231LV

OK....another brain twister for the group....my Century vacuum driven A/H was slow to erect this am on a flight. I realize this is the beginning of the O/H decision as it won't fix itself. I have an Aspen Evolution 1000 PFD installed and love it. The Aspen Evolution 1000 MFD can serve as an independent redundancy to the PFD plus gives me maps, terrain, navigation, etc etc. I like the idea of ditching my vacuum A/H as that will make my cockpit an all glass electronic set-up.... here's the catch....the Aspen MFD will run around $7-8k without install....used, they are around $4k.....overhauling the A/H is less than $1k but keeps me dependent upon vacuum pump and stand-by pump...if either of those crap out, the "synthetic" o/h cost will go beyond the cost of the Aspen.....I'm thinking upgrading to the Aspen MFD is the way to go.....can someone check my thinking?

I recently priced(within the last 6 months) an LB upgrade from my existing GB at both engine overhaulers (Western Skyways, Victor Aviation, Ly-Con etc) and factory reman from Continental....The overhaulers were from $43k to $60k...some poo poo'd the idea of "blueprinting" and others (who quoted the highest) said it would really make for a smoother running engine...The factory quoted around $53k....in all cases, my mechanic told me it would be around $7-8k for R&R, hoses, fittings, etc...I have a Turboplus Intercooler and the GB is Gami'd.... as one previous poster pointed out, you can use someone who does a field overhaul or an engine overhauler specialist or the factory at anytime...you will automatically get the LB engine from a engine specialist or the factory...if you pay someone to rebuild the GB as a field overhaul, you will still have a GB...I would not stay with the GB as it is like a non-WAAS'd GPS on resale value.

I recall purchasing my first Mooney and "perusing" the logs....honestly, I had no clue what to look for. Pay a good mechanic to thoroughly review them and have him thoroughly look at the plane (not doing a PPI, yet) before even getting into a negotiation on price. His initial overview of logs and plane as it sits may give you a good starting point for a price provided it passes a thorough PPI. The first years of owning your own plane will always cost you more than you figured...at least that was my situation because you need to fix problems not initially found in the PPI and you want to get it to a place you want it to be regarding avionics, etc.......good luck!

OK so after 4 months of calls and inquiries requesting shipment info on a bottle paid for last Oct and being told by Aerox they could not ship because first; they were waiting for the FAA to "approve" their new production facility, then, second; waiting for the FAA to relocate their approval office, my mechanic found a PMA'd bottle that he will install and sign off on. He called to cancel the order with Aerox and MAGICALLY, they claim the bottle was shipped 2 days ago! This after being told last week that they were waiting on the FAA relocation....hmmm.....I told my mechanic to refuse the shipment and get a full refund (which he will do). Neither of us believe a bottle will ever actually show up from Aerox...we strongly suspect they are simply trying to keep the order "alive"....anyway, my take on Aerox is AVOID THEM!

Yea....composite....his bottles were not the size I required which is 77 cu ft

Just noticed the link is for Aerox....they are the problem!

My mechanic claims he has found a replacement which will comply with the regs....if it falls through, I will send him the link....thanks!

OK....so my 231 had built-in O2 installed (by Top Gun in CA) per factory drawings before I bought the plane. The bottle is a limited life one which just expired. My mechanic ordered a replacement from Aerox (which, I'm told, is the ONLY bottle allowed). Aerox is not shipping any bottles (though they happily took my $1500 back in October) claiming that they are awaiting FAA authorization to ship from their new facility. As previously mentioned, this has been going on since last Oct. My mechanic tells me there is nothing he can do...they have the only bottle which can be installed per the drawings. This seems remarkable to me (though I have been an owner long enough to know this can actually happen). Is anybody else having this same problem?? BTW, I told my mechanic to cancel the order since I have no bottle, have no date by which I can expect a bottle and am out $1500...

Thanks Eric but I found a ride...

If there is anyone based out of Sedona AZ, Im hoping to find a ride over to Payson to pick up my plane next tuesday or wednesday 10/31 or 11/01....happy to pay gas and buy breakfast or lunch at the restaurant!

As a previous poster said, "everything!" That being said, a hard landing can (and did in my case) necessitate a reseal of fuel tanks....staining will be evident(especially along the bottom wing seam at the landing gear door top) but a prebuy may not look at the condition of the existing wing sealant...a reseal is a $15 amu job if done right...

I have an intercooler but see about 25 gph on takeoff.....

The only way you will go too far LOP is when the engine stumbles.....I have experienced what you are describing...sometimes I can run with the cowl flaps fully closed but usually fly with them in trail...the added 1 or 2 knots isn't worth the engine going up above 380 degrees as far as I am concerned.

YEA....MINE DIED A LONG TIME AGO, AS WELL......SINCE I NO LONGER FLY HARD IMC, I DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT....THAT SAID, IF YOU DO FIND A REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT THAT IS REASONABLY PRICED, I'M IN!

