HELP! 14-19-2 Powerpack Reservoir

K

kyleclark382

New member
Good Evening!

I’ve come across a roadblock on my ‘57 14-19-2 and looking for help.

I had a small hairline crack on my power pack reservoir. I went to a machine/welding shop that claimed it would be an easy repair... it’s now been over a month waiting and I’m sad to say that the shop ruined it, mainly from warping the aluminum attempting to correct their mistakes.

I’m hopeful that someone has a spare reservoir or can point me in the right direction?

Thank you in advance!

-Kyle
 
Hi Kyle... you have a few options here. First, give a call to Rick or Bryan Cox of Cox Airparts, 316-945-0737. They are now the de facto repair shop for the Electrol 750 powerpack now that Mr. Pifer has passed. They might have a serviceable reservoir bowl for you. Next, just as suggested on the facebook site, you can purchase a used Electrol 750-P unit as used in the Piper Aztec and Apaches, and cut the bowl down in size. Third option... I'm not clear from your picture and comment exactly what the problem is with your unit after it was welded, however once installed any warpage in the bowl (out of round condition) should be nulled out when installed on the base and the large o-ring should still do its job. Be sure you have a new o-ring. Have you tried this? Last option is to shoot me an email and I will see if I can help further. rswanland@usa.net. --Rob
 
Hi Rob,

Wow! Thank you for the excellent information. I will make the phone call to Cox Air Parts tomorrow... I wasn’t aware that there was a shop around that could service the power pack so that is great news as well. I will keep you posted if they have a usable bowl.

The summary of the damage to the reservoir is that after they initially welded the crack they started to burn through, so they opted to weld the aluminum fittings on to the reservoir to basically make sure everything was sealed. When they did this, they left the plugs in the fittings and seized them. They tried to remove the plugs but they were so seized up that they had to drill them out and drill new threads for 1/4” plugs... but not before they used a torch on it. At some point the heat actually expanded the aluminum near the welds, so now it’s essentially too large around the base by over 1/16”.

I have a fresh O ring in place, but the gap is so large that it’s a significant leak even without pressure.

Thanks again,

-Kyle
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top