DC_Brasil

Yes, I did overtstate a bit. I meant to stress to not let the mechanic start pulling cylinders without first having a clear diagnostic for the problem. The OPs mechanic seemed to be spring-loaded to remove the cylinders (as many mechanics are, unfortunately) without having the issue pin pointed.

Most cylinders will have oil on the bottom wall after you shut the engine down. Oil is used to lubricate the walls and a thin layer is applied and scraped off by the rings during normal operation. When you shut the engine off, that hin film will flow to the bottom wall. That's normal and not result from corrosion or pitting.

Few considerations for @ajudson: 1 - when you say you definitely had 4 qts after that landing: did you measure it right after landing or with a cold engine? A warm engine will have plenty of oil still scattered around the internal walls and galleries and will most likely show a lower level than a cold engine, when the oil will have had the time to flow back to the sump. 2 - mild roughness or popping at 1000 rpm: have your A&P check the fuel flow setting on the injector distributor. My fuel system was overly lean and I would constantly get an unhappy engine at 1000 rpm (it would almost always quit if it hit 950 rpm). After it was adjusted, I got a normal running 1000 rpm and better cooling at takeoff power. 3 - valves sticking will cause a very noticeable effect when the engine is cold and it gradually disappears as engine warms. You'll be able to see lead bromide deposits on exhaust valve stems and valve seats with the borescope. Lapping the valves in place can clean much of these deposits. 4 - Ring flushing has nothing to do with sticking valves but, since your main concern began with elevated oil consumption and possible cylinder blow-by, it could help. Sometimes a cylinder ring may get stuck in place by oil sludge (our avgas burns reaaaally dirty). Flushing the rings is a cheap and minimally invasive procedure that has the ability to free up a mildly stuck ring. 5 - as @LANCECASPER said, make sure your A&P has checked the suction screen. 6 - what kind of engine/oil system gauges do you have? Legacy analog mooney or digital engine monitors? If you have digital data, you may benefit a lot from comparing oil pressure and temperature data from different flights. If you have analog legacy gauges, it wouldn't hurt to check the oil pressure gauge for proper operation/indication.

I would definitely reactivate the Savvy subscription. Unfortunately, many A&Ps are spring-loaded to suggesting removing cylinders and many, many times that's just unnecessary and makes the shop receive a large paycheck. You have to think of maintenance as a medical approach: you wouldn't want an exploratory surgery to find the source of a pain. First and foremost, as @PT20J explained, if the oil filter, suction screen and oil analysis are fine, high oil consumption is just a nuisance. Secondly, there are a few things that may elevate oil consumption. Most of them do not require a cylinder to be pulled. Those corrosion pitting on the cylinder walls do not look that bad. I have the same thing on two of my cylinder walls (my plane also had a time of disuse under the previous owner). Other than that pitting you seem to have good crosshatching. Have your mechanic tried flushing the rings? If he suspects blow-by is the culprit of the high oil consumption, it is more often caused by rings than mild pitting on the walls. What evidence you have regarding a valve sticking? Is the engine showing morning sickness? You can try lapping the valves in place. Have you seen lead deposits on valve stems or seat on the borescope images? If they were sticking, you'd be able to see some deposits rather clearly. Sorry to say, but your A&P seems to be shotgunning here. He doesn't have a diagnostic and have suggested a very invasive and labor intensive intervention. I would definitely try to find a cause than starting to attack the plane with tools. Don't get me wrong: ultimately there may exist the need for a cylinder OH, but you need to be certain of it. Also, don't fall on the "let's OH all of them just in case" trap. Only do what is actually necessary for safety of flight. Cylinder removal is a very invasive intervention, should be done by a specialized shop (not.on the field) and you'll have the risk of maintenance-induced failures. Keep that in mind.

I have installed a Concorde RG24-11M in my 1990 J model in December 2024. No complaints so far.

+1 for flight control rigging!

This topic is so relatable ahahahahaha My wife has never been enthusiastic to fly, even on airlines. When I bought the Mooney she was really reluctant. She's very sensitive to motion sickness. First tip I'd give is take it incrementally. Do not put new people to GA on a long XC unless strictly needed. I'd make short 1hr flights here and there to make sure they are fine with the many aspects of flying that may surprise the unwise like the persistent turbulence of lunch time, clouds, winds, etc. We've had a 6hr flight this year and it really wore her out. It was a very warm and bumpy day, so sick bags were ready to go. The FBO thing is for real! My wife now loves the Rockstar feeling of being treated the same as those guys stepping out of a Gulfstream. Good clean restrooms make a ton of difference for them and I also enjoy a good coffee before a flight. Flying in the morning: can't stress it enough. One other thing that can surprise first time flyers is ATC communication. My plane is based in a towered field inside a busy class C terminal area, the first time she flew with me, after the flight she confessed she was scared to death... she thought something was terribly wrong because of the very intense radio chatter all the time ahahahahah As for kids: I'd also take them on short and incrementally longer legs. Even if they're used to longer car trips, kids sometimes can't control bathroom stops. In a car you pull over anywhere and if it's serious enough, baby wipes will make do. Not so simple in a plane. One last thought: Starlink. Buy the darn thing.

I constantly fly my J at 10 or 11K without O2. I carry a finger oxymeter and also have the garmin watch (although I take its o2 readings with a grain of salt). I never took it higher because I don't have O2 installed and I suspect I'd lose efficiency from the NA engine.

Do you also have them fornthe mooney flight surfaces travel board?

I've experienced both. First it was a VR (I have the old electrodelta VR802). Luckily it failed on the ground. It was removed and repaired. The technician that worked on it said it was a bad resistor (or something like that) very easy and cheap to repair. E few months ago I had the alternator go out right after takeoff returning home from an airport about 250nm away. After takeoff it went offline. I tried the checklist items without success. I was taking off an airport with absolutely no resources for a repair so I elected to continue flight on battery power to a larger field 20mins away. I informed ATC I could lose radio contact any minute and pushed on. It was a national holiday, so I had to find an FBO to park, find and A&P to see the plane next morning and get on an airline flight back home :-( It wasn't before a whole week I could go back to get the plane. It turned out to be broken field wire. We ended up redoing all connections to make them firmer.

Hello everyone, I have seen some pictures of some modern looking rocker switches but I can't seem to find out if they are approved for use in certificated airplanes. I've found some models on aircraft Spruce but they all seem to be for experimentals. Can anyone point me to the correct brand/models? I'd love to have modern looking switches to replace my M20J rockers.

Yes. There are many features it adds which the old non-WAAS GNS430 doesn't have: Holds Parallel track Airways Waypoint Alt constraints VNAV integration G3X can send Flt Plan to the GPS Smart Glide Plus the added benefit of ADSB in/out for the GNX375.

Nope... I have the old grumpy non WAAS GNS430

Very nice upgrade. Very similar to what I did with my M20J. I didn't have the cash to put in a new GPS, though. Now I am contemplating purchasing an used GNX375 to have a modern GPS, ADSB and retire my old King KT76A transponder.

Older Voltage regulators like the one I have in my 1990 J are actually not very complex equipments. They're circuit boards with very simple and easy to find components like resistors, capacitors, etc. An electronic technician can easily work with them to troubleshoot. Most of the times (not always) electrical problems are easier to pinpoint than mechanical. You can get point to point readings with a multimeter to isolate where some faults are coming from.