Z W

Good time to pickup a spare starter solenoid for the hangar shelf. I had a trip canceled by one going out, resulting in a similar experience. My prop even moved a little bit when I turned the key. Starter solenoid: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/sts-12s24s.php?clickkey=8060 Master solenoid: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/skytec07-03565.php?clickkey=8060 Glad you got it figured out.

I have the 12v version of that Schauer charger and leave the plane plugged into it all the time in the hangar. Works great for database updates and I like to start every flight knowing I have a topped off battery.

I just removed the floor mats. The pilot side one covered the fuel strainer and I didn't want to drill more holes in the airplane. They were the same material as the carpet underneath them, so that's the floor mat now.

Mine used to blow out anything over 6 quarts. I would let it drop to near 5, then fill to 6. Oil pressures and temps were fine this way and the internet said it was OK to do. My POH says "Oil Capacity Minimum for Flight - 5 qts." After cleaning out the air/oil separator and lines and replacing the oil cap gasket, that improved, and now it holds 8 pretty well, but seems to do best between 6 and 7, so I add a quart at 6, about once every 10 hours of flight. All measurements here are described after the engine has sat off for 30+ minutes. If you take a reading right after landing you will be 1 quart lower than described.

I'd like to know the answer. My TSIO-360-MB also runs on the low side for oil temp. Savvy shows me as pretty normal compared with 9,000 other M20K's, but on the low end. The December flights in the sub-140's were ground runs troubleshooting a turbo issue.

I had two vacuum failures before we went all glass. The attitude indicator slowly drifted off both times. The first was the vacuum pump itself, so I did get a warning light on the panel for low vac. The second was the attitude indicator failing internally, so no warning lights, just an instrument that would have put the plane into a steep nose up climbing right turn until the pilot figured it out. Luckily I was VMC for both events. I'll take a big X failure display on a G5 every time.

I've started keeping a can of brake cleaner on hand in the hangar. After the oil change, where some oil always gets somewhere, I spray the bottom of the engine compartment down pretty good with it and wipe up all the oil I can see. Then I do the run up and look for major leaks before applying mousemilk to the wastegate and exhaust joints and re-cowling. At least this way I figure every 25 hours or so the oil and gunk gets cleaned off the bottom of the motor, making it easier in theory to spot the source of any leaks later. Your mileage my vary... Good luck.

After I got my 653337 clamp replaced with a 670105, my A&P called to ask if I'd seen anything to say it also can replace a 653332. He was working on a Seneca (which uses another variant of the TSIO-360) and I guess the IPC calls for a 653332. I didn't know the answer then, and still don't now, but he was having trouble finding guidance. I hope you get it figured out. What a mess.

Mine are infinitely adjustable with the same markings and I was not really correct in saying "third notch" but that's how I think of it when I lower them halfway between the "takeoff" marker and the full flap position. It's a useful flap setting to have in some circumstances, mostly for adjusting speeds on approaches.

I've had the trim servo go out twice on my GFC500 since it was installed in 2020. Replaced both times by Garmin under warranty, the last time with all the rest of the servos too. Supposedly new part design fixed it. Last week I was shooting a night approach, coupled. Got a trim flag warning from the AP, and then when I deployed the third notch of flaps, the plane started to drop below glideslope. Kicked the autopilot off, found the plane out of trim nose down. When to turn the trim wheel, found the loose passenger seatbelt had wedged itself in there and made it hard to turn. Could still spin it but the resistance was apparently enough to overcome the autopilot servos. Note to self - secure the passenger seatbelt when flying solo. The autopilot is a great tool but I would not be happy flying around uncertain if I could hand fly any approach. If I ever felt that way I would seek more training.

That Garrett clamp looks suspiciously like the unlabeled spot-welded clamp with no part numbers on it that I recently replaced with a proper new riveted clamp after a 4-month wait. No mention in the logs of what the old clamp was or when it was installed. Before my ownership.

Hard to tell from the photos where the oil is, but I would suspect a clogged check valve or loose hose connection. If a check valve is stuck open, oil will pool in the lowest part of the system and leak out. I would have the check valves disassembled and cleaned and put a wrench on everything and tighten it all up. Clean thoroughly, run up or fly around the pattern a couple of times, and look for more leaks. Let it sit overnight and look for more leaks again. There are also seals between the hose fitting blocks and the turbo, I believe. I bought new ones from Aircraft Spruce for something like $15.00 chasing a similar issue. Turned out that wasn't the problem, but you could buy those cheap enough and send them to the shop with the plane just in case.

