diamondaviators.net

Hey everyone, I have a hartzell sky-tec starter 149-24LS with less than 50 hours on it. I had the cowling off and noticed grease coming out of the weep hole on the underside of the starter body. It looks like there was a dribble of grease on the cowling as well. Has anyone experienced this. Was going to check with Hartzell Sky Tec but wanted to see if any owners experienced same and what the implications are and needed remedy ( if any ).
Thanks so much. Dave

David,
From personal experience and discussion/interactions with SkyTec:
Under normal conditions there should be no grease coming out of it. What happens is oil gets into the starter from a leak somewhere above it, mixing with the grease and washing out the sludge out the drain hole. Oil in the starter will void the warranty! I had a new starter that was acting oddly way back when. I sent it back to SkyTec, and the problem was unrelated, but I was told there was oil in the starter, and that is what was dripping out the bottom (mixed with grease). They cleaned it out, fixed it all up, and sent it back to me under warranty luckily. They were very nice, but were very clear that, in general, oil in the starter will void the warranty. I did have a tiny ooze back then from my governor mounting gasket, and that must have been making its way into the starter.

Thanks Steve, I am going to keep watching it. It really looks and feels more like grease. There is not alot of it. Maybe when they pack it it just comes out with use. In any case I will call them. Thanks

Yep, mine looked just like grease as well, dark grey thick stuff. I figured it was just getting thin from the 115 degree Las Vegas heat. I guess the oil just loosens it up enough to drip out. They were very adamant there should not be anything draining ever.

The original starter on my aircraft failed at about ten years of age, but there was no grease leakage at that point, or since. I bought a new one, and had the failed original rebuilt to keep as a spare.

Smoss, was it oil for sure. Did you send the starter back to Sky Tec? Where do you think the oil was coming from? I cannot find evidence of oil leaking anywhere. Thanks so much.

David, SkyTec themselves told me there was oil in it. There was an ever so tiny leak from the prop governor area that must have been working its way back there. Check the through bolts for any tiny leaks, and look from the bottom into the area above the starter for any signs of oil.

Thanks everyone. Talked to Allen at Sky Tec just now. Real nice and informative guy. He said the grease weeping is normal since they overpack the housing and expect some weeping in the first 50 hours. He said to look for oil and that would be a problem but after that just thicker grease coming out is normal. Must have spent 20 minute on the phone with him and he shared all kinds of tid bits of knowledge about their starters. I will be mindful of oil leaks above the starter. Best to go out with a black light since oil has markers that black light will light up. Thanks gain everybody.