par

Cruise CHT's were: #1: 332; #2: 348; #3: 378; #4: 351

My C now sports an EDM-830 because I was tired of looking at the useless OEM cluster. At this point, there are several issues i'm concerned with and I need some MS expertise. -The RPM reading in the EDM is incorrect between 400-800 RPM. The original gauge is pretty much spot on though. My IA believes this has something to do with the unit thinking it hooked to a 6-cylinder engine rather than a 4 cylinder. I have slick mags and the appropriate harness is connected. -The FF on T/O was only around 13GPH. In cruise, it is shows between 8-9GPH, which is about right. I have read several threads that say FF on T/O should be closer to 17GPH. Clearly, the difference here is massive. I live at sea level and the altimeter was 30.8 with a OAT of around 58 degreed during the noted flight. I brought it up to the IA and I was told that it's not possible to get the exact fuel flow from a carbureted engine. Now, since my CHT's are also high on T/O, I'm starting to think my carb needs an OH. -Finally, the CHT's are extremely high on T/O. My original mooney gauge used to show the CHT almost at 500 but that was not correct. First, the IA used a CHT probe that goes around the spark plug(on cylinder #3) and it showed the CHT to be at 460 on T/O on that cylinder!! The remaining cylinders were showing between 330-420 with #1 being the coolest. I remember reading how this location of the probe can show inaccurate CHT's. So I had him change that and use the designed spot on the cylinder for the CHT probe. Sure enough, the reading on #3 dropped by over 30 degrees. So, in reality, my hottest cylinder is the #3 cylinder and it showed a CHT of 430 on T/O today. This was at a climb speed of 130-140mph with the cowl flaps completely open. The doghouse is in good condition without any unacceptably large gaps or holes. My moony also has the LASAR addition on the original guppy mouth (picture attached). I am also attaching the data from my short flight today.

Well, thanks to Aerodon, I got a pretty good deal on an EDM830 which should hopefully be installed over the next two weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing what my engine is doing rather than just guessing even if this is costing me money I did not want to spend at this point.

I want a job that will allow me to fly my mooney everywhere. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you do?

I def don't think it's hard or impossible for the average mechanically incline person to do. My IA just patched up both my tanks for a very reasonable price. I did not want to put 6k into a total strip and seal because it just wasn't that bad. I don't have a link for you but I will share what I learned from seeing him do the work. First, it is entirely possible for the leak to originate in one spot inside the tank and for the fuel to exit in a totally different spot. This is what I had on my right tank and it took 3 tries to find the problem area inside the tank. I recommend that you have the ability to drain the tanks and store the fuel while you do the work. Once you finish the patch, do not seal up all the panels immediately. Fill up the tanks and let them sit for a night or 2 to make sure the leak is gone. As far as the material is concerned, you need the sealant and what I think is the harder that is applied to the surface after the sealant has "set". This stuff is red in color and based on what I was told, absolutely needed to finish the job correctly. Hopefully others can give you the exact names of the products but they aren't cheap. As far as draining and storing the fuel is concerned, find your local Northern Tools store and buy the 5 gallon plastic gerry cans they sell. They are very cheap and extremely useful. They also sell an electric pump for $10 bucks that works very well. You will have about a gallon of fuel remaining in the tank that can't be reached by this pump and that will need to be drained out fuel strainer. Goodluck with your project and post some pictures if you can.

You may be absolutely right. What i'm hoping is that the CHT probe is reading incorrectly due to calibration. I have always wanted the engine monitor if for nothing other than fuel flow. It's not a fancy one, nor is it brand new but it'll be 2k after installation. Luckily my independent IA only charges $40/hour so it will minimize the damage after my recent pricy annual. Hopefully I can recoup some of this when I sell the queen.

This issue is forcing me to install an engine monitor before I try anything else. I don't see any benefit in overhauling old gauges that only show the CHT on one cylinder. I'm mostly interested on seeing my fuel flow at full throttle at well. However, why would I see temps above 450 on the ground at idle with cowl flaps open on a 40 degree day? This is what I saw last time.

I'm going to have my carb looked at as well along with the baffling. My next plane purchase won't be a C for a number of a reasons with this issue being one of them. You would think it would have been figured out and solved on a 50+ year old airplane that has been in flying condition most of its life.

