Mark89114

It is my understanding that the fluid itself isn't corrosive, the problem is that it traps moisture. Therefore corrosion starts there. Haven't read that anywhere except on the message boards, so take it for what it is worth.

Update: (bear with me on some of the terminology here) the spring mechanism had failed to retract at some point in time and wore on the shaft, the heat buildup caused it to lose it's temper so rather than a $1200 exchange, I am now looking at $2200 repair/overhaul/exchange. Talked at length with the Niagara tech and there doesn't seem to be any real consensus on what causes this, oil additives were mentioned, lightweight starters, lightweight props, stuck starter relay, etc. Of which I have none, except for starter relay. I did have a weak battery several months ago and that was causing what potentially could be a "slow start", if I understand some of the mechanics of what is happening inside this adapter. Pure speculation. He did mention drag on the starter, or the starter staying engaged. I have a light on my panel that tells me when the starter is receiving power and that has never stayed lit. He suggested I call the guys in Brooks KY, talked with their tech, super knowledgeable and he mentioned drag on the starter being a possible cause. I personally spun the starter and I think it spins pretty easy, but he convinced me that less drag is better and that the starter leads to some of these starter adapter issues, even with a "good" Continental starter. He is going to look at it and evaluate and repair if necessary. For $300 seems like good policy, based on the $2200 already spent and the possibility of further damage to the engine. Will advise if he finds anything, good or bad.

It is pulled off and at Niagara now....will advise if they find anything. Thanks for the advise. Mark

Doc, Is Niagara the best place to get this repaired?

It certainly came off easy enough. This isnthe starter motor....i am guessing it is an original continental starter therefore a "good" one?

About $2000 from AOPA for a 2000 ovation, value about $220k. Just this year. TT about 5500 hours, 2000 jet PIC and I fly the plane 120 hours per year.

In the 4 years I have had my Ovation (IO-550) the first 2 years of oil changes and filter inspection were normal, about 2 years ago during oil change and filter inspection we found some tiny, tiny little specks of non metallic material. Oil analysis didn't show anything. About a year later, found a whisker or two of shiny "brassy" looking material in filter, nothing on oil analysis and the last oil change there was a bigger whisker. Discussed with mechanic and waiting for another oil change to see if anything changes. Just today when starting, it seemed like there was a tiny lag and different noise before propeller started. The airplane starts almost immediately so whatever happened was really fast and could have been my imagination. The oil change is due so will inspect with extra care. My friend with a Brand C and same engine, ignored his slipping and it left him broken down, but I travel a lot and do not want to be broken down in the middle of nowhereversville. My mechanic said it was a PITA getting the starter adapter off of the Brand C (Cessna Corvalis) and is wondering if it is the same problem for removal? We looked at the back of engine case and looks like plenty of room, but looking for advise on the removal. For those who have done this, can you tell if the starter adapter mechanism is going bad by visual inspection? The tiny slivers of metal lead us to believe something isn't 100% correct. Thanks, Mark

Slightly off topic a bit....so not a complete thread hijack. Any experience with the ceramic coatings that seem to be the rage? My mooney's paint is in bad shape so wouldn't benefit, but I was considering it for my car till I was told about $750 to $1500 for a professional application. Seems like a lot of money. Yes I could google it but you end up getting a 1000 cleverly written articles which are just advertisements.

I had the same thing happen to me in Marathon, can't remember if it was CBP or DEA. I had my 9 y.o. son and they had flight tracked me from Destin. Clearly I fit the profile...…(sarcasm font) I was less than friendly as I probably just got done arguing about some other legal nonsensical matter and I was on a Constitutional right kick of some kind and was ready to argue. I told him I didn't think he had any right at all to inspect my airplane or person without probable cause. He gave me the nonsense about doing his job and he had a task list to accomplish and I told him why don't they go get real criminals instead of clearly vacationing people. He backed off and didn't inspect anything. I don't think he wanted a fight when clearly he wouldn't have found anything. My big issue is government overreach. Probably need to refresh my memory a bit so I keep current on developments. Summary is I think it is criminal what they think they can do.

Because I am not very smart sometimes, I somehow let my CFI ratings expire. I need/want them back. Does anybody have any recent experience with the accelerated flight schools for CFI? They expired years ago so can't go to the FSDO, if that was even an option anyway. I have also heard that the only way is through a DPE anymore. Would rather go do the training in somebody else's beater than my Mooney. Thank in advance, Mark

I can't tell if you guys are being sarcastical about the twist in the wing....please use the correct font so I can follow. but it looks like there is a lot of inboard damage on this wing, right next to the fuselage?

I can’t recommend AP central. They did a terrible job. Pitch oscillation, supposedly it was the tach generator in the pitch trim servo, they replaced tach generator. Didn’t fix it, chased down a bunch of other supposed issues, that didn’t fix it. I gave up spending money on them. To top it all off, they soldered the tach generator in and the connection failed, now no AP at all. Took to a different shop, and he suspected that the voltage required to start the electric motor was too high, did some simple testing and the voltage required to start operation was all over the place, from within tolerance to outside of tolerance. Rebuilt trim servo for several AMU and now it works. If AP central did their job right the first time and knew what they were doing I would have saved money. Not impressed with AP central at all.

Can you sign in anonymously through a function most browsers have?

Nothing can be plugged in continuously? What kind of short bus special morons are working in government these days......maybe we shouldn't have electricity at all??? After all we are connected to the grid continuously.....

My ship EGT gauge is reading wrong, shows about 200 degrees and doesn’t move on 2000 ovation with moritz gauges. The JPI is reading correctly. Will start diagnosing and wondering if I can swap the leads from the ship probe with a JPI probe and at least diagnose if probe or the moritz gauge,is bad. Any other clues would be helpful.