive they fixed the overheating Allison transmissions by disconnecting the tranny temp gauges. All 150 buses have them unhooked. Works good and the buses still go down the road.

 

[Eleven]

Borrowed my Father in Laws Ford Ranger. 12 years old, 17,000 miles. Took it to Jiffy Lube for him. Conversation was like this:
Jiffy Lube Mgr; "How long has the Check engine light been on?"
Me; "Ten years"
Jiffy Lube Mgr: -
Me: -
Jiffy Lube Mgr; 'Your car is ready now."

My Father in Law is a very successful mechanical engineer who has manufactured machines for 50 years (he is 80) but never saw an auto maintenance schedule he has use for. Go figure. (Oh, the truck runs great, don't know why the lights on and no longer care!)

 

[V6 JOSE]

A cousin of mine had a 1953 Studebaker coupe, with the V8 engine, back in about 1960. The engine burned oil and spit it out, so he was always having to add oil to it. Being a very poor boy, he got to the point that he decided to just drive it with his finger over the low oil pressure light, so he didn't have to see it. He didn't get away with that stragety very long, as you can imagine. I loved that car, because it was so beautiful. He sold it to the junk yard when the engine went. It was perfectly straight and had great paint and interior too. Just needed a new engine. I wonder what one in that condition would fetch today?

Jose

 

[SIVAllan]

A big number I'm sure . My father had a '52, carefully painted pale blue, what a beauty.

 

[Nickodell]

Borrowed my Father in Laws Ford Ranger. 12 years old, 17,000 miles. Took it to Jiffy Lube for him. Conversation was like this:
Jiffy Lube Mgr; "How long has the Check engine light been on?"
Me; "Ten years"

And we've all heard the vile innuendo of women who pull the choke knob out so as to have somewhere to hang their handbags when driving:

 

[skywords]

And we've all heard the vile innuendo of women who pull the choke knob out so as to have somewhere to hang their handbags when driving:

Nick you son of a gun it took me an hour and half to figure what aircraft that girl is flying. "P3 Orion" Like to drove me nuts. Should of recognised it from my work on the L-188 Electra.

 

[Nickodell]

Fooled me, too. It looks like there are three thrust levers on the console, so I was thinking military versions of the L1011 or DC10, but then realised that there are four engine state dial banks.

Strange story, the Electra. After the series of fatal crashes in the early days, when nobody wanted to fly on them (my company had an embargo of employees flying on Electras), they became an airline and passenger favorite. Reminds me of the Comet - early, inexplicable crashes, then in the MkII and MkIV versions they became the mainstay of RAF transport and other uses, with an enviable safety record.

In both cases the early tragedies added to the sum knowledge of aviation engineering and saved countless future lives: with the Electra, the whirl mode propeller/wing coupling failure; in the Comet, hoop-stress fatigue failure.

 

[MikeH]

If you look close there are 4 levers. The wheel next to the console is for trim. I believe the handle the handbag is hanging from and the other three are fire extinguishers

 

[puff4]

Better view of an Orion flight station....

 

[Nickodell]

Ah, that shows it better. There are definitely four thrust levers, one pack for the pilot/captain and one for the copilot/first officer. The picture I posted looked as if there were ony three on the captain's side. Optical illusion.

Speaking of Aaaargh! Sometimes the number of thrust levers becomes of lesser importance:

 

[skywords]

Fooled me, too. It looks like there are three thrust levers on the console, so I was thinking military versions of the L1011 or DC10, but then realised that there are four engine state dial banks.

Strange story, the Electra. After the series of fatal crashes in the early days, when nobody wanted to fly on them (my company had an embargo of employees flying on Electras), they became an airline and passenger favorite. Reminds me of the Comet - early, inexplicable crashes, then in the MkII and MkIV versions they became the mainstay of RAF transport and other uses, with an enviable safety record.

In both cases the early tragedies added to the sum knowledge of aviation engineering and saved countless future lives: with the Electra, the whirl mode propeller/wing coupling failure; in the Comet, hoop-stress fatigue failure.

Nick I worked for Trans America that operated several L-188 Electras and later sold them to Galaxy. The only aircraft I worked on to my knowledge that crashed with fatalities was one of these Electras that crashed in Reno shortly after takeoff about seventy souls lost. Someone left the Airstart bay door open on the belly and it made a horrible noise in flight so they kept coming back with the thrust levers until impact. Thought it was engine related I guess. Very sad. I believe one survivor a 17 year old lived.

We did the wing plank beaf up around the outbaord nacelles with doublers and triplers attached. Tricky job because of the integral risers in the wing planks. They were the stringers that were part of the wing skins milled with the stiffiners. Amazing expense and a son of a bitch to repair when cracks appeared as they always did. We had one bird come in with a six foot crack in the top skin just behind the inboard nacelle. They scrapped the airplane.

Here is a view of how the wing is built. scroll to bottom article

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%201623.html

 

[Nickodell]

Jees. You once commented on the complexity of the nav/bombing equipment I used to have to use, but at least I didn't have to install or fix it when it went wrong (which, being of the vacuum-tube era, it often did). But how you not only understood all that engineering stuff, and were able to repair it gets my admiration. I would be s**t scared that one mistake of mine could put scores of lives in jeopardy.

I remember the Reno crash was not one of those caused by the propeller/wing spar whirl couple fault that caused the string of Electra crashes soon after its introduction. It was dumb pilot error. The ground crew failed to close the air-start door properly, and when it opened on takeoff the vibration caused the pilots to commit the fatal error of reducing power on all four engines to determine if it was caused by one of the power plants. While discussing it, they took their attention off the first priority, fly the damned plane! allowed the speed to decay below stall speed, and in she went. Other Electra pilots had experienced the same air-start-door-open problem and reported that, not only did it not degrade flying charecteristics, the vibration actually disappeared with increased speed!

After crashes due to pilot error, the question so often is "what the hell were they thinking?" In almost every case one or both of the pilots are seasoned veterans, with thousands of hours behind them. During training, check-rides, ground simulator, etc. they, like anyone who has a multi-engine rating, would have learned, and re-learned, that you identify a power plant problem by throttling back each separately until you identify the culprit. Dumping power on all engines like that would be dumb at 20,000 feet; just after takeoff it was suicidal.

By the way, the sole survivor was a 17-year-old boy who was thrown from the wreckage and found, still sitting in his seat. Talk about the "luck of the draw."

 

[Series6]

Reno Crash

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/columns/Perin/crash_of_galaxy_203.html

People in Reno still talk about this disaster like it was yesterday.

 

[skywords]

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/columns/Perin/crash_of_galaxy_203.html

People in Reno still talk about this disaster like it was yesterday.

Nick
I have never seen pictures of that disaster until tonight. And seeing that boys picture puts a lump in my throat. I've had a lot of emotions over the years with that crash knowing I worked on that bird. I spent part of my childhood with my mother in Reno and we lived on Virginia street, maybe in those same apartments. I remember it was near the airport. Very strange.

 

[Series6]

Nick
I have never seen pictures of that disaster until tonight. And seeing that boys picture puts a lump in my throat. I've had a lot of emotions over the years with that crash knowing I worked on that bird. I spent part of my childhood with my mother in Reno and we lived on Virginia street, maybe in those same apartments. I remember it was near the airport. Very strange.

It wasn't my intention to put you thru that Rick. I'm sorry.