This experience is becoming more and more common unfortunately. Shops have more work than they can do. Some are taking on apprentices who are learning and have no business working on airplanes unsupervised. But they have to pay their employees and can't stay in business discounting the work or fixing things for free.

I don't know of any places to rent tents and chairs and a mattress, but I do know that many people purchase those types of items at a nearby Wal-Mart and throw them away at the end. Wasteful but common practice. There is great on-site transportation. Busses will take you from near your campsite in Camp Scholler to the show, where you can get on trolleys or more busses that will get you anywhere you want to go. No reservations required. For the small kids - use the busses and trolleys so they don't get worn out walking everywhere. There's a section called Kid Venture aimed at the little ones. Tons to do. Have fun.

Did you read the AD yourself? The inspection procedure is on pages 23-25 of the AD document. "Micro abrasions on the outside part of the band" are not a criteria for failing the permitted inspection. When mine was off, I did an inspection as described in the AD myself and found the clamp to be satisfactory. My A&P did the same inspection and passed it as well and reinstalled it. It stayed on for a month or so until I got the new riveted clamp installed. Ended up being only about 2 flight hours. If you prefer to wait I completely understand and would not blame you in the least.

I did notice it says it's for the -550's, but my check valves look a lot like the ones in the diagram, and you get the idea. The M0 "troubleshooting" section for oil leaking from the turbo for all engines (8-10.2) references the -550 valve inspection by section number (6-4.21), so there's some reason to consider it as applicable guidance on other engines as well, I would think.

Also, here are the relevant portions of M0. Turbo Oil Check Valve Inspection - From M0.pdf M0 Instructions on Turbo Oil Leak.pdf

No. I ended up overhauling the turbo, but because we discovered its housing had worn and gotten loose, not because of the leaking oil. I'm pretty sure the only way for oil to get into the turbo housing while the plane is parked is through the check valves. There is an oil scavenger pump inside the turbo that pumps oil back uphill to the engine. If it is worn or failed, you could see oil pooling in the turbo and coming out the housing or tailpipe. But, according to the guys at Main Turbo, that very rarely happens, and when it does, you have giant clouds of black smoke and lots of oil coming out the tailpipe while the engine is running. It wouldn't make it leak while parked, because while parked, the scavenger pump isn't running anyways. Here's a picture of my check valves - they are the red pieces held in adele clamps. The brown lines coming out are the oil lines going to the turbo (left side, downhill) and then up to the engine on the right.

The AD allows for inspection and re-use of the clamp until July 17. There's a procedure in the AD for it that involves looking at it with 10x magnification, and as long as there are no cracks and as long as the band's inner parts do not touch when tightened to the proper torque spec, it can be placed back in service. This inspection becomes required after 500 hours in service so maybe your A&P is a little confused on what "timed out" means. I've attached the AD. I previously talked with some A&P's who said they are in fact inspecting and reusing clamps that pass, since new ones are not available. AD_2023-09-09-compressed.pdf

Sorry to hear that. Go to continental.aero and verify the part number you need for your particular engine serial number. Order one from Airpower.com. They show backordered but are shipping them as they get them from Boeing, who makes them. Took me 4 months to get one but I got it this month. Call RAM aircraft and see if they will sell you one of theirs. Consult your A&P to make sure they will install it. There may be issues with their PMA, which may or may not include the TSIO-360-GB/LB/MB/SB, depending on who you ask, though it's approved for the other models of the TSIO-360 used in the Piper Seneca. They may also be sold out again. Be prepared to spend $850/1300 for whatever you get. Hope you get one soon.

