Hammer
2-things
1 - Do you have metal washer between the firewall and the engine mount?
Lots of planes Iv'e seen - including mine - got rid of the rubber mounts on that end also.
Problem you inferred about loose mounts letting the engine "SAG" is that it seems to me that it would continuously be trying to fly nose down.

2 - Think you said yours was/is a "BUSH" conversion as mine was. Delair sells a set of aluminum "bumps" for the front cowl. They are much thinner than Bush's fiberglass ones and I put them on the outside of the cowling for more up front clearance.

PS: If your muffler is still back up against the firewall it is a bitch to get at for inspections and or repair -
I up-graded with the Delair version there also where the muffler is.up front and easier to deal with.
Had to modify the air box at the same time.

Hope it helps

Chris C / Wannabe better

Thanks for the follow up. Even though I don't have one, I found this pretty interesting.

I'd like to know where you got the correct mounts from as well, I'm sure ours are well past the time of needing to be replaced.

Find out which certified planes come with an 0360-xx.
Find out who will order a set for one of those planes.
There has got to be a shmuck load of em out there.
I expect a good sized FBO will either have them on hand or can get em.
Never had trouble getting my last set in 2006.
Also Delair must know how to get them for their C-170 conversions to 180hp.


The following is a extract from a short assignment to write about poetry.
The title of my piece is: How I Got An "F" In Poetry.
Yes it can be done!

WHEN- you understand the game,
Well enough- to play games with the rules.
THEN- you understand the game,
Better than the simple fools, who ONLY know the rules.

If you would like a copy of the whole assignment, which puts the above in context, just pm me

Wannabe the scribbler

Thanks for the info Wannabe. Luckily I do have the muffler forward. As for the bumps, my set up has a solid fiberglass nose bowl with the bumps built in and two cowling halves that attach to the top and bottom. Not the best stet up when you’re trying to access things on the front of the engine, but it’s what I have.

I got the mounts from PilotsHQ, though you can get them anywhere so long as you don’t tell anyone you’re using them on a certified aircraft. I bought hardware through Aircraft Spruce and just ordered what was specified on the blueprints.

Technical support at Lord led me to believe that the J-7402-5 was THE mount for hanging O-360’s, and obviously they were PMA’d as of last July. It makes me wonder what will happen to the certified aircraft that came from the factory with an O-360? Hopefully they’re on a different mount.

As for washer placement…again, I just followed the blue prints. One big washer and two small washers per mount. The mounts themselves have a steel plate that looks like a washer permanently attached to each side.

I do not have any rubber mounts between the engine mount and the firewall…just steel.

The steel sleeve inside the mount is made out of something rather hard. Despite the extensive peening on the mounting bolts, the sleeves showed zero damage or deformation, even on the edges.

As for engine sag and how it affects the thrust line…I wondered about that but didn’t notice any difference in flight characteristics before and after. My guess is that when the propeller is pulling, the engine goes into normal alignment and most of the sag is eliminated. I could be wrong, but it flew the same for me.

J-7402-5 is not the mount used on all O-360 conversions. According to the STC documentation I have, the Avcon STC SA806CE and Del-Air STC SA00461SE conversions both use the Lord J-3804-28 mount, which is expensive but available.

There are many conversion STCs out there. Check your STC paperwork before ordering parts!