Immelman

I saw the spruce shroud, yes. Looks like a PITA to put that on, something to be done at overhaul. But what I am after is if I am "missing" anything important by doing the SCAT tube blast air. - Not in the parts manual (unless I missed it elsewhere??) - Not in the lycoming OH manual (is there another lycoming manual to consult?) - At least one IA ok with it, that is but a single set of eyes and collective wisdom though! - On the other hand maybe I missing an AD, SB, etc?? Perhaps more dirt digging needs to be done on my part. I can think of a reason I'd like it OFF: to see the fuel pump! I'm correcting several oil leaks in the vicinity. The fuel pump is much more easily seen without the blasted can over it.

1966 M20E, IO-360-A1A. There was an old thread on Mooneyspace on the topic but it didn't seem like a definitive resolution: is the cooling shroud necessary? I had one on my airplane. It broke and was rattling around. Options: Replace, or mount the scat tube that fed it to blow air on the pump. Looking at the Mooney parts manual, there is no explicit mention of the shroud. An 'adapter' is listed, but with an o-ring right after that can't be it, right? Looking at the Lycoming overhaul manual, no mention of the shroud is made. I'm not sure what other literature to consult? IA signing the annual seemed happy to remove it and aim the scat tube at it.

You won't have any trouble when its calm, cool, and with weight left behind. But operating safely in the mountains is so very much more than takeoff roll!! The real issues come after liftoff.... where is the air rising, sinking, what is the gradient to accelerate to a reasonable climb speed.... what are the escape options? What if you must choose between a tailwind or rising terrain? How willing are you to not go until the next morning? Have taken my Mooney into TEX....what fun. Departed early AM, no issues.... have also operated into TEX commercially in all kinds of weather. In an airplane full of excess thrust and drag, beautiful things in the mountains. Two big PT6's when you only need 1 to fly and clear terrain, a beautiful thing. Our Mooneys are not in that league, but it can be done safely, carefully. I sure as hell would not want to be flying a PA28 wing into a place like that.

Are you going to do this yourself in the future or hire a shop? If you're going to DIY, get some dual-instruction, so to speak, on the tricks. How not to spill the oil from the filter. There are several methods. How to safey the new filter. How tight to do it up. How to cut open and inspect the old filter. How to take the sample for analysis (let a quart drain first). I like to take a good look at everything anytime the cowl is off. For a while you'll be just looking to see what normal looks like. Eventually something will catch your eye that isn't normal, better to catch something off early and know that its talking to you before a failure. Things that are loose, leaking, chafing, rubbing, exhaust leaks, exhaust hardware... stuff like that.

I don't know if you've already committed on the 3330.... but when we re-did our windows, I recall grey sealant which would have been the slightly tougher 3204. I am not an A&P/IA, just going with what I remember my guy using. And +1 for using the one where you mix with the plunger and dispense with the special caulking gun.

I am late to the party here, and I like our airplane but want to urge some caution. Call me old school but I think if you really want to haul 4 (post adolescent) people for any distance, you need 6 seats. Your kids will be growing to adult size before you know it! If you want to haul them across the country.... buy an airline ticket. There, I said it. If you want to take the kids to Oshkosh or some other grand flying centric adventure, that is another animal. But if you want transportation, hauling 4 in a Mooney won't be that fun. The first issue you will run into is running out of baggage space. There is plenty for 2. Enough for 3. For 4???.The second issue, with a M20C/E, will be running out of leg room and that depends on the relative lengths of folks. I am 6'3". I fit GREAT up front, very comfortable! Can someone sit behind me? Not really. We have done ONE long trip with 3 adults. A pilot friend of mine was shorter and sat right seat. My wife (5' 9") sat behind him. We were all reasonably comfortable. 3/4 seats filled and that was it. Another trip, 3 big buys. Camping and climbing gear. We were stuffed, out of room. 3/4 seats filled. My recommendation, try before you buy. The Mooney community is very welcoming. See if you can find someone near you to demo the plane, if nothing else to get the family to sit in it. And be realistic about how much stuff you'd like to take with you, and see how that fits too. And don't worry about which model is 5-10 knots faster or slower than the other. That speed will be VAPORIZED to time lost on the ground playing baggage tetris, deciding what will be left behind, or making extra pit stops if someone isn't comfortable. Speed is a third-order concern behind cabin volume, useful load, and altitude performance. Forgot to say, we have owned an E model for 13 yrs. Family of 2+dog for many years, now family of 3.

Never say never. May your fuel tanks be perpetually free of leaks. (I have my right tank open for leak repair, but burned down to a gallon left so the draining wasn't too bad this time).

The thing that jumps out at me is 13V after start. Should be more than that to charge the battery well. I would get a voltmeter out to verify that 13V figure with the engine running and if so be looking at your charging system. Alternator & voltage regulator..... or what parts of it might have been inadvertently touched/messed with with your new starter install?

I dont know if I posted what I decided this year... Renewed with the higher premium at Global. Avemco was not much higher over. Decided, any further increase next year and I will go to Avemco. After a year with no claims, their premium drops.

