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Bear Question

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  • #1

    Bear Question

    As a HUGE bear fan that has followed her for years I was wondering about the problem that was fixed this year to get her running the best it has in years...We all know for years they have been chasing stuff with the motor and the word was always about cylinder problems and changing those out all the time...This year was the first time that I had ever heard anything about a blower being changed out. Could this have been the problem for years that they sniffed out??? Could this mean that the Bear will be much more consistently healthy in upcoming years??? I am not an expert on this stuff just a fan trying to be optimistic that the crew may actually get to sleep one of these years and see the bear cross the finish line first for many years to come. I know there are a lot of people in the know on the bear crew that check the board so hopefully you can enlighten. Thanks
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  • #2
    Re: Bear Question

    I believe the problems with the cylinders was traced to bad/deffective valve guides. The current motor still has several cylinders with those guides. They are being changed out as needed.

    The supercharger problem was new this year. The bearings in the blower simply wore out. I'm not sure when it was last serviced/replaced. Anyone know what the normal life span of a supercharger is?

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    • #3
      Re: Bear Question

      And if it made metal, how did they keep the engine running? Or how'd they clean out the innards? With friends like Dago, who needs enemas?
      Rutan Long EZ, N-LONG
      World Speed Record Holder

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      • #4
        Re: Bear Question

        They were lucky that the only metal was bearing material (silver). A few more minutes and it would have been hard metal and seized the engine. The big fear was that the silver was from the master rod bearings which is also fatal and the source of all the jewelry jokes from competitors.

        The oil filter screens are cleaned and checked after each flight. Everytime the Bear flew after the blower change the screens came back cleaner as the engine flushed itself. This was one reason they took it easy on the motor untill Sunday.

        The blower bearings HAVE been a problem in the past, but Lyle said the previous blower problem had a different root cause and wouldn't elaborate. (Don' let Sept Fury learn any secrets!)

        Ron Henning
        Bear Fan
        Ron Henning

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        • #5
          Re: Bear Question

          I just don't understand how any engine can stay healthy when it is making metal, silver or other. Can't be good. All that junk has to make its way into the rods & mains at some point. I would imagine a complete tear down is coming.

          GP

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          • #6
            Re: Bear Question

            The blower won't be a problem in the future, this years problems were not related to anything expected to repeat. The blower and the engine are fairly fresh. the guys on the team did a fantastic job of taking care of the engine.
            John Slack
            John Slack

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            • #7
              Re: Bear Question

              That's good news that the blower not be a problem anymore...Could that have been an undetected problem in the past few years that was hurting performance??? Thanks for your time to answer these dumb questions.

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              • #8
                Re: Bear Question

                This is as far as I am going to comment any further on the Bears engine for this year. lets just say with my head in the Dago engine all through out the summer and August for the repair I only know what I was consulted on. The blower problem was not an undetected situation, and the crew had done an excellent job of staying on top of the engine this past year. I think they have a good grasp on what needs to be done in the future.
                John Slack
                John Slack

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                • #9
                  Re: Bear Question

                  What was invovled with the blower change? Knowing how tight everything is back on the firewall, did it require an engine pull? I just can imagine having the room to pull the blower/housing otherwise.
                  SteveB

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                  • #10
                    Re: Bear Question

                    The engine performed flawlessly on sunday which after the way the week started means alot. we currently have a healty motor that is finally(for the moment) running the way it is suppose to run. As you can see by the way the first 2 laps were going we were there to race, however when the chance came to save the engine we took it. We could have keep pushing dago, but by doing what was done we ensured that we still have a good motor for next year.

                    Elliott
                    STRESS

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                    • #11
                      Re: Bear Question

                      Smarter not harder works everytime. Great Job!

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