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Greetings all... On my last flight I experienced a prop overspeed and an inability to hold an RPM setting in cruise. This points to a sluggish oil pressure building in the prop. We pulled the prop and checked it visually, we pulled the prop governor and checked everything on the engine side of the governor, and then sent the governor out for an inspection, reseal and test. The prop shop said that the inspection didn't reveal any obvious flaws, they hope that the reseal will solve the problem I'm having. While I'm waiting for the governor to come back I'm considering doing the 1462A service instruction for leak testing propeller oil control (the plumbing from the governor to and including the prop.) The problem is that I have not found an economical source for the test plate the service requires; the only source I have found is Aircraft Spruce and they want $2700 for it. So I'm thinking of ordering two, you know, so in case I lose one. Does anyone on the Space happen to have one of these lying around the shop?

Well, found the leak and it wasn't hard. Looks to me like the tube is pulled away (...a looong way) from the seat. How did it get that way and how to fix?

For decades I've been running expensive Elite oil. Last year I decided to go with AeroShell 15W50 with camguard since it didn't seem less good and I can get it much cheaper. However, I've read more articles saying that 100W may be better. Now I read this from Blackstone labs and I think I've made up my mind. The results isn't a screaming endorsement for any one oil but it certainly indicates that more expensive oils are not any better. In the winter I may just keep a spoon in the plane to get it out though. https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f641390cba42169db49e0cd6e/files/e3ff8058-394c-43fd-bd81-56593f7c55a8/Aug_17_AC.01.pdf -Robert

The oil and fuel lines in my 1999 Mooney Eagle need replacement according my mechanic and Continental Tech Support. I have the rec "C" lines which are rated for 7 years. He is recommending to go to rev "D" which is teflon and is rated for 12+ years. Anyone has done this on io550? if yes, any recommendation on where to get the hoses made for the best quality and price? Driver

So this weekend I dove into my oil pan gasket replacment on my 94 318i German road oiler. I'm glad I make a living at working on airplanes and not cars... I have always run M1 0w-40 synthetic oil in it. With 175k I wanted to switch to a 20w50 synthetic due to some possible valve guide ware. The search basically ended up with nothing except royal purple at $10 per qt. No thanks. So lots of guys run Shell T6 rotella synthetic with the pre y2k ZDDP zinc content. All of the old oils had much more additives in them than they do now. Prior to 2000 regulation has cut the ZDDP in half. This got me thinking... Does anyone know the ZDDP content in our aircraft engine oils? I'm wondering if this is the simple reason our tappets are turning engines into scrap metal. Probably should have used the search function. -Matt

Calling all Mooniacs with millennium cylinders, I conducted an oil analysis recently and was told millennium cylinders always have a high chrome content even with steel cylinders. Me and my customer would like to know if you experience the same and if you would screen shot your report so we can see your averages. It would be greatly appreciated.

I've had the Mooney now for about 2.5 years. Flown her about ~250 hours. At first, I was waiting 50 hour cycles to do the regular oil, oil filter, air filter change and clean the plugs and any other normal stuff under the cowl. Being new to this engine, I started with 15W-50 as recommended by the previous shop. The engine had a tendency to operate very close to 400F CHT on #3 even on a somewhat cool day. On a hot day the cowl flaps had to trail slightly open. Other CHT's were in the 375F range. A senior Mooney flyer/AP/IA told me to switch to 100W+ and it would help with CHT's. It did help get the CHT's down to a manageable range without having to run with the cowl flaps trailing. Engine has 1080 Hours on it and compression's are in the mid to high 70's. I run slightly LOP. Here is the trend I am seeing..... Fill with 7 quarts Engine will hold 6.5 quarts for the first ~5 hours of operation Slow drop from 6.5 to 6 quarts from ~5-10 hours of operation At ~10 hours of operation the engine will not hold anything above 6 quarts As time increases, oil usage increases as well, about .25 Quarts per 1 hour of run time Is this a normal oil usage cycle? What are you seeing.... Thanks for your input. Rick

