Should I be lubing my spring starters with a grease, or an oil ? And how frequently ? And if you have an extra minute; how does it work ?

ed

There is a bushing with needle bearings laid in at a bias. They turn one way, but grab the rear crank when rotated the other way. Basically, winding the prop back about 1/2 to 3/4 turn is all you need. I love mine. It works perfectly on my G38. In fact, I wish all of my gassers had one, e ignition or not. Not sure on lubing them. Probably not. I have no access to mine unless I pull then engine. I am sure some will tell me I have to every week or so! No problems after 4 years.

B&B has the recommended lube and advice for frequency of use.

" B&B has the recommended lube and advice for frequency of use. " - spaceworm



Well don't be shy worm, pass it on ?

I have often been criticized for making a statement, that, although I cite the reference, is not someone else's take on the subject. So, as Yogi once said: "You could look it up", and get the advice direct from the expert's mouth.

I remember my Quadra manual recommending a drop of oil at least every 20 hours. It does require pulling the engine (removing the cowl), but you should probably check the tightness of the muffler screws and engine mounting bolts that often anyway.

Bedford

All the Zenoahs will hand start, no spring starter required, especially the G-38, easiest of all Zenoahs to hand start.

Yup, I read the same thing. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the mounting cup to allow a couple drops of oil on occasion, without removing the engine.

Spring starters are heavy

They limit you to being able to freely turn the prop only in the running counter clock wise direction.

Every starter I have examined on a used engine had been ruined by some one winding it up too tight and destroying the spring by distorting the ends. In some cases this also ruined the one way bearing, crankshaft, and rear seal of the engine. The ends of the spring get pulled down against the bearing. You should only back the prop through one compression stroke. You can back one through three strokes but it permanently bends the spring.

Once a year the engine should be removed and the one way bearing disassembled and re-greased with black moly grease.

I love the spring starter. If you want them to last, It would be a good idea to repack the bearing after every flying season with a good quality high temp grease. It might suck to pull the engine, but it's a small price to pay for the convenience.

As w8ye stated- they can be easily damaged if used improperly. But most warbirds need nose weight anyway.

My Zenoah starts so good I took the spring off right away. If some person wants to buy it...PM me. I will sell the G38 too. I like lite-weight airplanes....this G38 is to big. Capt,n

The instruction sheet that comes with the Zenoah G-45 spring starter specifies that it be greased every 50 hours.

50 hrs might take you three or four years even if it was the only plane you flew.

Best to do it once a year

BTW you can replace the clutch bearing if it breaks. Just press it out and put the new one in. Pay attention to rotation direction. I lube my Quadra 40 with wheel bearing grease. Mainly because that is what is in my shop. Doesn't take much since the bearing only turns when you start the engine. After that it is along for the ride.

True, but I'm just relaying what's in the specs.

You said this backwards.

The one way clutch bearing locks up when you start the engine.

When the engine is running, the inner part of the bearing is spinning with the crankshaft while the outer part is stationary.

The hole in the rear cup idea is a good one, and that's what i shall use !

Thank you Gents.

ed

I love my spring starter and am very glad I installed it. I could not imagine winding it back through 3 compression strokes. I just pull mine back about 3/4 revolution. all that is required.
While this is a very easy engine to start, things are not always perfect, and there were times that the spring starter was very handy.