Some of you within the BCP community are aware I've recently replace a well enjoy Conti 0-300 in my 170 with a Lycoming 0-360. The majority of my "operational" experience is with Conti's. I'm now looking to the collective wisdom of this community for Lycoming tips & techniques.

Thank you to all in advance for your wisdom and guidence.

Run it hard at low altitude for break in. This can take a while.

Try not to let it sit too long between flights

Use Camguard or equivalent oil additive

Preheat the oil and entire engine if possible on cold days

Be patient with warming the oil up before taking off - it can take quite a while

Run a composite prop if you can, to tame the harmonics

Other than that, these engines are very tolerant of abuse with 500 F CHT redlines

We run the O-360 in our Husky with MT prop at 2350 rpm and 21” MP, and fuel consumption is surprisingly low. We usually see about 6 gph at this power setting.

I had a hell of a time breaking in a fresh one recently. A mechanic that I know told me that Lycoming decided to harden the cylinders within the last several years. Our oil consumption didn’t stabilize until about 75 hours. We need to add a quart every 3-4 hours showing 6 on the stick. I swear that the big bore continentals the I’ve overhauled were broken in within an hour of high power operation.

Great intel, thanks

I will have to disagree with some of the advice given. Although Lycoming set the CHT limit at 500 it is never good to get close to that or run prolonged times with CHT temps over 400. Do a search on Lycoming wet head cylinders, they where developed when high CHT'S caused early exhaust valve guide failures. The good news is with proper baffling and fuel management it is not that hard to keeps temps under control. Lycoming does have a break in guide should be easy to find on line. On break-in run them 2400 RPM and above avoid hard prolonged climbs and excessive CHT,S (above 400). New and rebuild engines I have seen usually only take less than 10 hours at most to stop using oil (Chrome cylinders can take longer) I suspect that is what the previous poster had or wrong rings installed. I strongly recommend a 4 cylinder CHT/EGT, and fuel flow they pay for themselves in the first few hundred hours and even sooner if you have any engine issue. They tend to be very reliable engines and talk to you for a bit before any major event so if you do notice a change in performance do take the time to investigate. As always I will throw in my obligatory slick mag caution. If you get intermittent starting problems in early engine life look at the internal timing of the slick mags. they are notorious for going bad early. I love flying behind a new engine!! DENNY

It's only a "new to me" engine; 480 hours on the Hobbs since major overhaul, so hopefully some of the "gremlins" have been worked out. Thanks for all the insight, hard to "learn" it all by oneself.

DENNY wrote:I will have to disagree with some of the advice given. Although Lycoming set the CHT limit at 500 it is never good to get close to that or run prolonged times with CHT temps over 400. Do a search on Lycoming wet head cylinders, they where developed when high CHT'S caused early exhaust valve guide failures. The good news is with proper baffling and fuel management it is not that hard to keeps temps under control. Lycoming does have a break in guide should be easy to find on line. On break-in run them 2400 RPM and above avoid hard prolonged climbs and excessive CHT,S (above 400). New and rebuild engines I have seen usually only take less than 10 hours at most to stop using oil (Chrome cylinders can take longer) I suspect that is what the previous poster had or wrong rings installed. I strongly recommend a 4 cylinder CHT/EGT, and fuel flow they pay for themselves in the first few hundred hours and even sooner if you have any engine issue. They tend to be very reliable engines and talk to you for a bit before any major event so if you do notice a change in performance do take the time to investigate. As always I will throw in my obligatory slick mag caution. If you get intermittent starting problems in early engine life look at the internal timing of the slick mags. they are notorious for going bad early. I love flying behind a new engine!! DENNY

I definitely did not recommend operating anywhere near 500 F CHT. Though I’ve never tried, I’d guess you couldn’t even get there. Saying that something is “Tolerant of abuse” does not mean that I encourage abusing it. 500F is a manufacturer’s limitation that would be nearly impossible to reach, and it has been validated through testing. That high CHT limit is what provides such margin that results in this engine’s reputation for being both bulletproof and idiot proof.

Personally, If I see 380F on any CHT in any piston aircraft engine, I’m lowering the nose to cool things down.

Do a little research on the particular O-360 model you have. Some have rpm ranges that are restricted to short periods of time. Prop install may relieve that requirement.

If you have a really flat prop, many of these engines are restricted to no more than 5 minutes above 2550 rpm. Shouldn’t be able to get there with fixed pitch, though.

Lots of vibration in all four cylinder parallel valve engines……get the prop/ engine dynamically balanced, even if it feels smooth. You’ll notice how rough these engines are compared to that six cylinder Continental.

Plugs tend to foul. If you note a mag drop or bit of roughness, clean the plugs. Sometimes you can get by just cleaning the top plugs. I figure fifty is h hours between cleaning.

