JOMT methodology extends annual

I went out to the hangar to start re-attaching pieces-parts to the airplane as the annual condition inspection wraps up. I fixed the droopy exhaust pipe yesterday, the droopiness of said exhaust pipe having been the cause of the rubbing between the heat cuff and the side of the cowl. The exhaust pipe hangs from a 1" Adel clamp attached to what must be a slightly less than 1" diameter piece of the engine mount. Because the clamp wasn't tight, it was unable to keep the exhaust pipe up where it belonged. I removed the old clamp, which turned out to be a royal pain because of its location. Apparently the builder had used black electrical tape wound around the engine mount as a spacer to give the clamp something to grab onto, but the tape had become brittle and eventually slid out from under the clamp. Long story short (too late!), I used a piece of heat resistant nylon tubing for the same purpose, and the exhaust pipe is now secure.

I put the spark plugs back in this evening, and was going to call it a day when I decided to go ahead and put the gascolator back on. I'm been having a problem with the threaded knob that holds it in place being difficult to remove and replace, and today was no different. I got it as tight as I could, but when I turned on the fuel pump to leak test it, I found that it still leaked. This is when I decided to apply the JOMT (Just One More Turn) methodology, and as is usually the case, I went one turn too many. I broke the threaded knob thingy. Crap. Had to order a whole new gascolator, and now I have to wait for it to arrive next week. On the plus side, the old one was kind of worn, and a new one will be nice to have.

As long as I was placing an order, I also ordered some new screws to replace some of the ones that were reluctant to come out this time. I hate messing around with worn out screws that require a fight to remove or replace, and since they only cost a few cents each, it's worth a few bucks now and then to replace them.