Pilot64

Hi all - I have been away for a while dealing with a family emergency - non flight related, fortunately. As a follow up, Daytona Aircraft Services was the shop that performed the maintenance. My new mechanic at the time of the original issue refused to issue a ferry permit, but Jake Clemens at DAC (the A&P who signed off on all the maintenance resulting in this issue) had located a ferry pilot who was willing to fly the plane, my assumption is that he would have also issued a ferry permit for that flight. The fact that they wanted me to pay to have my plane flown back to their shop for their error was just insult to injury - I didn't want to fly it, didn't feel comfortable flying it, and my new mechanic suggested that I not fly it even if a ferry permit were issued. The solution - I purchased a new engine from Continental and had it installed. I will not use Daytona Aircraft Services in the future for anything - not even to inflate the tires if I am in dire need. I dropped everything on my plate at the time of this issue due to the family emergency, but I plan to pick back up where I left off with the attorney now that I have time to do so. My apologies for such a delay in my update. Good case for having every other or every 3rd annual performed by a new maintenance shop - I have always done this.

Hi Clarence, et all, This is in the hands of the attorneys now, which is why I have been quiet. Prior contacting an attorney, the engine shop offered to repair the engine, but only if I would fly the airplane to them, have it flown to them at my expense, or have the engine removed and shipped to them at my expense. I did not think any of those options were fair, under the circumstances. I will post an update once the issue is resolved. Thanks to everyone for all the comments, they were really helpful. I knew what I thought was the right thing for the engine shop to do, but before I jumped to any conclusions, I wanted to know what "the majority" thought - I wanted to be fair to the engine shop. Kindest Regards.

Any suggestions on where I might send the cotter pins for the metallurgy tests? I contacted Continental, and on initial contact, they suggested that someone on their team might be willing to do the analysis. On a follow-up email, they indicated they were not interested in testing the pins, and recommended again not flying the airplane until the engine was torn down, torque checked, and cotter pins replaced. They did send a copy of the service manual, showing proper installation (attached). Also, as an FYI, the shop that performed the overhaul is an Authorized Mooney Service Center at a class C airport, they should not be a fly-by-night (pun intended) shop!

Thank-you all for the warm welcome and for your responses and comments. Rather than reply to each comment, I'll summarize my comments on the responses: Carusoam: Yes, my biggest concern is why, and more concerning, why *three? Cody: $40-50K is accurate, albeit low :~ I agree completely about the expectations for customer service. I'll take a look at 8120-11, thanks for the tip. The shop did respond with "the cotter pins are just standard stainless steel cotter pins (p/n MS24665-227). Parts like that are purchased in bulk and used as required, There is no 8130 for them as they are “standard parts”. I am not sure if the 8120-11 would apply here or not, but it is worth investigating further. Art: That is yet another concern, only 1 leg was bent, what else may not have been installed according to the service manual? M20: Yes, the current A&P said it seems common for shops to *not pull the suction screen - the maintenance shop that did the rebuild also did my first annual after the rebuild.. The current annual is my second after the rebuild. I try to get the plane in front of a different shop every 2-3 years, just for the extra set of eyes, then (usually) go back to the original shop. Hyett: I would probably blame myself a bit if something happened on the ferry flight, and the engine shop, too, because that's who the ferry pilot likely spoke with to determine if he was willing to fly the plane. I did not hide any facts or any of my concerns. I told him that I was *not willing to fly the airplane, and I explained to him precisely why. I would not have even considered hiring someone to fly the airplane - that was the recommendation from the shop that performed the rebuild, which incidentally, is the *only party that has suggested flying the airplane. I have to try to balance risk with reward, and I do believe the risk is heavier than the reward, in spite of the fact that the ferry pilot had already accepted the risk.

Hi Folks, The Continental TSIO-360-LB-1B engine in my Mooney M20K-231 was rebuilt 2 years ago. At my last (current) annual, the A&P found 3 broken cotter pins in the oil screen, and followed up with a Boroscope camera to identify that at least one of the pins did indeed come off of the castle nut that secures the connecting rod. The shop that performed the rebuild (Daytona Aircraft Services) has offered to make any repairs necessary at their cost, even though the warranty on the engine has expired, however I would have to cover all costs to remove, ship, and reinstall, including the labor billed by the current A&P. The shop manager (Jake Clemens) has told me that this is not uncommon, and the plane should be safe to fly. I am not comfortable flying this airplane. Continental has recommended that the engine not even be started. The shop manager said he could refer me to a ferry pilot. I contacted the ferry pilot, and explained to him the situation and Continental's recommendation. He discussed the situation, and determined that he would be willing to ferry the airplane the 2.5 hours to the shop. I told him I was not comfortable flying, and why, so I have been upfront about my concerns. My questions - just how common is this? I have not heard of this happening before, and it doesn't seem like something that should be common in an engine with less than 120 hours SMOH. Are my expectations unreasonable that the original engine shop should cover the costs to get this resolved? Is it acceptable that there are likely other airplanes flying around with the same issue, and is there really no danger here? And finally, IF I allow the ferry pilot to return the plane to the original shop, am I legally liable if something does happen because I allowed him to fly the plane, after full disclosure of the facts? My gut says don't let *anyone fly it, and don't start the engine, but I wanted to hear thoughts from this community. Attached are pictures of the pins and the boroscope photos. Thanks!