Ragsf15e

Someone more experienced will give you a good answer, but here’s a couple thoughts... the fuel leak looks like it’s either at the sump drain or through a bolt/screw. Those leaks are usually pretty easy to fix. Like real easy. No guarantees on the tanks long term, but that one wouldn’t scare me. Does the cabin smell like fuel at all? Look for blue stains near the floor under pilot and copilot windows. The corrosion... did the shop doing the ppi look under it to make sure it’s only on the surface? Under the wing/fuselage joint are the wing attach bolts and they often get a little light surface corrosion, but I’d want to know. Also, did the shop give an idea of cost to repair it? That would definitely be included in the further negotiations you need to have. Im not sure about the wear holes, but I’d want to know price for new/repair and I’d take that into account. The ppi protects you from buying something that isn’t airworthy, but it also gives you the ability to renegotiate if there are significant non-airworthiness issues. Worst case you reduce your offer by $1,000 and the buyer walks. You’re out the inspection cost but at least you don’t have to fix an airplane that hasn’t been cared for. At this point, the buyer is unlikely to walk if you renegotiate in good faith.

When I was in the Air force, IR126 was an epic low level route that we only got the chance to fly when we were TDY to Nellis. It starts way over by Sante Fe but there’s an alternate entry point closer to Lake Powell. Ive probably flown down the lake 6 or 7 times at 500’ over the water, canyon walls above me, zipping left and right like Will Smith in his F-18 in Independence Day. Instead of aliens, we were chasing water skiers, especially bikini clad ones. Even saw some fall as we blew over at 500kts. Anyway, the grad canyon routes, lake powell and monument valley are well worth it. Watch out for the tiny little line on the sectional that says IR126, but it’s not too busy.

Definitely get parker involved. He’ll help you.

One other tidbit I learned here on Mooney space, the governor shouldn’t be “governing” your rpm during a static run or at the beginning of your takeoff roll. A properly adjusted low pitch stop and a healthy engine are supposed to yield ~2680 rpm. The governor is not increasing pitch or “pulling back” the rpm at all to hold that. After the airspeed starts to build on takeoff roll, prop rpm would increase, but that’s where the governor brings it off the low pitch stop and keeps it ~2700 by increasing pitch.

Yeah, that makes sense. The troubleshooting guide Doc suggested leads through a nice step by step diagnosis. Making sure the engine ground strap is there and properly connected is a pretty easy quick check.

Next time you start the plane, turn the switch to start but don’t push yet. You should hear a buzz. That’s the shower of sparks which works in concert with your left mag to start the engine. If you’re hearing a different buzz, then maybe it’s part of the issue, but the sos buzz is normal and required.

Well the buzzing is probably good as that is likely the shower of sparks. That buzzing should only happen during a start with the key in the start position and it’s usually hard to hear if you don’t pause in the start position before pressing the key. If that’s the buzz you hear, it’s normal. The not turning over is not so good. Doing this warm doesn’t add anything for me. I’d be troubleshooting electrical... maybe before/after starter solenoid all the way to starter. Does cockpit power seem normal during these episodes or do lights dim? Actually, check the engine ground and make sure everything is grounded really well. You can have a power wire but you need a solid ground at the starter to complete the circuit.

Welcome, and Very nicely done!

Just to expound... you can get rid of your turn/bank indicator if replaced by a backup adi, but you will need a slip indicator which I don’t see. I think that’s easy to solve. The cgr and gi275 options are primary engine instruments that fit in standard instrument holes. Less panel cutting is good for the checkbook. They might cost slightly more than a jpi900 but install would be the same or cheaper due to not modifying the panel.

Check out the EI Cgr-30p and the gi-275 eis instead of the jpi. Nothing wrong with the jpi, but the other two do the same thing for similar cost and fit in your existing panel (move the elec adi to the turn/bank posit). Don’t cut a new panel just for the jpi. You can just put a blank panel cover over the moritz holes until you’re ready for a full new panel.

Yeah, the other symptoms are key. Mine was pissing oil out the drain.

Yeah, I agree. I’m not telling the OP to run out and throw parts at it, but a new mech fuel pump fixed some erratic fuel pressure issues on takeoff/climb. Full power, It’s solid at 29psi now with the electric pump on and only drops to about 27 or 28psi with the electric pump off.

