bruce88123

A friend brought me a Fox Eagle that was locked up and had not been run in a long time, Last time run was on diesel. I have both heads, he might be willing to sell diesel head but that is a separate matter. I have torn down the engine as best I could and have gotten to the point where the crank needs to come out. Do I need to pull the drive hub first or can I just press the crank out with a press. Obviously I don't want to damage anything so I am looking for an experienced voice out there. Is there a source for gaskets and bearings? I have not yet checked BOCA. Is this a .74 engine as my memory thinks, engine is not marked. Has a 14 inch prop on it. What is good for cleaning sleeve walls, piston and ring. They are all pretty nasty but I think savable. Thanks for all help and comments.

Bruce

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

The 14 inch prop could be from when it was run as a Diesel. The prop driver should not be to hard to get off. I boiled a .74 like that in antifreeze a while back, bearings and all, for about four hours as hot as the crockpot would get, nothing was harmed not even the bearings but I was replacing them anyway, Boca has the bearings, you don't need to get too fancy on the bearings. Fox MFG has all the other stuff at reasonable prices, the sleeve and piston are about $75 bucks, any other questions just shoot.

bruce88123

So you are saying that I DO need to pull drive hub before pressing crank out?

Bruce

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Yes sir. A battery terminal puller from one of the Parts Stores. Don't get the NAPA one though it's too short for some engines including the Fox.

bruce88123

I have a gear puller here at work. I'll see if it will lock into the grooves. It is a bit on the large size, for FULL SCALE airplane stuff.

bruce88123

My puller didn't fit, "fingers" wouldn't lock into groove. I'll try to pick one up later today.

Bruce

Turbobeaver

Bruce 88123,when you say the engine is locked up,do you mean locked up due to a congealed or hardened varnish build up(burnt oil residue etc.) or is it due to rust?I don't know if you necessarily have to rip the engine all apart just to free it up if that's all your trying to do.The engine can be soaked/cleaned in one piece in a crock pot of anti-freeze to free up the engine and remove the congealed residue.I would remove the engines back plate though to allow the hot anti-freeze to penetrate more efficiently internally.If your trying to assess the bearings individually, then yes your going to have to remove the crank from the engine to do this.Unless the bearings felt rough and ratchety turning the crank slowly or looked rusted,I wouldn't bother with them now until after I cleaned up the engine first.You may be changing the bearings uneccessarily.Just my 2 cents worth.Good luck with the engine.

Turbobeaver

Bruce 88123,don't know if you know of this web site already or not but I'll give it to you anyways.It has lots of useful information on Fox engines and it should come in handy getting that engine up and running again.Hope it helps you out.

http://www.flitelinesolutions.com/

bruce88123

Thanks all. One of the guys here had a puller that fit and I got the crank out. It was mostly a matter of congealed but my friend had gotten it in "condition unknown" and had asked me for a full teardown. Don't really want to replace or try to hone anything. First glance at crank and bearing after separation looks good. Haven't had a lot of time to work on it, supposed to be working ya know. roughest looking part so far is inner surface of sleeve and piston/ring. They are at home so I'll look at them tonight. My friend doesn't have a plane for it yet anyway. He wanted to make sure it would run first as he is on a tight budget. I'm gonna keep cost down as much as I can. Hopefully just a few gaskets and some free labor. Oh yeah, carb is siezed too. What would ya soak it in? I've just set them in some fuel before and that worked if not too bad

bruce88123

Well, just finished cleaning all of the "bottom end" stuff. All bearings and crank look fine. Reassembled and crank now turns freely with no roughness at all. Applied light oil to prevent rust until I can finish cleaning top end parts and complete assy.

Bruce

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

Soak the carb over night in rubbing alcohol. [sm=thumbup.gif]

FBD.

bruce88123

All looking OK except carb and some gaskets. Took carb apart as best I could to get alcohol everywhere (burp) that I could. You did say Michelob didn't you? Nah, used rubbing alcohol as suggested but no response yet, still soaking. More time or different chemical? Any recommended source for gaskets? Please provide URL if known.

Bruce

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Is it the older carb that has the spigot sized knobs on the needles or the more modern airbleed one?

bruce88123

It is the MKX carb

Bruce

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Gummout or brake parts cleaner works pretty good too...

bruce88123

I sent an email to http://www.flitelinesolutions.com/ mentioned in post #8 of this thread and they recommended oven heating. I put it in a 300 degree oven for 5 min last night and it easily came free. It is now fully disassembled and ready for cleaning. Also downloaded copies of orig manual from them and discovered that this is actually a 60, not the 74 the owner thought he had. OOPS!! Still will be a good engine when done. Glad I didn't order parts for wrong engine. Looking like all I am going to need in some gaskets and maybe a plug (long) He can live with that, expense wise.

Thanks to all for your sage advise,

Bruce[

Sport_Pilot

Don't take the engine apart, don't soak the engine in rubbing oil, its part water and may cause rust. Take the prop hub off, glow plug, and soak it overnight in fuel or antifreeze. If you use antifreeze do not dilute it with water.

bruce88123

Sport Pilot,

Thanks for writing. All work appears to be done on the engine. Waiting for 2 gaskets and then will be running engine. It has been reassembled and lightly lubed to prevent corrosion while waiting for run and all seems to be OK. Hopefully all that it will need will be some needle valve adjustments to make a good runner.

Thanks,
Bruce