Bill_Pyles

I moved to AZ from the bay area, but I take my M20J to Top Gun in KSCK (Stockton) and they do good work.

I departed ABE last Sat with my brother who had never flown with me and and about 1000 feet AGL, the engine went rough and felt like it was going to shake itself loose, so I did all the usual stuff like switch tanks, full rich, mage check etc and of course the roughness continued, so I returned to the field and landed. I did a run-up and the #4 cylinder was cold for EGT and CHT so I cleaned out the injector and it ran fine and my trusting brother even went with me on the test flight, which was fine. Over the next three days I flew back to AZ with no issues. The annoying thing is that this is the third time I have had a clogged injector in about 18 months. One of the other times I aborted the take-off on the ground roll and the other time I had just gotten into the air, and landed on the runway when the engine started running roughly. I am wondering if there is something in the system that is occasionally shedding debris the clogs the injector. I had the tanks resealed by Weep No More three years ago when I bought the plane, so the tanks were thoroughly cleaned at that time. Usually the debris is black, but this time there was some yellowish stuff that might have been plastic. Any ideas?

Hot start procedure: Throttle full Mixture idle/cut-off Starter--engage Simultaneously....retract throttle, enrich mixture and the engine starts. (this is where a third hand would be helpful)

This is for my J Emergency descent--gear down Power---idle Airspeed---161 Gear---down Airspeed---190 Flaps---up Cowl flaps---closed Power as required to maintain 300 DF CHT

I had a similar issue on my J. At pre-flight the stall warning horn would just stay on. The fix was to enlarge the aperture through which the tab protrudes so the switch can fully open (tab goes down). Somehow in the 34 years of the airplane's life, the stall switch location must have moved relative to the aperture in the leading edge of the wing. Atlantic at KDVT fixed it for me.

On my maiden flight from KBDH-KDVT I landed at KLBF for fuel and the Citation and I were on with Denver Center, he on the downwind and I on the 45 for rwy 12, and the Citation asked center "will the Mooney will pass me?" Denver said "no, you will pass the Mooney," so I followed the jet. However, I landed much shorter than he and could have beat him to the FBO, but I waited for the Citation to taxi in front of me, in deference to the big boy, but he knew I could have at least beaten him to the ramp. Fun.

My original analog fuel pressure gage always lurks about a needle width into the green and depoying the boost pump has no effect on the fuel pressure needle position. My fuel flow reading from my EI engine analyzer reacts immediately when I change the mixture, so I assume a) my fuel delivery system works properly and since my engine runs smoothly I assume it is getting enough fuel. I had Top Gun in Stockton check both the fuel pressure and oil pressure gages and they said they both read low by 2-3 needle widths.

I have flown my J 100 hrs in the last year and the cowling has been off about 6 times or approximately every 17 hrs. One time when the engine was idling roughly, I found the #3 intake tube to have come adrift completely, so now I check the fasteners for the intake and exhaust tubes and anything else that looks important!

Rick, Call Paul Beck at Weep No More at 320-295-1671. He knows all about Mooney fuel tanks and he can help you with the adjustment of the low fuel lights.

Perhaps you have a faulty temp sensor on cyl# 1.

I have a 1979 J model with the standard IO360 and I keep my plane hangered at DVt in Phoenix. The panel was upgraded 5 years ago and a year ago, but my sympton has to do with the standard intrument lights. While in flight, the 5A circuit breaker for the instrument lights popped and I attempted to re-set, but it popped again immediatley, so I made sure the instrument light knob was turned off and left the CB in the out position. While on the ground with the master on, but the engine not on, with the instrument light CB out and the instrument light knob turned off.....the instrument lights are still on! They cannot be turned off. The mechanic at Atlantic could not find a short but he said that the same symptom in various Cessnas could be fixed by replacing the transistor in the instrument light circuit. The Atlantic mechanic called Top Gun in CA (a MSC) for guidence on where to locate the potentially offending resistor, and apparently they resistor was not where the Top Gun mechanic said it should be. Therefore, my guy at Atlantic could not return the plane to service. So....any one out there have the same problem and a solution? I recognize that an in-flight electrical fire is the worst-case scenario resulting from a short in the system. However, something tells me I am going to have to fly the plane somewhere to bring it to a shop with the experience and talent to correct this issue. In the grand scheme of things, how safe---or un-safe---is this plane to fly with instrument lights that cannot be turned off? I realize that this is a "how long is a piece of string" type of question, but clearly some problems are more risky than others, and I am trying to conduct a risk-assessment.

Will the $85 per puck price include the paperwork? Will MSCs install the pucks that they did not supply?

Indeed, I need to go stall the airplane to see if the switch needs adjustment.

I have to share this simple fix. I posted on this site that my stall warning horn stayed on continuously wherever the master swith was on, whether I was flying or sitting still. No one came up with the fix, Atlantic Aviation at KDVT fixed fixed the problem in this way: Turns out that the whole stall horn mechanism had somehow shifted in the wing in such a way that the stall tab would bottom out on the lower edge of the aperture in the leading edge of the wing thereby disallowing the switch to turn off. All they needed to do was remove a few thousandths of material on the lower edge of the aperture and the tab can now fall to its lowest point thereby turning off the stall horn switch. Cost about $23 for them to rectify the situation. I hope this helps others who experience the same problem.

