Raptortail

I am just finishing up an 8 month process to overhaul my TIO-540-AF1B and what an experience. The challenge is there are only ~140 of these Bravos flying so parts are very hard to come by. The hardest part to get is the valve guides because they are oil cooled and Lycoming doesn't make them very often. I called around and found a shop that did an overhaul of this engine the previous year and they bought two sets knowing someone like me would call eventually. That was a big time saver and lucky break. I chose a field overhaul by an engine shop instead of a reman because most people I talked to said it would take up to 2 years to get a reman sent because its a long wait for new cylinders. My cylinders and pistons were in reasonable shape to be overhauled and with new guides, springs and rods I should be ok. The base cost of the overhaul was $110K, but by the time you add all the new hoses, overhauled alternator, v-band clamp, prop governor overhaul, various filters, mounts, specialty nuts, and shop rates to pull and replace the engine, I am closer to $142K. In my case, I also had to overhaul the prop and ended up buying 3 new blades for a cool additional $20K (kill me now). I should have the final cost in a few weeks but I'm at about $165K all-in with an 8mo turnaround. My engine overhaul was done by Twin Engine Aircraft in Newnan, GA and they did a fantastic job managing the overhaul process with all the many overhauled parts that had to be sent out to shops around the country. Gilmer Aviation in Pell City, AL pulled the engine and put it back on and also did a great job.

Good thoughts and thanks for the advice.

No, vacuum pump is gone and I am all digital (Garmin GI-275 ADI, HSI, ESI). For good measure, I'll mention that we did keep the analog Airspeed, vertical speed, altimeter and turn coordinator to maintain the more traditional 6-pack look and feel. Its a great mix of old and new.

Yes, back in January, cylinder #1 EGT dropped TO 180dF at full power on takeoff and climb-out. At the point that it happened I had run out of runway and kept climbing. I definitely lost some power and the engine didn't sound normal so I limped tightly around the pattern and landed with no incident. The A/P on the field looked at it a few weeks later and said I had an induction leak and he cleaned the spark plugs. I got two good flights out of it before this opposite problem of the EGT's being 200dF higher than the other cylinders on climb-out. I agree with some of the comments that it seems to be a lean mixture issue. I'm waiting on the A/P on the field to get to me but I will make sure he re-checks the plugs (Champion - RHB37E Massive plugs) and also cleans out the fuel injector. My guess is this isn't a probe issue but we can certainly try to swap them with another cylinder if we need to. I would prefer to take the plane to my primary A/P about 30 miles away. Thoughts on whether you would fly it in this condition? There is no published limitation on EGT temp like there is CHT or TIT so as long as CHT and TIT are within reasonable range, would you fly?

As background, I have a 1993 Bravo TLS and over the summer of '24 we replaced cylinder #1. For 6mo, the cylinder was fine but in January, the EGTs on cylinder #1 dropped off to 180 deg on takeoff and climbout while the other cylinders were at a normal ~1360 deg. I put the plane in the shop and the A/P cleaned the spark plugs and says he fixed an intake leak that caused the issue. I then had two good flights and now on climbout over the weekend, the EGT on cylinder 1 was consistently 200 deg higher than the next highest cylinder. However, once in cruise, the EGT1 came back into normal range with the other cylinders. I repeated this result on a high-speed taxi down the runway on another day. My guess is its either a fouled spark plug (unlikely because the AP just cleaned them a month ago with the last EGT drop issue) or a fuel injector clog (the AP also supposedly cleaned the injector last month too). CHTs on cylinder 1 were the second highest at 402 deg but not excessively high. My question is whether I should be concerned enough not to fly it because of high EGTs on one cylinder or if its safe to fly to another airport were my primary AP is located? What would be the risks or any other thoughts on what the issue could be? Thanks,

@Slick NickThat would be great if you have them. Let me know what you find.

@PilotX, that's a good thought to close the circuit and use the CB to turn it on and off. My other thought was to wire it to the Taxi light switch since the Taxi and Landing lights are right next to each other on both wings anyway and I usually always turn them both on at night, rarely separately. Otherwise, since a landing light is required equipment to fly at night and the taxi light isn't, I could wire the landing light to the taxi light switch and not wire up the taxi lights at all. The unobtainable is definitely real!

I didn't even see it happen, but apparently I broke off the bottom half of the left landing light rocker switch. I've called all the usual suspects (Lasar, BAS, TX Air Salvage, Loren’s Mooney salvage, Wentworth, Dodson, Air Salvage of Dallas) but haven't been able to find one. Does anyone have a lead on part # 880052-521?

I agree with the comment that changing the oil filter with the vacuum system removed is much easier. We have two GI-275's for the HSI and ADI and now oil changes aren't a big deal. It also helps that I cut a piece of PVC in half (length ways) and set it under the oil filter to drain the oil out of it before unscrewing it. Just poke a hole in the top of the oil filter with a screw driver and turn the filter 180 deg so it drains onto the PVC. Works like a charm.

Update: The Robotow just sold to an M20J owner.

I'm located in Birmingham, AL (KEET).

In July, I purchased a Robotow Heavy Duty Cordless Towbar for my Mooney M20M Bravo, however, it's just not quite strong enough to push my heavy long-body Mooney into the hanger when it's full of fuel. However, I think it would work perfectly for a lighter short or medium body Mooney. The Robotow has only been used a dozen times and comes like-new in the original box. I'm asking $1300 + shipping.

Recently every time I shutdown my M20M and turn off the split rocker ALT Field switch, the Alt Field 5A circuit breaker pops. I can push it back in, start the plane and everything works great until I shutdown again. A&P thinks the split rocker switch has a fault but he was unable to find a replacement from his suppliers (not sure how hard he looked). Lasar doesn't have one. Does anyone know where I can source one? The Part # is 880052-525. Thanks for the help.