Turbofan Engine Line Maintenance Six Important Tools
Given the complexity of modern turbofan engines, tools meant for maintaining them must be appropriately specialized for the task. In this blogpost, we’ll break down the six types of tools that’ll be the most frequently used in turbine engine maintenance and should never be missing from your toolbox.
The internal piping of a turbine engine can be dizzyingly complex and disassembling it to inspect it visually can be expensive in terms of both time and money. Therefore, a borescope and set of guide tubes to thread it through the engine’s various ports can help save both. If you operate a mixed fleet, however, you’ll need guide tubes matching each of the different engines.
Oil pressure is a vital metric of an engine’s health. If there’s a change in the pressure force sensor, you’ll need to respond by checking the pressure adjustment and cold start valve to ensure that both are clean and in good condition. This will require disassembling the pistons and springs, which requires specific tooling, which can vary from engine to engine.
Oil and fuel filter replacement is a routine and scheduled type of maintenance, but a necessary and vital one as well. Specialized tools for removing caps and the filters themselves are a superior alternative to simply trying to remove them by hand.
In turbofan engines, the seals of a turbofan engine accessory gearbox can eventually begin to leak. This applies to both the neoprene seals found on older engines, and the carbon-face seals used on newer models and can be seen in the oil stains on the bottom of the cowling. These stains should be easy to spot during a visual inspection, and easily fixed as long as you follow the engine’s maintenance manual and use the correct tools.
Helical inserts or helicoils are often used to secure steel screws inside magnesium or aluminum housing. However, these screws sometimes get stuck inside their inserts due to heat distress or corrosion. This means that if you try to remove the screw during disassembly, the insert will be pulled out as well. When this happens, you’ll need an insert tool kit to be able to replace that helicoil. Given that helical inserts are used throughout an aircraft’s support fuselage, they are also useful in other maintenance applications as well.
Windmilling is a potential issue for aircraft with bladed fans that are left outside without engine covers and occurs when the wind turns the fan while the engine is shut down. This causes a slight degree of friction as the blades shift in their pockets, which can be heard as a distinct clicking sound. In cold-weather conditions, shrinkage between the components can make this an even greater problem. This friction will eventually produce titanium dust that can become a serious engine health issue. Therefore, fan blades need to be removed one by one, have lubricating grease applied to them, and then re-installed, with every step of this process requiring specialized tools.