In the last week or so, I have had the same experience Parker described in the original post i.e. the squealing or whistling noise coming through the speaker with just the master switch on, although no rain was involved. Indeed, when I pull the stall horn CB the noise goes away so I know it is the stall horn. I liberally sprayed the stall horn with the electrical contact cleaner stuff through the little openings on the leading edge of the wing. I also removed the panel on the underside of the wing just aft of the stall horn and sprayed the stuff at the stall horn. This fixed the problem on the ground, but the stall horn started chirping during climb this morning. I thought the horn would go silent after I leveled off, and it did---for a while. I pulled the CB for a minute or two and eventually the stall horn would stay off, in level flight, with the CB in the normal "in" position. Something is not right, and although the electrical contact cleaner helped, the stall horn is still not 100% happy 100% of the time. I would guess the stall horn is held in place by the screws on the leading edge of the wing, but I expect the aforementioned panel has to be removed in order to service or replace the stall horn. Anyone done this?

Scott---that is exactly what I was thinking, and about an hour ago (before I read your post) I bought a can of electrical contact cleaner with the remedy you suggested in mind. Can't wait to try it.

With the master switch on, I pulled the CB on the stall horn and sure enough, the whistling went away. I re-set the stall horn CB and manipulated the stall warning tab up and down a few times and I could get the thing to stop whistling that way, so something is not quite right with the circuitry in the stall warning system. Thanks, guys! How do you get to the stall warning horn? There is an access panel on the underside of the wing perhaps 15 inches aft----is that it?

Davtton digital clock---I have one of those. I will check its CB. I installed a new battery three weeks ago. Voltage is normal. I never turn off the strobe switch or the trim switch, but I cycled both of those and it had no effect on the noise.

Thanks for those are interesting ideas, Paul and Lamont. I had not ruled those sonalerts out. The whistle is indeed continuous. I have to take the plane to the shop for another issue, but if the mechanics scratch their heads, then you have given me someting to suggest to them.

Something tells me this phenomenon has an incredibly simple cause that I should have been able to diagnose, or else it will be a mysterious electrical issue. I flew the airplane 8 hrs last week without any issuses and without any "whistle." I went to start it today and by simply turning on the master switch, I got a loud, high pitched whisle that was coming from the speakers in the roof. This was before I started the engine and before I turn on the radio/avionics. After I started the engine, I taxied to the wash area, but the whistle persisted irrespective of whether the radio was on or off and it did not stop until I shut off the master switch. I have no tripped breakers, no unusual voltage or amp readings and I selected and de-selected every button on the radio, but I still have the whistle when the master swith is on. The only thing I have done since the trip is to take the upper and lower cowling off in order to tighten the right angle elbow fitting at the bottom of the sump that has an oil vent line attached to it. I did not touch anay wiring except the landing light wires which you have to disconnect when the cowling is removed. Any ideas as to the cause of the whistle?

I live in AZ and was struggling to keep the EI-reported oil temp below 200 deg F. In fact, my normal in cruise at 10500, 21MP and 2400 RPM was 205-214 deg F. My original analog oil temp gage always stays in the green or just to the right of green. Even in the spring time, it is easy to see 65 degrees OAT at 9000 ft or more. I recently made two changes: 1) changed the oil to Aeroshell W100 (from Phillips XC 20-50) and, 2) I lengthened the control rod on the left cowl flap such that the cowl flap is now open about 5/8" when in the closed position. The left side is where the oil cooler lives. Last week I flew to San Jose and the oil temp in cruise at 9500 was around 195, so I am happy about that. I don't know if the reduced oil temp was due to the fresh oil or the cowl flap adjustment, but there you have my story. By the way, the cylinders ran 325-390 and EGTs were in the low 1300s. Burned 34 gallons for a 4 hr flight, so I thought that was pretty good too.

In any event, I am going to put a gallon of AVGAS (per Jose) in the empty sump for 15 minutes and then let it drain out and take whatever old oil and other crud might be lurking. I will then close the valve, install a new filter and fill the sump with 8 qts of new oil (Aeroshell W100) and be done with it. No alumimum will be corroded, no bearings will have a chance to rust in the Arizona heat and I will have a cleaner sump than I would have had. Any residual fuel will either evaporate or blend with the new oil and will be gone in no time.

Funny story about mineral spirit as a solvent on an airplane engine. I rented a Piper Arrow a few years ago and I squawked the plane and would not fly it since it had a dinner-plate sized puddle of oil on the ground under the engine. Looking up into the nose gear well, the engine was covered with oil. Into the shop it went. The mechnic said, "yeah this plane leaks a little. Next day I rented the same plane and off I went with my CFI. On upwind I smelled something funny and the CFI asked, "Bill, is that smoke in the footwell?" Sure enough, there was white smoke in the cabin so the we declared an emergency and I did a very nice power off 180 to a safe landing. The tower called the firetrucks, but there was no fire. The reason for the smoke was this: The mechanics had washed down the oily engine with mineral spirits and when I took off, the engine was nice and warm and the cabin vents were open, so the hot engine boiled off the mineral spirits which vaporized and got sucked into the cokpit somehow. Maybe some of you have had a similar experience.

KSMooniac---lead is indeed a lubricant. Google "lead as lubricant in fuel" and you will find many references to the use of lead as a lubricating additive to fuel.

Well, lead is also a lubricant and I am only talking $6 worth of avgas. Moreover, some mogas has ethanol in it which is corrosive to rubber and aluminum, but there is not enough ethanol in mogas to be of concern. My guess is that using gasoline as a flushing agent won't hurt anything. I was just curious as to how many folks flush their systems versus just draining old oil and adding new oil.