Sump screen fitting part 2 of 2

Today I finished the installation of the new straight sump fitting. It required (as usual) more work than anticipated, but it's one of these jobs that take times to complete initially, but that will pay off in ease of maintenance down the road.

Since this new fitting is shorter on the fwd end, it requires a longer sump screen. First thing was therefore to cut a new sump screen to the right length. I used the technique recommended in the Christen Inverted Oil System Manual: progressively trim off the screen until the fitting has a 3/64 gap with the oil sump (without the crush gasket):

Here is a comparison between the two assemblies before the swap:

Once the screen was cut to length, I simply had to insert it in the new fitting and install it on the engine with the crush gasket. No set screw, no circlip, no o-ring : )

Next step was to replace the old straight hose end with a new 60° type hose end in order to properly clear the firewall. Had to cut 1" off the original hose in order to do that. When I tried to connect it, I realized it was going to be a much easier connection if I rerouted slighty the mixture cable, so I did.

After all this, here is the final result:

I'm pretty happy with the outcome: the clearance with the nearest engine mount member has actually increased!

Sump screen fitting part 1

While reinstalling the engine last year, I especially remember one step that made me pronounce bad words: reaching and securing the set screw on the engine oil sump fitting. This fitting is located on the rear bottom of the oil sump. It actually corresponds to the engine oil pickup point from the inverted oil system (magnified below):

Some airplanes may have this fitting easy to access. Mine is a pain.

I currently have the 804-A type fitting:

I suspect the 45 deg swivel feature is for setups where the engine mount restricts access to the fitting. In my case, the nearest engine mount tube is well clear of the fitting, so really, I didn't find any reason to have the 45 deg swivel fitting. More parts, more chances of leak with little or no added value in my case.

I therefore took the decision to switch to the straight 804-S type fitting i.e. from this:

To this:

Currently gathering the parts to make this work. I'm currently in Phoenix, AZ for work so I will take this opportunity to go shopping. Much easier to get parts here than Montreal area...

I like when I can make things simpler!