Paul,

  I drove out to the airport this morning and inspected the flex
plate on my  p-port 20B the best I could with everything assembled.
 The bad news is  that it does appear to be cracked in at least one
place down near the  counter-weight area.  The good news is that I
found it on the ground.  I  will be removing the psru today and will
report on my findings at that  time.

  Mark S. in TX
  3 rotor P-port.

  That confirms my suspicion where the cracks are starting. We all
owe Dave  for finding this out.

  Dave do you have any more info on that $200 chrome molley flywheel?

  Paul Lamar

  Paul,

Attached is a picture of the 13B flex plate off my 20B.  I only
found one crack, but it is fairly large.  In the picture, it is U-
shaped and directly above the upper crank bolt hole.  It emanates
from one of the lightening holes.  FWIW, the crack was just barely
visible by shining a flashlight down between the flywheel and rear
counterweight.

Mark S. in TX

Mark

Thank Dave!
Right where I expected.

Paul Lamar


To check for cracks that may be hard to see there are dye kits available. To
use you clean and dry the part to remove all traces of oil. Then apply the dye
and let it soak in. Wipe off the excess and apply developer.

I think you could do the same using ATF and flour or talum powder as the
developer. The crack will show up as a wet or redish track in a light coating
of powder.

Dale Davies