Avidflyer2
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Recently purchased Piper Seneca PA34-200T with what looks like an old "Walker" air/oil separator installed on both engines. Oil drain from separator connected to accessory case port above tach drive, which is not ideal since the separator cannot be installed higher in the cowling. This setup does not have the "Air Syphon Pump" that Airwolf uses to assist sending liquid oil back into the engine.
Backstory - Previous owner kept cowling and under wing area clean by wiping down after every flight. Amount of oil leakage from separator overboard air tube not significant although quite a nuisance! Oil was being dumped into the lower cowling where it migrated beneath the wing and onto the wing flap, stabilator, etc.
Upon removing separator for cleaning I noticed it being heavier than I expected. Poking wire up the oil drain tube did little to clean out the drain. After putting about a cup of solvent in the breather line connection and swishing it around had no effect on the drain tube. Determined to clean out the separator, I sanded off the weld bead surrounding the canister to separate it into two halves and found the interior to contain old solidified oil residue that has the consistency more like grease or cake batter. I was able to scoop out the gunk with a putty knife! A thorough cleaning with solvents, including MEK, Acetone, carburetor cleaner, etc has the bottom can clean while the top half is much harder to clean as only chemical cleaners can be used due to the helical baffle being in the way. The plan is to clean this unit and then weld it back together again.
Recommend if you have this old style air / oil separator to upgrade to an Airwolf Separator that can be disassembled for cleaning. At the very least the old style separator should be removed and cleaned with solvent every few years.
Backstory - Previous owner kept cowling and under wing area clean by wiping down after every flight. Amount of oil leakage from separator overboard air tube not significant although quite a nuisance! Oil was being dumped into the lower cowling where it migrated beneath the wing and onto the wing flap, stabilator, etc.
Upon removing separator for cleaning I noticed it being heavier than I expected. Poking wire up the oil drain tube did little to clean out the drain. After putting about a cup of solvent in the breather line connection and swishing it around had no effect on the drain tube. Determined to clean out the separator, I sanded off the weld bead surrounding the canister to separate it into two halves and found the interior to contain old solidified oil residue that has the consistency more like grease or cake batter. I was able to scoop out the gunk with a putty knife! A thorough cleaning with solvents, including MEK, Acetone, carburetor cleaner, etc has the bottom can clean while the top half is much harder to clean as only chemical cleaners can be used due to the helical baffle being in the way. The plan is to clean this unit and then weld it back together again.
Recommend if you have this old style air / oil separator to upgrade to an Airwolf Separator that can be disassembled for cleaning. At the very least the old style separator should be removed and cleaned with solvent every few years.