Lycoming says no leaning below ~5000 feet. What they actually are saying is tha the engine can’t make more than about 75 % power above that altitude. These engines, run below 75% power are hard to damage by leaning. So, assuming pilots are idiots Lycoming just figured theyd save us having to figure out what 75% power is……

Bottom line: Lean the thing, just don’t be stupid.

Change oil every 25 hours or so…..oil is relatively cheap. Use Cam Guard at every change. If you go a bit over 25, don’t sweat it…..flying is best thing you can do for engines.

If you start to see oil on windshield, find out where it’s from. May be a crank seal starting to spin.

Use the primer to start when cold. When hot, DO NOT prime. Open throttle 1/4 inch or so, start cranking and THEN run throttle to full open and back to 1/4 inch….ONCE. Should start fast. Do not pump the throttle unless you’re cranking. They are easy to flood when warm. One sits for an hour, I assume it’s still a warm engine start….NO prime.

Standard mag setup is left mag impulse only. You start on left mag only. If key start, the key to “start” position disconnects right mag till key goes to both. Start issues? Research that switch first.

I don’t agree with Scolopax that they are slow to warm. Depends where the oil temp probe is located, but generally, these engines aren’t any slower than others to warm. In very cold temps, you must pre heat, of course, but once started, the engine just needs to stabilize, then go. You can actually cool them off while attempting to “warm up”. Treat like any other engine.

These are really great engines. They are workhorses. A little prone to corrosion on cams/lifters.

Best thing you can do is fly them.

MTV

Thanks MTV; it's an A1D swinging a flat 84/40, very light, 15 lbs Catto so I'll research the rpm restriction a bit closer.

With the wood prop I don't think there is a mid range rpm restriction. The metal props can create a harmonic at certain RPM which is why the mid range restriction exists.
Are you burning mogas? If so I'd recommend using a AvBlend. Helps keep the valve train from gumming up. Other then that I fly them like MTV. K also find the amount of primed used for starts depends if you have a long stroke or short stroke primer.

Standard mag setup is left mag impulse only. You start on left mag only. If key start, the key to “start” position disconnects right mag till key goes to both. Start issues? Research that switch first.

I wish I would have stumbled across this^^^ statement years ago. I have owned 3 planes 150 Cessna with a 0-320 push button start, and now a 172 with a 0-360 push button start. I always thought I had a low battery or weak starter in the 150 and discovered after I blew the end off of starter on my 172 that it was to be started on left mag. Nothing on check list on either of them.

MTV[/quote]

A1Skinner wrote:With the wood prop I don't think there is a mid range rpm restriction. The metal props can create a harmonic at certain RPM which is why the mid range restriction exists.
Are you burning mogas? If so I'd recommend using a AvBlend. Helps keep the valve train from gumming up. Other then that I fly them like MTV. K also find the amount of primed used for starts depends if you have a long stroke or short stroke primer.

I'm still dithering on the Mogas question, previously I only burned 100LL in the Conti. I was think, as you've suggested an avblend but in reality how much is saved and at what risk to the greater health & wellfare of the engine.

Mapleflt wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:With the wood prop I don't think there is a mid range rpm restriction. The metal props can create a harmonic at certain RPM which is why the mid range restriction exists.
Are you burning mogas? If so I'd recommend using a AvBlend. Helps keep the valve train from gumming up. Other then that I fly them like MTV. K also find the amount of primed used for starts depends if you have a long stroke or short stroke primer.

I'm still dithering on the Mogas question, previously I only burned 100LL in the Conti. I was think, as you've suggested an avblend but in reality how much is saved and at what risk to the greater health & wellfare of the engine.

Ya thats a decision you will have to make. The price if AvGas isn't that much more then E free Premium out here right now, so the decision is easier. But when there is a big price difference it becomes more appealing for sure...

A1Skinner wrote:

Mapleflt wrote:

A1Skinner wrote:With the wood prop I don't think there is a mid range rpm restriction. The metal props can create a harmonic at certain RPM which is why the mid range restriction exists.
Are you burning mogas? If so I'd recommend using a AvBlend. Helps keep the valve train from gumming up. Other then that I fly them like MTV. K also find the amount of primed used for starts depends if you have a long stroke or short stroke primer.

I'm still dithering on the Mogas question, previously I only burned 100LL in the Conti. I was think, as you've suggested an avblend but in reality how much is saved and at what risk to the greater health & wellfare of the engine.

Ya thats a decision you will have to make. The price if AvGas isn't that much more then E free Premium out here right now, so the decision is easier. But when there is a big price difference it becomes more appealing for sure...

What sort of a "blending" ratio do you suggest ?

A “composite” prop (wood is the original composite) generally removes rpm restrictions in the mid range. Those props are much better at dampening harmonic vibrations. The “no more than five minutes above 2550 rpm” limit still applies, but with fixed pitch shouldn’t be a concern.

Good point on long stroke vs short stroke primer. Just figure out what it takes. When cold, you cant over prime.

MTV