Hi Jimmy, as I suspected, my O2 bottle has timed out so Im in the market for one. What is the price and are they life limited or unlimited?

To bring an end to the adventure....only #1 was bad...the other 5 posted compressions of about 75 psi each. The oil cooler is cracked (accounting for more oil than usual on the belly) and my O2 bottle is timed out...filter was cut open and clean...otherwise, my mechanic says the engine looks pretty good.....I'm not going to replace the engine.....yet.....

Yes....can hear a lot of air escaping and even smell the inside of the cylinder!

OK....so I dropped the plane at the shop this am after a completely uneventful flight (everything looked fine on the analyzer)....first thing my mechanic found was a failed #1 jug....10 psi.....well, that would account for a low power problem....still waiting to hear what else he has found....

Thanks all for the thoughts and suggestions. I really appreciate them. I will be taking the plane in next week for annual. The shop is a quick 20 minute flight and since I just completed a 7 hour round trip flight, I am comfortable flying the plane. All engine analyzer data was normal...cylinder temps were in low 300's across the board, EGT also in mid 1500's...normal, oil pressure and temp normal...in short, the engine was working just fine....it simply ran out of power much lower than it used to. I'm betting that a pop off valve is opening at higher power settings or there is a pressure leak in one of the lines. I had my mechanic look at the turbo a couple of months ago because this has been going on for awhile now and it looked fine. I will keep everyone posted on the findings...

I have noticed that the throttle needs to be pushed in much further than ever before and yes, I am still getting mp in excess of 29 inches so the turbo is definitely working but I am suspecting a leak somewhere which is bleeding off some of the pressure that would otherwise go into the added charge in the engine....certainly, my mechanic will be inspecting the turbo for looseness, broken blades and other abnormalities. My use of the term critical altitude was not precise and I apologize to all for that since it has been correctly pointed out that my critical altitude is where it should be...what I meant to say was I can no longer climb as high as I once could before engine power peters out...

Thank for the suggestions and you are probably correct regarding critical altitude with the bolt but I have had the plane at 22k ft with four persons with the same bolt so something has changed and as we all know...watch the trend...

Having posted a few times here, I have come to value the input from forum members. I'm currently experiencing a problem which, I suspect, is turbo related. Specifically, my critical altitude has dropped significantly. On a recent trip, I noted that I was running full throttle at 14k ft and producing 25 inches of mp. This is way down from my usual settings. I have noted over the last couple of years, a drop off in critical altitude (which used to be in the low 20's). It seems I am now relegated to not much higher than 15k ft. I am suspecting a turbo problem. I know it is still working as I feel the kick in the pants as I accelerate. I have a high time GB with a fixed waste gate and intercooler and asked my A/P mechanic to dial the waste gate in a bit just to see if I could recapture some of my lost altitude. It seems to have gotten worse. The waste gate (which is nothing but a threaded bolt) was in good shape and showed no evidence of breakdown. The plane is going in for annual in the next week or so but I am hoping some suggestions could save time and money in troubleshooting. Thanks, in advance

...I removed the bulbs after bumping the "on" cabin switch for the second or third time when climbing out during the day and draining the battery. Unless you do lots of night flying with passengers, I found the lights are not worth the hassle and risk of a drained battery.

After several trips the Cutter folks made up to my plane plus a couple of phone calls for reconfiguration, I passed ADS-B Out. I'm using a Stratus/Ipad for ADS-B In. I wish I could say it was easy and cheap but it wasn't. A ham handed technician broke my coms wire after coming up to try and remedy the situation; another trip up to repair that and "verify" all was working....except it wasn't. A phone call for reconfiguration followed by a flight and another phone call for reconfiguration before a successful flight and verification. My take on ADS-B for those still researching a solution; there doesn't appear to be anything cheap if you don't already have a WAAS box....Garmin gets $4k to" WAAS you" plus a transponder...upgraded Garmin 330 to ES is $1.5k plus labor, shipping, tax. Stand alone ADS-B transponders seem to be between $5-8K plus install. The least costly ADS-B compliance I have heard is $5k for a Stratus transponder but the owner already had a Garmin 430W. The installation folks were extremely apologetic and were very quick to try and solve the problem sending a technician on a four hour round trip drive twice plus numerous phone calls. Bottom line is I am good to go and learned a lot.

Yea, I had a mechanical fuel pump failure a couple months ago but mine occurred upon startup...the engine wouldn't idle without the low boost pump. Your engine is larger than mine but I would strongly suspect you would have detected a serious problem when you started your takeoff roll....probably sputtering or lower power with low fuel pressure reading. Our engines/planes typically tell us when there is a problem...even in flight. You are fortunately that you did not have to deal with fire.