Call when appropriate for the circumstances, or failing any special circumstances per the AIM. The controller's happiness is not our responsibility. Operating safely and in compliance with the FARs is. If they don't like it, Boo-Freaking-Hoo. No donut for you.

Nukemzz, thank you so much. I like your heat shield solution. After looking at this further, its clear the lengths I have are wrong. The hoses snake past each other a couple of times, creating rub points, in an effort to run out the extra distance. I'll go forward with the lengths PHT has, since they match the PN's in the parts manual.

I suggest getting your nosewheel off the ground, get your head up there and start wiggling things, looking closely for where the play is? If the truss was rebuilt, that is a major component. How about the steering horn? How about the little tiny bearing (going from memory here) That the steering horn attaches to (there's a small one very high and forward). Really everything between the pedals and the tire should be looked at for undesired play.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/windowsealant.php This stuff is nasty, gets stuck to your hands, clothes, etc. But a thin bead, applied to the airplane, and then squashed down with the avionics panel screws, will seal your panels and it is pliable enough to open them back up easily for service. Every so many openings, the dirty job of pushing the caulk around is done, adding a dab here or there as necessary to keep the seal continuous. Maybe others use a different tactic but my IA suggested this and it works.

Thanks @Nukemzzz! Similar setup on my 66E, but different routing on the top hose exiting the engine, may explain why they are longer than spec. The longer routing is not necessarily better.... I see you have brand new hoses. Would you happen to know their lengths? Mine are aeroquip but the data tag has the length in inches embedded in it... 50, 53, 54... One more question if anyone can help: there is a heat shield under which the hoses pass as they go under the exhaust. Only one of the two hose has an adel clamp under the heat shield on mine. Do others have both hoses clamped there? I also see the old hoses nearly touching the lower cowl where its lip turns up, not good... the clamping job with whatever we replace with needs to be better, I think. Another really dumb question... I will back it up when I see my IA next week... is there an inlet and outlet to our oil coolers or does it not matter which wa the oil flows through? Trying to solve the hose length mystery here...

Amazing! Still swinging a Johnson bar! Not dragging it in with a 10-mile final, nice tight pattern. Looks like he is out of San Luis Obispo, CA. Congratulations, Captain Moyer.

My IA changed my external brake hoses some years ago, and he took care of that project so I don't have the paperwork with the lengths. That said, mine were original 40+ yrs old. We opted for the 'regular' kind. I look at this in terms of consequence. Losing brakes, or a brake, in a Mooney isn't that big of a deal. Losing fuel or oil is. But if you want to do teflon because you like it, why not?

Thanks, so my hoses go to the same spots. Now why are they different lengths than spec. One of the many mysteries of an old airplane! Thanks for the service bulletin. That appears to be how mine are routed.

Do you know if one goes into the accessory case down low... below the oil filter?

That's the plan, so I want to get it right! (I think those are 124-J hoses??)

That is helpful thanks!

Its time for new hoses to my oil cooler. Could anyone with an E or F with an IO-360-A1A help sort out a little discrepancy? PHT was called and said hoses should be 50 & 53 inches. That sort of looks like it agrees with the Mooney parts manual. But, the hoses on the airplane are tagged as 53 & 54 inches. Oil cooler is in its stock location in the front left cowl. On my airplane, both hoses come out of the accessory case rather high up, above and to the right of the left mag. I see some photos of io-360s with one of the oil lines coming back to the case lower, down below the oil filter. Maybe that explains the length discrepancy? Question: Is this installation correct? Can anyone chime in as to where your oil cooler supply and return hoses plug into the accessory case? In the pic I am pointing to one oil cooler hose, the other thick black hose is the other oil cooler hose.

Did you try bleeding from the flap slave up? If your pump was working/not leaking before, I would try that. Opening the pump opens more possibilities.

I usually lift the empennage a bit during walkaround by placing a hand under the tail cone... I seldom push the horizontal stabilizer much. Last annual: Inspector found up & down play in the horizontal stab. One of the "Big" bolts back there had wear. Glad they found it! Was not a huge deal to fix.

Ross is the expert.... But as far as bleeding, I had good success with a garden sprayer, plastic tubing, and pipe clamps bleeding from the slave cylinder to get the bubbles working uphill. A little overflow hose off the reservoir and pumped new fluid until no bubbles. But where did the air come from? Something is leaking...

Funny you start this thread... Annual last week. I grease the bearings. Re-install a wheel. Valve stem (on my airstop) cracks, whooosh. My old tubes were ~7 years old or so. I saw what you saw, airstops backordered. Shop lent me a used tube to get me back into my hangar. So I thought I'd try two new goodyear flght mates. First one went in okay, to replace the broken airstop. Second one: Leaked from valve stem on first inflation. Very frustrating. No external visible defects seen. I am pretty sure I didn't pinch it between the wheel halves, or some other bonehead mistake. Used talc, it looked good. Not happy... Now I wonder how long the first one will last. Not too thrilled with the experience. I have never returned anything to Spruce but will be trying to get my money back or a credit for an airstop...