Yeah, ok, that’s real hot. You don’t want to run it that hot. Gear down probably didn’t help as you were staying under 120mph. You should be flying full rich, full power, fast, at ~5,000’ ish. 75% power for a while, then 65-75% iaw the lycoming guidance. If it gets that hot under those conditions, something else might be wrong... baffling, or fuel flow?

It’s pretty easy to tell, there should be orange paint around the cylinder.

Yeah the mechanical pump has a drain coming out of the bottom of it. Depending on which seal in it is leaking, it can leak oil or fuel. I never noticed it in flight other than some erratic ff but it made a mess all over the nose gear truss. The drain comes out right next to the sniffle valve drain on my 68F. As mentioned, I think you’ll need to check out connections through your fuel system to make sure you isolate the problem before throwing parts at it.

They can leak either fuel or oil out of the small drain that comes out just in front of the nose gear. Mine fluctuated a bit during climb after shutting off the electric fuel pump but didn’t drop out of the green. It leaked a lot of oil and made a mess. Replacement fixed both issues. If you replace it, the new one will likely run right at the top of the green, maybe slightly over and then decrease slightly as you break it in. I used overhauled from a well known shop in OK who’s name escapes me...

I have chrome cylinders as well and generally agree with what John said above. Mine did run hotter during break in but maybe only 10 degrees or so. How hot are your cylinders running? I did my first 15-20 hours on mineral oil, then xc20-50. In the end they are ok but definitely use more oil. Also, as mine aged (15 years and 1000 hours), the chrome started to corrode and flake off the cylinder walls. Essentially I had to overhaul the cylinders to redo the barrels. So maybe they don’t rust but the chrome can flake off.

Maybe that’s true and I definitely hope it works out for you, but keep an eye on that starter solenoid...

My cylinder experience has been close to 50% cheaper for overhauled. The angle valve cylinders are expensive! Maybe less savings on other cylinders?

Thanks, I appreciate your input. I don’t know why I’m hing up on this, but now I’m curious about the 80lbs... if that’s full fluid (54lbs), that means the whole system of leading edges and pumps and tank and lines is only 26lbs?

Depending on model and year, the starter solenoid is on the engine side of the firewall just in front of the pilots feet. If you remove the pilot side, “cheek” cowling you should see it. Checking can be, shall we say, exciting and windy because it’s powered when the key is turned and pressed in. Don’t hurt yourself. Involve a mechanic when you’re over your head, this shouldn’t be a difficult problem to trace or fix.

With respect, I think you’d be very surprised what you’re missing. Mild hypoxia creeps up, there really aren’t telltale symptoms at those altitudes but mental and visual acuity are definitely reduced. Additionally, fatigue is noticeably less with oxygen. If you don’t believe me, try a simple $30 oxymeter while you’re cruising at 10,000’ and see what your pulse/ox is. I suspect it’ll be 90% +\-. Not terrible, but worth O2 when available.

If you turn on the master and your lights, jpi, etc come on, then the master relay is working. You need a digital voltmeter ($35) and the electrical diagram to test the battery and then follow the voltage downstream (with the master on) to see where it ends. If the master switch still lights up the panel and cig lighter, but the starter doesn’t crank, I’d be testing the starter solenoid. The mags are fine and not affected by this. That’s my non-a&p but somewhat educated opinion.

We probably shouldn’t rely on batteries getting slow to turnover the engine as our guide for replacement. Maybe that’s fine in our car (and what I do), but the battery in my airplane is a huge safety factor when I’m IFR. Just because it can start the airplane, doesn’t mean I’ll get my 30 minutes (minimum) if the alternator dies. In my opinion, it’s $~300 well spent to change that thing out as soon as it hits the limit on the standard capacity check which should be done each annual. Especially critical if you use a battery minder (as i do) because it will still crank fine but could have limited total capacity. Not that 30 minutes of battery life is gonna be perfect if you’re ifr, but at least it will allow “graceful degradation” for your nav, comm, transponder, etc.

Pretty easy swap, even for a non-A&P. I did mine last year. You should have a torque wrench to get the correct torque on the connections. If you over do it, you’ll damage the terminals.