When we first got the plane, we followed the POH and ran 75% power (28" and 2500 RPM usually) and peak TIT as it suggests for a short time. No signs of detonation and I really don't think it's unsafe, but the TITs would be right near 1650, sometimes requiring adding mixture to stay under that, and the CHTs would be pushing 400 even with the cowl flaps mostly open. Most of the internet seems to believe those temperatures are not good for turbo and cylinder longevity. It seems to be the best setting for speed, fuel burn, and range, giving roughly 140 KIAS at 11.5 GPH, which may be why the marketing department at Mooney wanted it that way to sell more airplanes. Now I often run the same setting but add about 2 GPH, doing about the same speeds but TITs under 1600 and CHT's under 380. I know from experience this is far away from any setting that will cause detonation, the decreased CHTs are an indication that the internal cylinder pressures are well below peak conditions, and this should be a reasonable way to run the cylinders and turbo. Sometimes, depending on outside air temp and altitudes or some other factors I don't fully understand, I can lean down closer to 12.5 GPH while staying within these temperature limits, if I want a little more economy or range. The extra 2-ish GPH paid at the pump is hopefully a tradeoff for increased cylinder and turbo life, and the plane has so much range it's easy to just add enough fuel to plan 13.5 GPH block on just about every flight. If I need more economy, it's easy to just reduce MP a couple inches to 26 or so or remove 100 RPM to 2400 and get the fuel flow down around 10 GPH, and then run closer to peak TIT with a cool turbo and cylinders. But you do lose about 10 knots of speed. I detect roughness at all LOP power settings I've tried and so don't use them. It's slight but there. I've wondered sometimes if different pilots are more or less sensitive to that, and if I flew in someone else's plane who prefers LOP, if I would detect roughness they do not. I have not done the GAMI test nor installed GAMIs. I may do the test sometime for education's sake, but the plane is already so efficient it seems like a fair amount of hassle and cost for minimal gain.

Mine was painted but the paint has peeled, for whatever reason, only on that piece. I've always thought it was from the exhaust heat. It's only visible when lying on the floor so not a huge deal.

My recollection is the M20C would climb pretty comfortably to 10k and cruise there pretty well. To get to 12k, you had to accelerate for a while, then climb a few hundred feet, then repeat. It didn't want to sustain a climb. And once you were up there, true airspeed really decayed to where it was much slower. A big driver in switching to the turbo we have now was a trip across Texas and New Mexico on a hot day with moderate turbulence up to 12,500 feet in the C model. I couldn't get higher, and I thought my wife was going to open the door and jump out. The density altitude may well have been 15k or more. I took the C model to Sante Fe which you can access without getting too high, and Denver, but was never comfortable heading through true mountain areas. A few hundred feet per minute of downdraft and you're unable to climb at all. Not a good feeling when trying to cross a mountain pass. Turbo vs. non-turbo is a whole different topic with lots of threads here. I'm in the turbo camp. But, your cost numbers are a little outdated. I spent $13k overhauling a M20K turbo this year. Mine was completely worn out and they couldn't re-use any parts, so that's about a worst case scenario in 2025 numbers, but that's what it cost. Spread over 20 years and almost 1400 hours, it's not an unreasonable cost, but that's what it was. I should have done a preventative overhaul at 1,000 hours and it probably would have been much cheaper. I'd still rather have it than not.

The spot welded clamp part number for the TSIO-360-MB was 653337. It is now superseded by this new riveted clamp, 670105, in the Continental parts catalog. I tried to buy a new 653337 and they were also unavailable anywhere. I even put in an order on Air Power for one and they emailed and said it was discontinued and they weren't going to sell them any more and never charged me for it. This is what my old spot-welded V-band clamp looks like, for reference.

When I picked my plane up from annual at Maxwell last summer, I met with Don and Paul both who answered all of my questions and couldn't have been kinder or more responsive. I did a thorough inspection of the plane on their ramp which they encouraged. We had a discussion about how it's surprising how many pilots roll in, grab the keys, and blast off without even looking the plane over, sometimes at night or into IMC. We then had a discussion that occasionally my panel was throwing an alert for high fuel pressure during full power climbs over about 15,000 feet which was not a problem but annoying. Paul pulled one of their avionics guys out of the shop who adjusted the settings for the alert while I waited. This was after I had paid for the annual, and they didn't charge me any more. On the way home, my gear warning was sounding at much higher manifold pressure than it should (something like 22 inches). I called Don, asked if they had changed it, and he said no, but then took the time to look up and send me the parts diagram for where the switch was. I started looking at it (which required a mirror and flashlight) and found it attached by old, loose, and non-standard hardware that had clearly been there for years. Probably got bumped during annual. Got it all fixed and re-adjusted. Don didn't charge me anything for his help. Several months later, I had oil leaking out of my turbo and was having trouble sourcing a V-band clamp. I called and talked to Don who unfortunately didn't have any clamps to sell me, but was gracious with his time and expertise and didn't charge me anything for the conversation. Sorry you had a bad experience. Just relaying mine in the last 12 months. I've been very happy with them and am glad they're there help me keep my plane flying.