Cowl Fitting Part One!

Starting the cowl fitting so they have you fab up the hinge pins.

The side pins for the cowl get their tabs radiused.

And they have you fab up the cowl side hinges that join the top and the bottom.  BEWARE! They say 2 each required in the plans but you must make them mirrors of each other.  That's not the same thing, they should not say 2ea required but instead they should say make a left and a right.

Engine Mounting Part Nine!

Then I hooked up the engine case ground wire.  They do not call it out but I also used blue Loctite on this bolt.

Then I connected the solenoid side of the starter power cable.

And finally the starter end of the starter power cable.

Then they have you cut off the other end of the starter solenoid ground wire.

And wrap it in heatshrink.

And finally the starter solenoid signal wire that tells the solenoid when to fire.

Next is safety wiring the magnetic plug.

Then safety wire the oil drain plug.

And finally the oil tank drain.

Engine Mounting Part Eight!

So Van's let me know that the contractor that Rotax sent in to perform the SB's on my engine before it was shipped to me did not apply Loctite to the aft crank plug and that they had issued a SD for this situation.  Apparently one flight school had already had an incident with a brand new S-LSA where the plug fell out and the engine dumped all the oil overboard.  That being said, the SD referred to other Rotax documents that said that the O-ring needed to be replaced anytime this plug is removed and reinstalled.  So I ordered some O-Rings and a new Copper Gasket that is replaced when the crank locking screw hole bolt is removed and replaced.  I also know that one of the test that must be done after first engine start requires that the valve covers must be removed.  I went ahead and ordered those O-rings as well.  (PSA:  Do not order the prepackaged kit of valve cover O-Rings.  It cost about 4 times the cost of just purchasing the O-Rings separately.)

Next I worked on these adel cushion clamps.  This was a pain in the rear even using all the tricks to work with these things.  Also the bolt called out was too short.  I had to remove it and put in a longer one.  Also not sure but I think the way Rotax builds these harnesses may have changed since Vans took pics of where and how to install these clamps.  I did it the way they suggested but it is obvious it is not optimal for the current harness design.

The bolt was too short.  Had to take it back apart and install the next longer size.

Longer bolt installed.

Then they have you remove these two sealing plugs from the HIC connector.  If you follow their directions, these WILL break off inside the connector and have to be fished out.  The proper way to remove these is to use the proper release pin tool to unlatch the lock.

Engine Mounting Part Seven!

Next comes connecting the engine harnesses to the fuse box cannon plugs.  These must have a sealing ring inserted in them before you attach them.  The seals come from Rotax with the engine.

Here they are installed.  These do sort of lock onto the connector if you turn them hard enough.  The latch is not very significant.  Wish these had some way to safety them because they are kinda important.

Here is the cannon plug that is different than the one called out in the KAI.  Totally different but much more robust design and it can be safety wired.

Here is the other connector that does match the KAI's.

They have you route the ECU cables thru the firewall.  I decided to put some split loom around the sharp edges of the hole to prevent damage to the cables.  The sealing parts and bushings get installed later.

Engine Mounting Part Six!

Purchased this EarthX recommended charger to take care of the new lithium battery.  Pricey critter!

Connected the fuel supply and return lines.

They have you shove this heat shield up under the ignition coils.

And then safety wire it to this hose.

Next is to secure this heat shield in place with safety wire around the coolant distributor neck.

Numbered totally different that what the directions call out.

Unfortunately the wires are not labeled per the KAI's.  I had to use a multimeter to figure out which was the correct ground on the other end.

Next they have you cut the ground wire for the starter solenoid off and cover it with heat shrink.

They have you connect all of the sensor ground wires to the ground lugs on the fuse box.

They have you temp mount the engine fuse box.  

Seems they have changed from having two of the same connectors that are a different color to two totally different styles.  One is now a cannon plug.

Engine mount part five!

I then swung my hanging straps around 90 degrees and pulled the fuse up close to the engine.  This allowed me to align the engine perfectly and get the bolts and isolators installed.  I did put a little bit of silicone lube on the isolators to get them to slide together easily.  I installed the bottom bolts first.

Then the top ones.  It is a tight fit on the top.  

I then torqued down the bolts per the KAI's.

Looks great hanging on the plane.  It is amazing how compact this engine is!

Engine mount part four!

You will need a long ball end 8mm allen key to get to the top left mount bolt.  You have to look up the torque spec in the Rotax maintenance manual.  That manual also calls out that the bolts must have medium loctite when installed.

Then you are asked to reconnect the lower coolant lines.

Once that is done there is a procedure to match drill up to full size the lower engine mount bolt holes.  Easy peasy just follow the KAI's.