Jrob

Good morning all. I was curious if many Mooneys are planning on attending the Missoula Fly-in in June. Judge

Bob. Thanks for the input and the picture of the engine off the mounts. I'm thinking it might be an exhaust leak around the gasket in the turbo itself. The unit was completely rebuilt in October (115 hours ago) and it is a very rare occasion I run the TIT to 1600 and more often it is closer to 1550 (@150 ROP). There was one occasion about a month ago when I had to go around on very short final due to geese on the runway. I didn't push the mixture in immediately and the JPI showed TIT of 1700 for 4 seconds. Other than that screw up, I tend to run pretty conservative. Have a call in to Dugosh as he has done the last couple of annuals. Thanks again. J

Good morning all, I posted last week about my 231 that blew a SCAT hose connecting the exhaust from one side to the other (see pic). That has been repaired and signed off but I decided to leave the cowl off and spend some time cleaning the engine and do and oil change. I noticed several areas of bronzing around various EGT probes and the TIT probe and wanted to know if that was expected and acceptable. Also, there was a fair amount of white residue on the exhaust side of the turbo which was completely overhauled at last annual. The slip joint immediately above it is shown. The plane has been running fine with all parameters in the green. I have started to do my own oil changes as I have had a lot of problems with the local shop (crushing hoses, not hooking up the landing lights, taking forever) and as a way to get to know the plane. Thanks for any advice. Judge

Looking in through the cowl flaps before removing it, I didn't see anything rubbing . Do you think the white deposit on the turbo return line would be from this hose opening up? It's a SCAT HOSE from pilot exhaust manifold to the copilot side. What would you see/smell/hear in the cabin or on the JPI if you had an abrupt exhaust leak? Would you lose power due to less exhaust going to the turbo and if so, how much? On the last flight, plane ran fine and nothing seemed out of the ordinary except the #5 CHT reading LOW.

M20Doc- thanks for the visual overhaul based on one picture. That was like finding the hidden picture game. I did notice lots of zip ties to the frame. Do all of those need to be phased out and replaced? Any thought on SCEET v SCAT? I've heard that SCEET can work loose easier but I also had some serious gouges in the oil pan and MERLIN caused by the wire in SCAT hose. The OEM gauge was reading normal but I didn't realize it was on #5 and as I said before EGT was normal and the plane ran smooth and otherwise normal. Thanks again for yalls help. J

Thanks for the input. I went and opened up the cowlings and moved the air box but realized I didn't have my "plug sockets" so I'll have to tackle it this weekend. Wife says I have to mow the yard tonight. I started looking around and found my flexible exhaust pipe looks terrible. I had the oil changed last time (15 hours ago) and am certain it wasn't there when I changed it 45 hours ago. Any ideas on what may have happened. Don't mean to highjack the thread but I started it anyway. Any thoughts on replacement product? The "aerodux" that is in place seems really brittle. Again, thanks for any help

Good morning all, I have a '81 231 with about 1500 SMOH, LB engine with a JPI 700. A couple of flights ago, just after oil change, I noticed that #5 was showing CHT LOW. EGT was normal range, engine was running smooth and I as out in the sticks so I finished my trip (150NM) and just before landing, the CHT was reading normal again. Two days later, plane started fine with no rough idle or morning sickness (OAT 25F) and everything read normal. Flew home without a problem. Last trip home, CHT did the same thing with a LOW indication and EGTstill normal. Probe registers inline with the others before start up and engine runs smooth. I'm taking the plane in but wanted to get some opinions as I think the mechanics often jump to worst case scenarios (ie pulling the cylinder and checking for valve issue). The JPI was installed with zero slack on the wires so I cant reach the #3 wire up to #5. Would anyone say replace the probe first? Any thoughts are appreciated. Judge

Twin .50 cals in each wing??

I guess flat lander is more descriptive and accurate. Just seems really low compared to the mountains out west

Steve, I was in your same position 2 years ago. I am a low lander (Lubbock, TX) and frequently fly west into Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. I desperately wanted a 252 withTKS but the $150,000 price tag AND my low time as a pilot steered me away. I purchased a '81 231 with a high time engine (1400 SMOH) at a good price because of the fear that 10 seconds of mishandling the engine would make it explode. The overhaul was built into my budget for the next couple of years and it will definitely be more than a Lycoming 360. I have 200 hours in the plane and couldn't be happier. I have two annuals behind me and the 231 is slightly more to maintain but not as bad as many people try to scare with. It is also more forgiving than you may think. I will not explode if you take off at 38.1" of MP and I think it is easier to land than a J maybe because of the heavier nose. I would echo some of the others that if getting high to avoid rocks and getting there quickly is important, then a 231 would be a good plane for you. I routinely take off 100 under gross in the summer mornings with DA around 8500 and do not have to circle to clear the mountains around the airport. As far as TKS, it was on my original wish list but I'm not sure that it wouldn't have led me to push into a bad situation. If I am flying on a tight schedule especially in winter, I book a refundable airline ticket. I have had to use that ticket twice and it sucked but I was alive to explain it to my wife. Finally, the oxygen thing. If you hate flying that high, then a 231 is kinda a waste. I often fly east at 13,500 for better winds and jewels is only marginally faster than a J. Flying west at 20,000 I have seen GS over 220. Either way, they are great planes. Don't get pushed away from a 231 IF it meets your needs.

I have a quick question for all you experienced mooniacs. I was flying last week at 16,000 when I saw this out my co-pilot window. At first, I thought it was just undulating parallel contrails but if you notice the two "strands" wrap around one another. Didn't see any other contrails along that direction of flight. I wanted to follow them to see if I could find a Leprechaun, Jimmy Hoffa or a 737 doing rolls. Any thoughts? Seen it before ? Thanks, J

I forgot to clarify. I have a JPI 700.

Hi all. I have a question for the mooney experts. I have a 1981 231 that I bought about a year ago. Last week I had a routine oil change with a shop that has a good reputation but this was my first encounter with them. They are based at a small uncontrolled field and I took off mid day without my landing light. On approach at my home field, I switched on my landing light and my JPI "reset" like I had just flipped on the master and the MFD flickered a bit but stayed on. I tried one more time and same result. Out of the fear of bursting into flames, I landed without the light. After a routine landing, I shut the radios down and flipped the landing light switch. Same issue with the JPI (MFD is off at this point). Called the original shop and they said, "nothing to do with us, have it fixed there." Has anyone encountered the same issue? Something get pinched with the cowling coming off? Any thoughts are appreciated. Judge

Wow! Thanks for the explanation and procedural insight, kortopates. I have gone thru the avweb readings but your explanation put that information into a digestible and easy to follow format. Can't say thanks enough and look forward to getting some Data points next week.

Thanks for all the input. I'll report back next weekend after I can get out and fly a bit. Tell me if this sounds ok for a procedure. 1. I'll climb at 33"/2600 to probably 14500ish 2. I'll leave the cowls open and pull to 10 gph or even lower if needed. 3. I assume I will have to add some mp back to bet back to 30-31" 4. If all temps are good, I'll start closing up and enriching to get CHTs (#2) just under 380dF but still worry that TIT will be the limiting factor (from past attempts)