Prior owner

Dark brown and sticky can be fuel residue.... when the leak has been carrying on for some time, it’ll get it the point where it looks almost black. Brown and sticky could also be sealant that did not cure properly. It is not terribly uncommon to find instances of sealant that did not cure. I’m guessing you’re looking at an old, ongoing fuel seep, though... a pic sure would help.

Any more pics of the engine compartment? There is plumbing there for an oil/air separator, but I don’t see the canister....

I’m waiting for the weather to get hotter to get a better feel for how things are now, but it seems that blow-by from glazed chrome cylinders was the primary cause of my elevated oil temps... probably the reason the prior owner parked the plane only 70 hours after overhaul. Oil consumption was nearly at Lycoming’s max allowable per hour. I replaced all four cylinders, and even during the initial break-in runs the oil temp never climbed above 185 F. I had also been using an oil/air separator as a bandaid to control oil consumption, which I have since removed. I’ll report here when I’m in the clear, but it’s looking pretty good.

If the knob did not move when the cowl flaps came back down, look at these: 1. Control wire sliding in clamp (per 47U above) 2. The clamps on the engine mount are sliding up and down (I had this problem) If I could adjust the opening to be larger on my D/C I would, but somebody trimmed the wire too short so I’m stuck with 1.1” for now. I don’t think the fact that you do not have a front cowl closure is relevant, but who knows....? FYI- the cowl flaps are hard to adjust properly if the clamps on the engine mount are in the wrong positions. Also, Check the front pivot bolts on the flaps to make sure the mounting is not loose, broken or elongated. Where was your camera mounted? Was it only the outboard edge that popped down, or the entire cowl flap?

In my limited experience, dry lube such as silicone spray works best, although it must be regularly re-applied. My concern with wax would be the fact that all crud falls to the floor- it’s the filthiest place in the plane...and anything on the tracks that crud will cling to will eventually make things worse. Perhaps beeswax doesn’t get tacky? I might have to try that.

We’ve got two of these- it’ll go right through the baggage door. Great for cruising, as long as it’s perfectly flat. They won’t climb a grade at all, though.

You’ve caught the Mooney bug! The hard part now is being patient while you find the right plane. An extensive pre-buy inspection will pay you back ten-fold when you walk away from an unloved money pit. Nothing worse than adding up your receipts after the restoration to discover that you could have bought a decent M20E for what you have into your C. You might as well keep looking for the right plane, because even if you were to buy this one, it could be months before it’s flyable. Old IFR stuff in the panel is not a redeeming quality.... and the price is ridiculous; so what are the redeeming qualities of this plane? I’m not seeing it.

I think you are probably right about that. Not that I’m an expert!

I haven’t seen any factory data that would allow you to use a prop protractor and get the same result as using the travel boards. If someone had travel boards, a protractor, and the inclination, they could certainly create the necessary data to use only a protractor.

Sometimes the U-shaped tube that you raise to release the seat track locking pins will crack at the rear where the seat pivot bolts pass though the U-tube and go through the seat frame... if your seat back is floating around even a little bit on one of the side bolts, it is likely that either the hardware is loose, missing, and/or that the holes at the rear of the U- tube have cracked open. If any of these occur, pulling on the tube will not fully raise one of both of the locking pins in the seat track, and the seat won’t budge. You can reach under the seat and force everything up to rectract the pins, but it isn’t always easy. As mentioned above, bad rollers or not having the seat installed properly in the first place will jam things up pretty good. All this is assuming you haven’t dropped a pen or other item that has become lodged somewhere.... mirror and flashlight will be needed.

I have never seen anyone remove any portion of the floor for an annual... other than some of the inspection panels under the rear seat.

Your gear wouldn’t move down at all, or did it move down and you had an unsafe gear light?

One thing is for sure- at $100k, that E is going to command a very thorough pre-buy!

I’m interested in a down block and possibly an up block, if pricing comes out cheaper than last time. I did buy a set of drawings already before the first run of blocks. Thanks!

Wow. I find it so improbable that the tail could turn the screw and turn the trim wheel gearbox.... but it must be happening. I’m Following this thread with great interest.

Glad you found some extra speed. But beware- From what I have seen, many of these vintage planes have plenty of worn pieces in the system and plenty of them have had the control linkages meddled with more than once over the years.... A complete (proper) rigging will also include: 1. setting the position of the aileron center links pivot below the floor; checking the aileron/rudder interconnect spring setup. 2. setting each aileron bell crank to its neutral position 3. adjusting the aileron up and down throws (bell crank stops) 4. adjusting the flap stops and checking degrees of each flap at max extension 5. setting rudder to neutral position and adjusting rudder throw (stops) in both directions 6. checking elevators are equal and checking the throws (stops) If you are just using the boards to set aileron positions without checking the positions of the bell cranks, you are most likely changing the amount of control travel you have (reducing one aileron travel and possibly increasing the other). In my limited experience, if the aileron bell crank stops are not set properly after [edit] adjusting the centered aileron trailing positions, you’ll end up with uneven aileron throws. The TCDS and the service manual have everything you need if you have travel boards in hand- be sure to follow the process form beginning to end (It’ll take all day). I’ve done 6 planes so far, and have yet to encounter even one where anything was even close to spec. You can set it up to fly straight, but you might not be contacting the bell crank stops on each side in each direction, and may not have enough control throw.

Yes, all his articles are gone from his site now... at least I haven’t been able to find them. I did save a few though.

I’m sure there would be somebody out there with a Fixed gear D who would love trade you his 180 hp engine, fixed pitch prop, cowling and stuck gear - for your engine, prop, cowling, and complete retract system....

I wish I was that close to a Spruce.. I'd have more reasons to fly. A $100 bag of screws is far more rational than a $100 hamburger

You can also invest $8 and get a paper catalog from Genuine Aircraft Hardware... always a nice reference to have handy. Call them and they can get it to you pretty quickly... https://www.gen-aircraft-hardware.com/ or, as mentioned in another thread, Skybolt website has a lot of pics of hardware, and they are very knowledgeable as well. Go to the upper right hand corner and click on the menu icon, then on the catalog- https://skybolt.com/

Firestone

Actually.... you are lifting the engine and the prop if you use the engine lift ring.

I believe the collar bolt on the main gear strut is not a standard AN part, at least it wasn’t on my ‘64... Mooney does recommend replacing that bolt anytime the collar is removed, but I don’t know whether that is a common practice. I had to buy those bolts from Mooney. If I remember correctly, all the other gear bolts going through bushings were standard AN, except for the retract link bolt. Could be different on later models...

All I am seeing in that pic is a heavy gummy buildup of fuel, old adhesive, peeling paint and filth. If you scrub everything clean, you’ll have a better idea if there is any corrosion. The Mooney SB regarding tube frame inspection gives procedure for inspecting the tubes for corrosion. It’s a pretty simple process. If the interconnect hose is rock hard and does not feel like rubber anymore, I would replace it.