To the more knowledgeable: I have slow oil leak in my 20 C that drives me nuts. I have oil in the front gear housing, on bot sides of the gear well and trailing along the bottom of the fuselage. My oil pressure is stable, the oil usage seems normal too. Here is what I have done: First, I though it was a problem from the retrofit angled oil spin adapter (ECI), so the gaskets at the accessory housing were changed. This did not seem to make any appreciable difference, so I sprayed the engine down, ran it according to piloto's instruction (thanks man !) and checked. Small leakages from three of the oil return hose connectors, and a runner on the back of the oil pan. Had all four rubber return hose connectors changed, as well as a new pan gasket installed. Run-up be mechanic confirmed no leak. Flew it four two hours and again had oil in the front gear housing (less than before however). Now I am lost for an explanation. The engine seems dry. Is there any possibility that the oil comes from the breather line and is somehow ducted into the gear housing, giving the impression of an engine oil leak ? Puzzled Norbert

I found these specs of plastic in my oil filter the other day. They are orangish-red in color. The square piece in the upper right is about 1/16" on each side. They are very thin like paper thin. What you see in the photo is about all that was in the entire oil filter. The airplane is a 1980 K model with a Cont TSIO-360 LB engine. I have a Merlin wastegate but no intercooler. There has been no recent engine work - not even a spark plug removal - nothing. Can anybody think of some thin plastic part inside the engine that might be coming apart? Dave

I've been using Phillips 20W-50W oil in my bird. Recently, changed one cylinder for a new one. The mechanic put in 100W. What is the best oil for me to use now with only one new cylinder?

Both of my pressure gauges (oil and fuel) are reading low (about half). We (my A&P and I) put a mechanical gauge in the circuit and verified the electrical gauge readings are low. We've checked wiring connections, power and ground. I've checked the sending units and not sure the resistance is correct. The sending units doesn't appear to be the original ones. I'm concerned that they may have been replaced with the wrong resistance units. The fuel pressure gauge is 0-30psi The oil pressure gauge is 0-100psi Can someone tell me: 1) What should be the resistance ranges of the sending units? 2) What should be the voltage on the wire with it disconnected from the sending unit? I'm reading about 2 vdc. This is a new plane to me and I have the service manuals ordered but haven't received them yet. Any help or ideas are welcomed!

My 68C has developed an oil leak since the last MX worked on the engine. I had him look at it and he tightened a few bolts on the oil pan and called it good. Next morning, the oil continues to seep over night and I cannot find where it is coming from because it looks wet everywhere (mostly from the back side); however, the oil seems to be seeping from a point higher than the oil pan in the back side. Has anyone experienced this before?

After 3 oil changes with metal in the filter on my IO-360 A3B6D and the "lets check it every 25 hours and see" advice I was getting I couldn't take it any longer and had to go in for the inspection. I ditched the MSC and got a mechanic that would help me out with an owner assist and so far I'm very pleased with being involved. I was convinced that I had a piston pin retaining plug wearing on the cylinder walls but the borescope showed no such evidence. The 3 oil analysis was indicating an increase in Aluminum and chromium. I was surprised after the 2nd oil analysis I sent in the filter as well and that came back normal with primarily Aluminum. After 82 hours(approximately 12,500,000 revolutions) of flying uncomfortably it was time pull things apart. After opening things up this is what we found! A broken exhaust valve spring on #4. On the onset of the project I decided that I was going to pull all cylinders because of some weeping of oil and a through bolt. If things looked good, which they did, the cylinders where going to be sent to Ly-Con to be Ported and flow balance (they claim 4 to 5 Hp per cylinder and smoother). This engine was an original lower end and only 1450 hours, I was concerned that it would have some evidence of corrosion but the inside was perfect, couldn't have looked any better. So I order a new a new Planes Power alternator, Sky-Tech ultra lightweight starter, vacuum pump, stand by vacuum(precise), some new hardware and all new hoses. I'm planning for TBO and beyond, wish me luck! Karson

I was wondering, on my mooney m20k there are 2 exhaust/breather tubes that come out the bottom of the cowl near cowl flaps. On 1 tube excess oil comes out. Does anyone know what the other tube is suppose to do? Is this a fuel or breather tube exhaust? If anyone knows what the second tube does, please let know. I have included a photo of the tubes.

I have a problem with the oil temp and CHT gauges. Oil temp sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. When I turn power on, both gauge needles dive to the left. When I disconnect the senders from the gauges, they do the same thing. When I ground the sending units lead (off of the sending unit), they deflect all the way to the right. Yesterday I disconnected the sensor leads from the back of the gauges with the same results. I removed the temp bulbs and tested resistance change with a heat gun and they change resistance so I believe they are working. What shop do you recommend I send the gauges to for repair?