Oil dripping from magneto wires

Humsuckler said:

those old radial's were referred to as a total loss oiling system. it just drew from the tank like a regular fuel tank and blew it out with the exhaust pipes

id pay a shilling to have been alive to see a WW2 plane in service riddled with bullet holes and covered in oil from the cowling back.

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WWII planes didn't have total loss oiling systems, those were the WWI ROTARY engines that spun with the prop and had the crank fixed in place.

It is a small piece of metal about 3/8" long by 1/16" thick. It is a half moon shape. Grey in color. It is not just a piece of steel, it is a softer alloy designed to shear before damage occurs.

Thanks for the intel! Any chance you can describe where in the casing it resides. I would like to make sure mine didn't fall out.

Many thanks!

It fits in a half moon shaped notch machined into the crank shaft. Only 1/2 of the key height will fit into the slot (rounded side into slot, longer flat side facing up).
You superglue the key into the notch to hold it there (wait for the glue to dry) so it will resist falling out when the magnetic rotor is slid onto the shaft.
The magneto's magnetic rotor has a matching slot that the other half of the key fits into.
It can be tricky to get the rotor to slide onto the shaft without popping the key out of the notch on the shaft, even though you superglued it in. Patience is a virtue.
It will help to remove the coil from the engine first. that way you will not be fighting the magnetic force trying to pull the rotor every which way.

Oh yeah, mark the outside of the coil and the rotor with a stripe or something using a magic marker before you remove them, that makes it easier to re-assemble correctly. It is very easy to re-assemble them backwards as both will go on either way.

you should seal that wire inlet with gas/oil resistant silicone or watter can get in and ruin your magneto coil...it happed to me