braddock VC

I'll try uploading a couple of pix, don't hold your breath, btw.
These are the pix I promised in the posts I made regarding the engine in question, saito 82a seizing up.
You can see the battery puller plus a few of the engine parts in these pix.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

You do see a little carbon in those pictures.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

The SSE is a squirrelly little plane on high rates. Some 3D guys around here started building quite a few of them with counterbalances on the rudder and elevators and a lot of the unnecessary weight cut out. I was given one of those and it's been my beater plane for years and years. I've built or helped build 5 or 6 of those kits. The guy who built my SSE had an OS 46FX on it and he would hand launch it with the transmitter in the other hand.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

No carbon, but a little dried castor, not enough to worry about.

braddock VC

There's no carbon in my (lousy) pix, it's all rust!!! No castor either, 100% synthetic.

acdii

You are not kidding about the high rates! Fun to fly though. This was an ARF since I didn't have time to build one, and wanted to fly one this year. Already have 2 repairs done due to an engine failure, and the canopy popping off. If this one meets its demise, the next one will be from a kit.

Braddock, good tip on using the heat gun and puller, I have a 125 I may need to replace the bearings on, and will certainly use that method to take it apart. I have a 100 that I had to replace the crankcase on, and it was a bugger getting the drive washer off, the crank practically fell out though with one whack of a plastic dead blow.

acdii

Use after run oil to prevent that. It's probably what caused your seizure. I use fogging oil in mine at the end of the day. I put the piston at BDC, stick the nozzle on the breather and give it a squirt, which pushes the piston up, so it gets a good dose of goo. Then flip it a few times and put it away.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

I use a high quality pneumatic tool oil as my after engine run oil with good results.

braddock VC

I run mine at full throttle for about 15 to 20 seconds on the ground, then pull the fuel pipe off to stop it. TBH I expect to see some corrosion in there, after all it's a really lousy environment. What did surprise me was there was no polishing of the camshaft drive gears and the only polishing on the cams themselves was on the ramp up to the peak. I'll try and get a photo of it to show you'all what I mean.

acdii

There is plenty of oil that gets past the valve guides, up over the rockers and down the tubes to keep the cam lubed, so there shouldn't be much wear. Run one with the covers off and see how big a mess they make. You wont see much on the intake, but you will on the exhaust side as the exhaust will push it out the guide, the intake side gets sucked in by the upstroke of the piston. Very simple yet very efficient. However, that lube also contains unburned methanol which can attract moisture, and that is what will rot out the parts. Shooing after run oil in will help disperse any moisture.

SrTelemaster150

I tried a battery terminal puller once on a big block Saito. The steel collet will chew them up & spit them out.

braddock VC

Next time you try it, put the puller on with the propnut wound on then, when you get that puller screwed up real tight, heat the prop drive hub up with a hot air gun on high, mine was the one I bought for shrinking film. After a couple of minutes it'll let go.
then that'll be sr telemaster 1, big block saito nil.
If you pull really hard with a bearing puller you'll distort the prop drive hub and they are difficult to come by.

SrTelemaster150

Have you ever pulled a prop hub from an FA-180?

This is what use.

flyingagin

Looks like some serious muscle Sr.
Would that be your recommendation for a .65. I have to get to it some time, but just seems to be tons of life stuff in the way at this time.

Ken

braddock VC

No, I'll stand by what I said about using heat. The power of expansion and differential expansion cannot be overestimated. I'm not getting into a pissing match, I offered my experience and you choose to ignore it. Quite frankly I couldn't care less.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Brad, I'm another who doesn't use heat on bearings or prop drivers, it's just too easy to do without the aggravation of heat.

SrTelemaster150

I've tried heat, on the steel collets it take muscle & the one I pulled last weak needed the puller all the way to the threads. You may not be the only one with experience here, especially when it comes to big block Saitos.

SrTelemaster150

The small to medium Saito singles (up to & including FA-125) use brass & even sometimes aluminum collets. They tend to break loose easier. In fact, the aluminum collets will shift & are not suitable for CDI conversion.

You may be able to use the battery terminal puller on an FA-65. You might have the best luck with a high quality terminal puller.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

If the aluminum collets are not suitable for CDI where do you find an acceptable replacement?

Rudolph Hart

OH..no castor?

SrTelemaster150

The replacements on Horizon's site show brass collets. I had Horizon go out & pull stock & varify on both FA-91/100 & Fa-115/125 replacement collets & they are indeed brass..

The prices are not all that high. I tried using blue locktite on an FA-100 with an aluminum collet & had no success.

Be advised that the aluminum collets seem to be a hit & miss situation as some have stated that they had aluminum collet/CDI issues with FA-115s. I pulled the prop hub on my NIB FA-115 & it has a brass collet.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

Good to know Sr. thanks!

acdii

Are you referring to the piece on the shaft behind the drive hub, or the hub itself? When I rebuilt my FA-100 it had aluminum drive hub with a brass compression fitting, is this what you are referring too as the collet?

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

One prop driver and one collet

ADFEDELE

My Feedback: (11)

Good to hear that someone love his Saito. I love all of mine. So much that I converted my Saito 150 and 180 to gas using the CH-Ignition kit. Now I have 2 engine worth over $600 engine using gas with a 20:1 mix and it only cost me less than $300/each to purchase and convert. Even sound better than glow. A really Harley sound in my opinion. Fuel consumption 15 minute flight only uses 10oz or less in my GP Waco turning a 16x6 prop. I really recommend doing the conversion. Checkout CH-Ignition.com.