1524J

I've stripped and resealed a tank. Building a recirculating system may take more time than stripping by hand unless your planning on using the system multiple times. I just can't imagine that you still won't need several hours of hand work even after using a recirculating system as you've got to clean every nook and cranny. After my experience, I think a syringe system that allows you to push the sealant under pressure would be the ticket. Forcing the sealant into every crevice and seam. You inventive types come up with that and I'd pay to rent!

So no fuel in the cabin? There's no need to pull the bottom access panels.....yet. You can probably find the leak by pulling the top access panels and following the instructions on Don Maxwells website. Bad news is the sending unit gasket leak is an easier fix.

I had an experience not too long ago where I had climbed to cruise, got everything set, then settled in and was just flying along. I look down at my airspeed indicator and I'm only doing 120kts, look at my GPS and my groundspeed is low. I'm thinking my Mooney has turned into a Cessna! Then I look at my throttle.....I hadn't tightened the friction lock enough and it has backed out. You mentioned you checked your mixture and prop but didn't say anything about the throttle although I'm guessing that was just an oversight but it would certainly give the symptoms you've described. Sounds as though you handled the situation well!

So I guess I'm missing something.......or about to tell on myself........I just take the bolts out and air up the tube until the halves come apart. It doesn't take much air.

Yeah.....we were looking for where they rerouted the fuel selector because we figured an upolstery shop that was aviation specific would've known better. At least we figured it out on the ground. I'd would've really been an "Oh Crap" moment if we'd been an hour into our flight and reached down to switch tanks. Guess we have checklists for a reason......

I'm not sure why the paint shop would recommend replacing shock discs before painting? Strip and reseal tanks, definitely! Replace windows, yep! We're replacing my shock discs soon and I'll give feedback on the difficulty. You can rent the tools from Lasar for $50 plus shipping. They do require a $500 deposit. If you decide to "farm" out any of the work, my experience would be to try and stay local or at least have good communication with whoever you decide on. Story......When we first bought this Mooney we decided to have the interior redone. Did lots of checking, calling, references. Anyhow, we decide to go with a shop that had been in Texas but moved operations to New Mexico. I called often, had pictures sent, etc. When we went to pick up the plane the shop decided had decided to change the material for the headliner. It looked good, but still wasn't what we had agreed too. We jump in the plane to taxi out and reach down to check the fuel selector valve and it was covered up! Anyhow, it's difficult to resolve those types of things when the shop doing the work is at a distance. Good luck with all the work and this is definitely the place to ask for help or advice!

I just ordered a new ignition switch from spruce along with the matching baggage and door locks. Haven't had a chance to get them installed yet but can't imagine that the generic wouldn't work. Of course, I could be wrong.......... By the way, I decided to replace mine after reading that if you could pull out the key when switched to the mags it was time to replace the switch.

Dang.....bought the competition. Really appreciate the info cnoe!! Maybe I can get this air/oil separator installed in the next four years.

Never thought about that but I'm assuming the oil on the belly is coming from the vent hose.....

Asked this exact question at the avionics shop when I had my IFR certification done a couple of days ago. He told me the least expensive at the moment was the system that has the GPS built in (I don't have WAAS). Would be around $4000 installed. He also made the point to tell me not to wait until the last minute. Guess he figures they'll be busy around that time.

I was thinking it was a mod. I'm not sure that's something I could have done locally. I don't know anything about welding (although I've sweated lots of copper) but it's got to take some skill to take a 1/4 aluminum line and add a "Y". All the more frustrating it didn't get installed during the overhaul. Thanks to you and cnoe for the input!!

You think it can be purchased or easily modified? I haven't been able to find something I could purchase. Most of the air/oil separators I've seen either drain into the sump (best option) or into the rocker panel. Rocker panel isn't difficult other than it's borderline high on the A3B6D with the cowling.

I'm thinking about taking mine to Maxwell's just to have him check the rigging. All the AP/IA's on my field are Bonanza/Cessna guys.

It's been sitting in the hanger for four years, well....two...... And two years in the in the AP/AI shop because it was supposed to have been installed during the overhaul. I guess you could say I'm not In a hurry.

Great pics cnoe! My voltage regulator is in the exact spot as your air/oil separator. I think the reason we've been focused on the left side is that's where the vent tube is routed. We've also been focused on the rocker panel which makes it very difficult to get a constant gravity drain. I'll have to inquire about getting the #3 or #4 oil drain line modified with a "y".

That makes more sense.....for some reason we've been focused on the left side of the engine going to the #4 cylinder. Any idea how much clearance you've got between the M20 and the cowl? I might be able to open the oil filler door and take pictures with a phone while trying to get maximum height without contacting the cowl.

I've got a A3B6D engine and I'm trying to determine the best spot for an M20 air/oil separator. I know all the arguments for and against installing one as I purchased the one I've got 4 years ago. The intent was to install the M20 during the engine overhaul and go straight to the oil sump but that's a whole other story. Anyhow, the AP/IA I use is more of a Bonanza/Cessna guy as there are only two Moonies on the field. My concern is getting enough height to allow for the gravity drain into the rocker panel. Pictures would be great!!

If you ever fly with an autopilot, you'll never want to take a long trip w/out one. Makes any trip more enjoyable as it has a tremendous effect on work load. I wouldn't consider a plane without an autopilot now but maybe I'm just getting lazy in my old age. From the description of your family I think a short body Mooney would be fine, although I've never owned an F or J and that might be comparable to the autopilot. Other must have equipment....engine monitor. I've owned a Mooney with a Garmin 530 and it was nice but with all the portable gps equipment it wouldn't be a "must have". Foreflight and decent portable GPS do the trick for me. I also use XM weather and for me it's worth every penny!!

Air stop tubes....will try retreads on next tire purchase.

Personal experience.....we installed a insight engine monitor and attached the spark plug probe (ring type) to the insight monitor while routing the bayonet probe to the analog gauge. This was on the #3 cyclinder. It would read 40-50 degrees higher than the other CHT's (bayonet probes) on the insight monitor. After switching them, all CHT's are within 10-15 degrees of one another. For whatever reason spark plug probes will give higher temperature readings than bayonet probes.

Owner assisted annuals for me run in the $800 range if no squawks are found....but there's always a little something. If you can spare the time, it's always to our benefit to help with the annual. I trust my AP/IA but I feel better when I'm involved in the process. My concern when shopping for someone to work on the plane is experience. I was having issues with my HSI. I thought the head unit needed to be overhauled but wanted to have an avionics shop to double check so I flew to a shop just West of where I'm based. The owner wasn't in that day and the avionics tech working on my plane, although very nice, was inexperienced. It was obvious, because I had to help him with troubleshooting and I know diddly squat about avionics other than the information I'm supposed to get from the instrument while flying. Although we were able to find the problem (gyro), I decided I'd better find another shop. Worked out great as I was able to get the gyro overhauled cheaper and saved a couple hundred dollars on the IFR certification.

The EPA will have a field day with this. I just hope 'Jose doesn't come up with a solution for the #2 relief......at least while flying over central Texas.

Yeah....65C. I think it's the bravo paint scheme. Apparently popular for a while. There's a nice C for sale on Mooney Space that's also looks identical. Has a good looking panel. There should be rules for posting Moonies being dismantled.....somehow it's just not right

I'm the same way. Really like to see all the different variations of Moonies out there. Here's a couple more pics.....

That's where we picked her up.