Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2020 02

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day	notes	hours
1	Undo the 6 fixings and drop the duct. Offer up firewall fabric for sizing and cut off the narrower strip, leaving about 430mm the full width of about 105mm. Punch 1/8", 12mm in from edge at centre. Centre-pop and pilot drill top of duct at centre, 10mm in from edge. Open to 3.3mm.	3190.4
4	After not missing a weekday all through January, I'm disappointed that a severe bout of diarrhoea (reaction to an antibiotic) makes me too weak to get to the garage yesterday. Attach the piece of firewall fabric rubber to the top of the duct with a cleco and a washer. Try out the curves at the sides and mark the rubber with a felt-tip pen where the outboard fixing rivets should be, about 65mm out from centre. Remove rubber and punch it 1/8" at the 2 marked locations, about 12mm in from edge. Re-fit to duct with cleco and mark through the punched holes with a felt-tip pen for the rivet locations on the duct. Remove rubber, centre-pop on the marks.	3190.6
5	Pilot drill top of duct on the 2 centre-pop marks. Open to 3.3mm. Check the fit of the rubber firewall fabric piece by attaching it with clecos. I think it really needs the duct to be re-fitted and the lower cowl offered up to check if any further fixings are needed.	3190.8
10	Not sure if there was a piece of hose supplied to connect the expansion tank to the overflow bottle. Can't find anything in the parts database, and the Rotax manual gives a spec but does not seem to suggest that they supply it (unlike the overflow bottle itself). Post a query on the Matronics e-mail list.
11	An e-mail reply suggests using the Europa factory 6mm bore fuel hose. Dig out my stock of that hose and try it on the overflow bottle connector. Looks promising, so lubricate both the connector barb and the hose and push it on. It takes quite a while to persuade it fully home, but not too difficult. Route the hose around towards the expansion tank and cut at a generous length. Try some slightly different routings until satisfied then cut hose to final length. The Rotax manual says that all hoses must be secured, but on this 12mm OD hose I'm not happy with the CLIP000 (9-13mm) as supplied by the Europa factory - the clip is a pretty loose fit on the hose and distorts significantly when tightened. Search online for alternatives and find some Mikalor constant-tension spring hose clamps from Advanced Fluid Solutions . Order a couple of sizes and also some wire types. The spring clamps will also be more satisfactory at the expansion tank end where I find that there is not really enough room for the standard type of screw drive hose clips. Check the length of screw protruding into the footwell at the top inboard oil tank mounting point. Overall length about 18mm, threaded for about 10mm. From the journal, I note that the spacer for the front of the footwell was made from a 12mm OD aluminium round bar.	3192.3
14	Hose clips delivered from Advanced Fluid Solutions .
15	Try the hose clips on the overflow bottle hose. The smaller (11mm) one won't go on but the larger (12mm) one slips on easily when gripped open with pliers. However, it won't go over the bulge on the overflow bottle connexion, despite lubrication and some persuasion. If I could just squeeze it open slightly more that would do the trick.	3192.7
16	Search online for hose clip pliers and order a cheap pair from an eBay seller. They may open the spring hose clips slightly more to allow them to slip over the bulge on the overflow bottle connexion. But if not, perhaps I could modify them to allow the ends to cross over and provide additional opening.
17	Wonder if the wire-style spring hose clips might slip onto the overflow bottle connexion more easily than the strap style. Take off the 12mm clip and try the 11.6-12.3mm wire clip. Alas, it's no better and if anything won't even go as far onto the bulge. Review advice posted via Matronics e-mail list about the maximum temperature for the fuel hose compared with the recommended SAEJ20R3 water hose. Order lengths of EDPM hose (6mm ID un-reinforced, 8mm ID reinforced), and a selection of wire spring hose clips from Advanced Fluid Solutions .	3192.8
21	Hoses and clips from Advanced Fluid Solutions , and hose clip pliers from eBay waiting when we get back from a short break. Discover that when placing the order for hose clips I did not change the numbers required for the 14.8 - 15.9mm & 15.9 - 16.8mm wire spring clips from the default 1 to the 4 I intended, so will need to order more of some size.
27	Carefully slit the 6mm ID fuel hose on the overflow bottle connexion (to avoid damaging the plastic nipple) so it can be removed more easily, and pull it off. The 8mm ID EDPM hose goes onto the overflow bottle connexion easily - almost too easily; it will need a firm clip to secure it. The 6mm ID un-reinforced hose would be a very tight fit, but it is also very easy to collapse, so decide not to consider it any further.
28	The smaller of the 2 wire spring hose clips (14.8 - 15.9mm) fits onto the 8mm ID EDPM hose and grips it, but not very tightly. A smaller one would provide a better grip, but might not go over the bulges on the hose connectors. Will need to look at the options, including the flat spring types. The hose clip pliers are apparently for something slightly different - they don't work well on any of the Mikalor constant-tension spring clips. The 8mm ID EDPM hose goes onto the outlet of the expansion tank with a bit of persuasion. The thick wall of this hose means that there is not much room for the hose clip under the cap. The smaller wire spring clip fits, but is only just clear of the cap. Check the routing possibilities to the overflow bottle and choose what provides a continuous fall all the way. Cut the hose to the approximate length. Will need to order more hose clips. Note that after the good progress in January this month has seen very little activity on the build; illness, a holiday, a conference, and other Quaker commitments are at least part of the reason.	3193.2

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