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IO-550 MSB


BillC

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Although I know replacement is currently not required, has anyone gotten prices on the cam gear Mandatory Service Bulletin?  My Ovation just took a big hit on potential value so I may do the cam gear before this turns into an AD.

 

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Don't hold your breath for an AD. Word is the FAA isn't inclined to do anything in terms of requiring replacement unless the case is cracked like at overhaul. Subscribe to the savvy aviation newsletter to stay tuned. Not looking like a big deal now.

Mandatory SB is only mandatory for commercial.


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Bill, the thicker new style gear (CMI Part# 656818) is listed at $1135 retail, but can be found at AirPower for $1120, and possibly cheaper from CMI direct.  Depending on your engine SN, you may already have this new gear installed.  Put a call in to CMI (I've worked with Patrick the most, but everyone there is really helpful) and ask whether your SN is on a list of impacted engines before jumping to conclusions about your resale value impact.  Let us know what you find out.

Steve

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1 hour ago, gsengle said:

Don't hold your breath for an AD. Word is the FAA isn't inclined to do anything in terms of requiring replacement unless the case is cracked like at overhaul. Subscribe to the savvy aviation newsletter to stay tuned. Not looking like a big deal now.

Mandatory SB is only mandatory for commercial.


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Thanks...I am aware of the non-mandatory "Mandatory Service Bulletin" compliance for non commercial operators. I spoke with Mike a few weeks ago and I agree this may not turn into an AD but lately I've been thinking of retiring from flying after celebrating my 50th anniversery of flying and selling my Ovation. If I were a buyer of a IO-550 powered airplane I would be concerned about the cost of complying with the cam gear change and deduct the cost from the purchase price. Anyway, thanks for the response.

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Did some additional research.  Mooney is calling this a Special Letter, and affects the following AC serial numbers...

- M20R Ovation Aircraft 29-0001 through 29-0410

- M20S Eagle Aircraft 30-0001 through 30-0065

Moreover, any engine sold by CMI as a rebuilt or new engine after August 2005 contains the new gear and is not affected by this letter.  Hope this helps.

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34 minutes ago, StevenL757 said:

Bill, the thicker new style gear (CMI Part# 656818) is listed at $1135 retail, but can be found at AirPower for $1120, and possibly cheaper from CMI direct.  Depending on your engine SN, you may already have this new gear installed.  Put a call in to CMI (I've worked with Patrick the most, but everyone there is really helpful) and ask whether your SN is on a list of impacted engines before jumping to conclusions about your resale value impact.  Let us know what you find out.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I'm the second owner of my 97 Ovation that has 980 hrs. TT so unfortunately I'm pretty sure I fall into the group with the 'bad' cam gear. I appreciate  the heads up and will call CMI and report back what I find. 

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Just now, StevenL757 said:

Did some additional research.  Mooney is calling this a Special Letter, and affects the following AC serial numbers...

- M20R Ovation Aircraft 29-0001 through 29-0410

- M20S Eagle Aircraft 30-0001 through 30-0065

Moreover, any engine sold by CMI as a rebuilt or new engine after August 2005 contains the new gear and is not affected by this letter.  Hope this helps.

Thanks Steve. Yup....I'm 29-0106.... Ouch, that's gonna hurt...

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3 minutes ago, gsengle said:

I'm 29-089, am close to TBO, plan to overhaul on condition except if forced. I just hope parts are generally available by the time I need it...


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I see your in the Northeast. I'm in Maine at 63B in the summer. 

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You'll be ok.  Remember, all Cirrus SR22 and most SR22-G2 aircraft are impacted as well, and we all know how many hundreds of them are active in the field.


And Bonanzas


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In my opinion, this is all BS since no tangible failure data has been provided by continental.  I will wait til the last minute and would be happy to chip in for a lawsuit before tearing apart my engine and worry about infant mortality and maintenance-related failures.  Just my few cents here :(

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I am told that you can replace the gear , without splitting the case , removing the Accessories and oil pan , should allow you to access the gear , there is also a small boss that has to be machined down , to clear the new gear.....Unfortunately for us Bonanza drivers the engines mount by the oil pans...So we wont be able to do it in the aircraft.....Also , there have been 5 confirmed failures in the field.....

Edited by Alan Fox
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I emailed Mike Busch from Savvy about this a while ago...and he actually replied!  Here's the important parts of his response:

...after the teleconference we had with the FAA last Friday, I'm cautiously optimistic that they will issue an AD we can live with, hopefully mandating gear replacement only at overhaul or when the case is split for some other reason. Worst case, the AD will mandate replacing the gear without splitting the case, estimated cost perhaps $5,000. The FAA was quite clear that they have no intention of mandating MSB05-8B as currently written, and indicated that they actually expect Continental to revise the MSB to make it less onerous. Personally, I do not believe that an AD is warranted, as we've been living with these camshaft gears for four decades or more and nothing has changed to cause them suddenly to be a serious safety issue. These engines can fail in lots of ways, and it looks to me as if camshaft gear failure is one of the rarest. We will be making that case strongly to the FAA before they convene their CARB and decide what to do. --Mike

 

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1 hour ago, Simon said:

I emailed Mike Busch from Savvy about this a while ago...and he actually replied! 

 

I have found Mike to be very approachable. I have contacted him a couple of times and always got a response.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/17/2017 at 9:34 PM, BillC said:

Thanks...I am aware of the non-mandatory "Mandatory Service Bulletin" compliance for non commercial operators. I spoke with Mike a few weeks ago and I agree this may not turn into an AD but lately I've been thinking of retiring from flying after celebrating my 50th anniversery of flying and selling my Ovation. If I were a buyer of a IO-550 powered airplane I would be concerned about the cost of complying with the cam gear change and deduct the cost from the purchase price. Anyway, thanks for the response.

Replacing the cam gear should actually add more value than just the cost of replacement compared to all others out there, since it would be turnkey for the buyer. Otherwise if it's not done the buyer is thinking about having their "new" airplane down for maintenance right after purchase. Knowns are a good thing. Plus if there have been 5 camshaft failures there's the peace of mind in knowing it's done.

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On 5/17/2017 at 7:37 PM, StevenL757 said:

Did some additional research.  Mooney is calling this a Special Letter, and affects the following AC serial numbers...

- M20R Ovation Aircraft 29-0001 through 29-0410

- M20S Eagle Aircraft 30-0001 through 30-0065

Moreover, any engine sold by CMI as a rebuilt or new engine after August 2005 contains the new gear and is not affected by this letter.  Hope this helps.

475 aircraft?

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