62 M20C nose gear shimmy? Tank Seal Cost?

[glafaille]

As mentioned above, the leaks are of no practical concern from a flight planning standpoint.  Any leak that presents a flight planning concern is WAY past the point where repair is required to maintain the airworthiness of the aircraft.

Having said that, smelling fuel in the cockpit is unnerving, unpleasant and at some point dangerous.  

[rbridges]

I know you said you're backing away from the plane but IMO the front wheel shimmy is probably a worn steering horn.  Replaced mine a few years ago with a LASAR rebuilt unit.  I believe I was close to $1K with labor and materials by the time was said and done.  I was told to grab the rudder and move it side to side to measure play.  After my horn was replaced, the amount of play was half.

[Dave Colangelo]

2 hours ago, rbridges said:

I know you said you're backing away from the plane but IMO the front wheel shimmy is probably a worn steering horn.  Replaced mine a few years ago with a LASAR rebuilt unit.  I believe I was close to $1K with labor and materials by the time was said and done.  I was told to grab the rudder and move it side to side to measure play.  After my horn was replaced, the amount of play was half.

Good to know. There are a few reasons to back away as of now (although the plane seems to still be for sale so im going to watch it) this is what I know about it 

- Nose gear shimmy (there was a gear up a while back but I dont have much info on that) 

- Leaky tanks, sounds like they have never had a full strip and reseal although the owner stated he had some patch work done and the logs indicate the owner before him had as well. 

- Dated avionics, this is not a killer for me but I would like something with a 430 if at all possible. 

- Recently (its in the shop as we speak) overhauled transponder

- Solid compression above 75 all around 

- higher time motor (around 1500 hours if I remember correctly) 

- replaced left aileron after a tree fell on it while the previous owner had it. No more details on the issue or the fix but the plane has been flying for a few years so I imagine it was done ok. 

- South west plane most its life (at least that has been communicated to me) so it would seem corrosion is not as big of an issue as some of the planes around where I am. 

- Modern 8 pack layout 

 

 

[philipneeper]

Speaking of tanks, i recently did a patch on mine. Not to difficult with the use of PolyGone. Let it set up over night and it came off smooth as a babies bottom.... as for engines; people get wrapped up on the TBO times, which are only required by commercial flight. I had almost 2700 hours before i did mine. As a matter of fact i shipped out my crank today, so far all looking good and I'm getting away with a 5k overhaul. 

[Dave Colangelo]

17 minutes ago, philipneeper said:

Speaking of tanks, i recently did a patch on mine. Not to difficult with the use of PolyGone. Let it set up over night and it came off smooth as a babies bottom.... as for engines; people get wrapped up on the TBO times, which are only required by commercial flight. I had almost 2700 hours before i did mine. As a matter of fact i shipped out my crank today, so far all looking good and I'm getting away with a 5k overhaul. 

I know TBO is "just a number" as they say and its not mandated. From what I have read (this includes other airframes) its fair to expect 2200-2400 if you are gentle with these engines. 1500 is not that bad in reality however there are some really nice sub 900 hour C/E's out there that never fail to turn my head. Its good to know you were able to take it up to 2700 with no issues. These old air cooled engines are really a work of engineering art. 

Did you do the tank seal yourself? 

 

Dave

[philipneeper]

Dave, 

    I did the tanks myself, Actually sealed the last one last night, now waiting to cure so i can apply the top coat and install the panels. 

[rbridges]

The dated avionics is a big deal to me.  I know you can change them, but it is sooo much more expensive for you to do it.  Have you priced out the installed price of a 430 or 650?  How about an STEC autopilot.  Not that you can't fly without one, but it's cheaper to find someone who has already paid to upgrade the panel.  Some of these older planes have stacks in their panels that cost more to install than the asking price of the plane.

[Dave Colangelo]

1 hour ago, rbridges said:

The dated avionics is a big deal to me.  I know you can change them, but it is sooo much more expensive for you to do it.  Have you priced out the installed price of a 430 or 650?  How about an STEC autopilot.  Not that you can't fly without one, but it's cheaper to find someone who has already paid to upgrade the panel.  Some of these older planes have stacks in their panels that cost more to install than the asking price of the plane.

This is basically becoming a big selling point for me. If I was looking for a VFR only plane for weekend fun that would be a different story. However with the intention of getting my instrument rating in the plane and really being ready for IMC the panel matters. 

[Andy95W]

On March 15, 2016 at 4:47 PM, philipneeper said:

Dave, 

    I did the tanks myself, Actually sealed the last one last night, now waiting to cure so i can apply the top coat and install the panels. 

Phil-. How much sealer per tank?  How much of the different types?

Thanks