Rotary Valve Oil Level

[cobra]

The Rotary Valve reservoir as indicated below holds two stroke oil lubricating the rotary valve drive on a 582. As the cap is secured with a wire I normal inspect the level by eyeballing the level without removing the cap. This afternoon I decided to remove the cap and do an inspection by having a peep inside

No oil the black lining was of dirty oil sticking the sides of the reservoir. I assumed that the level was OK

I have no idea who long it has been "empty"

Question :

What damage can be caused if running it dry for a lenght of time

I recently encountered an oil seal leak at the engine/gearbox seal may it only be a drop after flight, can this be traced to running the reservoir dry

Advise, although the cap is secured with a wire check it frequently by removing the cap.

[Miskiet]

The rotary valve and water pump runs on a shaft. This shaft in turn runs off a gear in the center of your crank. The little bottle is used to lubricate these gears. Oil is fed to a chamber surrounding this gear with oil seals on either side to prevent the oil from running into your cylinders. You should be OK even if the little bottle was dry there is quite a volume of oil in the pipes themselves as well as the crankcase. If youv'e run it dry very, very long you might have damaged the gears that drive the rotary valve & water pump but in my opinion this is extremely unlikely. You need to top up the oil from time to time as some is lost past the seals to the cylinders on either side.

The seal between the gearbox and engine and the seal on the crank shaft has nothing to do with the oil reservoir.

[Sad-Ham]

Had the same issue a couple of months ago except my oil level INCREASED. When I opened the cap I discovered that the oil had changed from dark blue to a pale sky blue. Had the rotaty shaft removed and discovered that the seal on the waterpump side had gone allowing water to seep into the oil. When the seal on the crank side goes the oil seeps into the engine and is burnt off. I have included the opening of the little cap and checking the oil into my pre-flight for extra peace of mind.

[cobra]

Thanks for the feedback and the in depth explanation on the unseen workings, seems I need not worry to much :D

[Loco]

The rotary valve and water pump runs on a shaft. This shaft in turn runs off a gear in the center of your crank. The little bottle is used to lubricate these gears. Oil is fed to a chamber surrounding this gear with oil seals on either side to prevent the oil from running into your cylinders. You should be OK even if the little bottle was dry there is quite a volume of oil in the pipes themselves as well as the crankcase. If youv'e run it dry very, very long you might have damaged the gears that drive the rotary valve & water pump but in my opinion this is extremely unlikely. You need to top up the oil from time to time as some is lost past the seals to the cylinders on either side.

The seal between the gearbox and engine and the seal on the crank shaft has nothing to do with the oil reservoir.

Hi is it acceptable i.e. can i fly when the level of the little bottle drops by about 10mm after an hours flight?
(As long as i keep it topped up before each flight)
Is it safe?
Any negative impact to the engine like excessive carbon buildup etc?
Sure i know i need to replace the crank but can i fly it in the meantime while saving up for a new crank
Many thanks
Ant

[Alkemac]

I'll add this pic again - please make sure your reservoir is on the right way, or else oil will never drain to where it is needed.

[Loco]

I'll add this pic again - please make sure your reservoir is on the right way, or else oil will never drain to where it is needed.

Hi I will check this on Sat, but whats the symptoms if its on the wrong way, will it be same as mine i.e. level dropping?

[Alkemac]

Kind of thinking two along lines at the moment.

If the bottel was the wrong way, where the lubricant is pumped back into the reservoir, the lubricant could seep back into the mechanissm, or, stay static, but never get into the down pipe unless you filled above the minimum level, but then only that amount would enter the mechanism.

Start off by checking the placing of the reservoir.

[bobthebuilder]

I had to constantly top up the resevior bottle due to a leak caused by a crack in the white cap. There was a small amount of oil on the prop after each flight. The oil level was dropping by around 5mm per hour.