Would you mind sharing briefly what you did to the baffle to get things under control? I don't know enough to know what would be considered good/bad. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my C's doghouse to share but out of the 3 mechanics who have seen it since I have been the owner, none has said anything about it. Also, short of forking over 2k that I don't have right now for a low end engine monitor, how do I verify fuel flow at full throttle? I'm curious why Lycoming or Mooney haven't issued anything to make changes to C models if this is a known problem. It doesn't make any sense that we have instrumentation in the plane that is marked a certain way but unless this board existed, most C owners would probably be flying around in the CHT green arc and not thinking a thing of it.

Any thoughts from the pros on why the stock CHT gauge has a green arc between 400-500 degrees? Was this done incorrectly back in the day?

Couple other questions then. First, the plane just had an annual and the engine is in good health. Next, the gauge indicates the green arc STARTING around 400 degrees and doesn't redline until almost 500 degrees. Is this a design flaw? Finally, is it possible that someone installed the incorrect temperature probe? When I bought the plane, it came with a bad probe and no associated CHT's but that was fixed with a replacement. That mechanic did not exactly do the best quality work.

I went for a quick flight today and paid close attention to my CHT's this time after M20F mentioned it. While I don't trust the gauge completely, here is what I saw today. -CHT's were close to redline while IDLING to warm up the engine @ 1000RPM, even after I opened the cowl flaps. OAT was mid 40's. -On climb out at full power/2700RPM/mixture rich, airspeed between 120-140mph IAS, cowl flaps full open, CHT's were above 450 but below redline according to the gauge. -After leveling off, WOT/2500RPM/mixture rich, 3500'MSL and 4500'MSL, cowl flaps open or closed, CHT's 390-400. Is this abnormal?

Had mine replaced just a few weeks ago during the annual. I've only done 2 landings since then but they were definitely some of my smoother ones. I can't really tell much a difference on the ground or notice any difference in the sitting height/angle. Either way, I will probably sell the plane before I ever have to worry about it again.

What would you like for the gauge cluster?

I'm having the IA check the oil pressure manually to check the gauge. As for the CHT'S, I do not trust that gauge because I sometimes have to flick at it to get it to work. I think I may need to OH that gauge cluster or just put that money towards an engine monitor.

I have been seeing oil pressure above the high end red line for a while now when I run up the ingine for takeoff. In cruise I am barely below high red line as shown in the picture below. I'm having my IA look at it but how big of a concern is this in reality?

Yes sir...here is a link to my Google images: https://goo.gl/photos/EjP1kgSgjx1kyRKz6

Well folks, first annual is complete and the new carpet along with some other goodies is installed. I ended up having the local upholstery shop cover my cracking and ugly plastic window frames with headliner material. The new look is a whole lot better than it used to be. As far as the carpet goes, I bought it from airtex and it took 3 weeks to arrive. Some of that had to do with x-mas. While it was cut well, it was not an exact fit and I had to make cuts to get it to fit properly. Some of the ends needed to be bound and rebound as well after I made the cuts to fit. My panels also have carpet at the bottom which had to be redone. The upholstery shop took care of that as well. To attach the carpet to the floor, I removed the belly panels and drilled holes into the carpet and floor at at any corner where I could. It is perfectly secure and the seats move freely. I did not have a chance to do the carpet around the nose gear well so that will be a project for another day. I will add some pictures later today.

I don't think so. I'll try to get full up and down trim next time but in level flight, I don't think it will be very noticeable.

Hard to beat that video with or without music. I tried multiple songs for background music but none worked as well as "Sail". Glad you guys like it.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't think to check if Vimeo was free.

Taking a stab at editing a video I made on a quick lunch flight a couple months back from W75 to KSHD. Let me know what you guys think.

Interesting find. My first thought was that it was an anti-theft device but that didn't make much sense. Mooneyspace wins again.

Can anyone tell me the purpose of the switch shown in the picture? It was located under the small panel right in front of the windshield base. https://goo.gl/photos/dfTdPRfvDYXHubDF8

I think i'm going with some sort of fastener and staying away from any product that requires any sort of glue. I appreciate all the ideas though. Par