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After oil change and plane wash today I noticed that my flaps were not closing. I opened them so the FBO could access the snap connectors attached to the flaps to lower bottom cowl. I want it closed to preheat the next time I fly and tried a couple times final got it closed but 2 amp breaker kept popping. I can fly this time of year without opening the cowl flaps as it unlikely to get warm again till spring here in Missouri. Could putting push spring snap connection off 180 degrees backward cause excessive friction. I can fly with closed now as it is cool and am not really wanting to open it till I let the shop see the problem. I cannot imagine that having an oil service would mess with the cowl flat electric motor other than the flap mechanical connectors that need to come off to drop the bottom cowl. A short in cowl motor or connector may cause the breaker to pop out but why would that happen with just changing oil? They also cleaned the engine. I believe they use some type of kerosene, and they also washed the plane and may have used a type spray wax. Has anyone had problems with cowl flap breaker popping off and how was it resolved. Suggestions appreciated.

Fairly new Mooney owner with an A&P without a lot of Mooney experience. Any recommendations for pulling and cleaning the oil pick-up screen on an M20F? That thing is way back up in there in a tight area. Should I disconnect the air ducts first in order to make it accessible or any other tricks? Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks. -Mike

My buddy and I did an oil change on the airplane last weekend. A royal pain, we wound up having to pound a wood chisel into the oil filter to get enough oomph on it to get it turning, but we got it off, got the new one on, safety wired and everything. We went to put the cowlings back on the nose and made the most unpleasant discovery. The screws aren't all the same the way there were on the Cherokee. Every screw doesn't fit every hole, not by a long shot. Well, we worked with it and by the end we had every hole filled with a screw but three that didn't fit our remaining screws. We were both tired and frustrated, so I figured I could play musical screws with the airplane another day. They all came off, they should all go back on. We put the remaining screws in a baggie on the hangar shelves. Where I couldn't find them today for the life of me. They're Criminy, do I feel like a boob.

My neighbor posted this on the VansAirForce web site. I think it's applicable to us as well...... http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=133053 If the picture doesn't increase your curiosity about what might be lurking in your oil screen, nothing will.

Ok....this is the first time changing the oil in a Mooney. Im used to swimming inside the cowling of a Cherokee Six...LOTS of room and I never spilled a drop....EVER! This is the first time I had the opportunity (other times we just had done at annual) to change the oil on this bird. I have a quick drain, but it turns out that the nipple was 3/8" instead of the Cherokee's 1/2"....sooooo, I had to go back out to the auto shop and buy a new drain hose...no big deal. Then I studied the oil filter removal situation. It seems easy enough to get from the top, but how can I capture the oil after unscrewing the filter? I couldnt figure a way to place a pan or channel it to a bucket without removing the lower cowling. My F model has the full J cowling with the oil cooler behind the rear jug. So I crammed (or so I thought) a bunch of towels under the filter and proceeded to remove the filter. So far so good, saw that the towels had oil and I thought I was good. I put the new filter in, plugged up the quick drain and then...... UGH!! The nose wheel COVERED in dirty oil!! The towels didnt catch everything! I wish I could put an empty quart of oil under the fitler, cut out to fit, but the bad thing is, Im not sure I can remove it without making a mess. So much easier in the Cherokee with that big fat O-540!! LOL -Vic

I would like to stick to a 25 hr oil change regimen, however with the challenges that removing the lower cowl on a 231 by yourself presents, this time frame seems to always stretch closer to the 50 hr mark and a full oil and filter change. Has anyone experimented with using a fluid extractor device (http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/multi+fluid+extractor.do?code=FROOGLE&gclid=CKWMj4zytMACFWoR7Aod4CAAFQ) through the oil filler tube to drain their oil? Does anyone see why this would not work well with our engines?