Greg Ellis

I am just putting this in the general section so maybe it can help anyone that is experiencing the issue that I was. I have a 63 C model with an O-360-A1D. After a long hiatus of flying, waiting on a cylinder (since August), I was able to get the airplane back in the air. However, when I tried to start it for the first time since August, it was tough to start. The prop would barely make it over the first compression stroke and I would have to release the key and try again. While trying to start, the voltage on the EDM 900 would drop to 8 volts. If it made it over the compression stroke then it fired right up but getting over that was tough. My first thought was a weak battery. It had been kept on a battery minder the whole time but maybe the battery was bad. I also thought it could be the starter as well. So, I followed a recent thread about someone else having starter issues (the one that was smoking) and downloaded the Sky-Tec troubleshooting guide and followed it through. I did every step in the guide and everything checked out fine. The battery was solid. After 48 hours resting (not on the charger) the voltage of the battery was still 12.9 which according to battery minder is a good battery. All voltages across the battery, the solenoids and the starter itself were all within what Sky-Tec would call normal. The starter to ground resistance was .1 ohms which according to Sky-tec is fine. The battery to ground however was almost 1 ohm which according to Sky-Tec, anything greater than .2 ohms needs to be looked at. So, I removed the negative battery cable which is grounded to a stud on the engine. I cleaned all the washers, cleaned the battery cable ends themselves and cleaned the area on the engine where the ground connects. I reconnected everything. Rechecked the resistance and it was .2 ohms. The engine fired right up with no resistance on the compression stroke and no drain on the battery upon starting. I was amazed that a single ground issue could cause this kind of a problem. Mind you, I know very little about electrical stuff. The trouble shooting guide saved me a lot of money on a new starter, new battery, and just throwing things at the problem etc... It did take a while to do all of this. To access the ground from the negative battery terminal, in order to get a wrench on the nut, I had to remove the intake tube on the #4 cylinder. But it saved me a lot of money, so I am happy, and it is nice to be flying again after 4 months.

In the photo of his panel, he has 2 G5's. One in the center as his Attitude Indicator and another which is just left of the radio stack.

And when working on a Mooney, it teaches you proper wound care….

I am not sure if they offer classes for free to anyone over 60 but one of the best A&P schools around is at Tarrant County College. They hold the actual classes out at Alliance Airport. The day course is 2 years and the night course is 3 years. They also have add on courses to specialize in avionics or composites, etc... I was enrolled and started but I could not make it work. My office is in Southwest Fort Worth. The evening classes started around 4 pm. They have a very strict no absence, no tardiness policy and there was no way I could guarantee making it to class on time every day coming from work at that time with traffic so I was not able to do it. But it is an excellent program. Tons of different aircraft and engines, etc... that you do hands on work on.

You just vaulted back to numero uno!!!

You are in a tie with @EricJ who posted one earlier in this thread.

@OSUAV8TER^^^^^^

AircraftSpruce.com sells one of these. I have not used it because it is damn pricey for a glorified box cutter with an attachment to it but they are available. Tempest AA471 Oil Filter Media Cutter | Aircraft Spruce

I have a 63 C model with an O-360-A1D. What is the lubricant of choice for the slip joint between the exhaust down tube and the rest of the exhaust? I have heard people use mouse milk but McFarlane makes their DAM exhaust lube as well. Is there a preferred lube for this? Thank you.

I am replacing it with a new cylinder.

@Centeno You may try here. 200HP INTAKE DUCT M20 E&F - 600115-005 — LASAR They say they have it but it may not be in stock but they may be able to help you get one.

You can buy seat belt extenders on Amazon and other sites. It just depends on the type of attachments you have. There are different types. I have one from a company that was called Free The Flyer but they are apparently no longer in business. I couldn't find them online.

When I took the cylinder back, the shop did a quick measurement and as I said earlier, the bore was at its maximum limit. They called me later after actually doing close inspection and the bore was also out of round.

What was missed is the fact that the number one cylinder was pooled with oil and both upper and lower spark plugs were wet. I showed photos earlier.

That’s what I would have suspected but he didn’t say. I should have asked but I was just kind of happy to possibly find a solutIon. I’ll ask. Though my EDM 900 never showed any issues of overheating or any other problems.

An update on my cylinder. I dropped it off at the overhaul shop this morning. It is nice that they are only an hour away by car and I saved the shipping. Anywho, while I was there the mechanic measured the cylinder bore and it was at its limits. Also the rings were bad. Visually they were okay. But he took one and twisted it expecting it to break and it never did. Just kept twisting on itself. I was told that they eventually should snap but mine never did. So, they are going to have a cylinder ready for me next week. Hopefully I can put this to rest and get back in the air just in time for my annual in January.

I don't know if this helps you at all, but this is my panel in my 63 C model with a 530W, GNC355 and GFC500 all in the same column and has a small amount of wiggle room at the top. It may give you an idea of the dimensions you need to do what you want.

@Echo See above ^^^^^^^^

I cannot make out any cross hatching. I would have to check the logs to get you info on time in service, etc…. I can check tomorrow.

So, I was able to get with my mechanic. We tried the ring flush and it seemed to pass by the piston and into the sump normally. So we elected to pull the cylinder. All rings including the oil control ring were fine. Nothing broken. The piston had an interesting mark which you can see in the photo. The whole top of the piston was black with carbon except for this one spot that you see in the photo. I have also attached a photo of the cylinder bore. I have more if needed. So we are sending the cylinder off for overhaul and we will see.

The cylinder just had the exhaust valve replaced. I wonder if something went wrong there.

Compression on that cylinder is 68/80 cold so I suspect it would be much better when hot. All other things are in the normal range including CHT's, EGT's etc...

Thanks. I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks to everyone who have responded. I appreciate all of the advice.

Thanks. I believe this is what I will try this weekend then go from there.