N201XG

[TCC]

Anyone know anything about this particular 201?  Wondering if it's @amillet's old 201.  AviationDB.net turns up a clean history, is it worth $119K?

[carusoam]

Are you familiar with the 225hp STC?

I'm not...

A lot of that price may be the new engine. It would be good to know if that is high compression helicopter pistons.

Best regards,

-a-

 

[TCC]

@carusoam I am not familiar with the STC and from what little bit of google fu I have, the engine shop hasn't had the best name in the business, but that may be related to business practices and not necessarily quality of work.

 

[Oldguy]

IO-360-A3B6D,      SE2741NM        Installation of high compression                        NM Firewall Forward, Inc.
IO-360-A1B6D,                                   pistons, connecting rods, bearings                    5212 Cessna Drive
IO-360-A1B6;                                     and associated hardware.                                    Loveland, CO 80538
T.C. 1E10                                           Amended 6/22/93.

From the FAA STC database on Textron Avco Corporation, Lycoming Division.

[bradp]

I’m not familiar with the 225 HP STC either.  It’s certainly not as much of a know entity as the A3B6.  

I personally would not want to pay a premium for someone else’s engine overhaul decision making process. Seems like they are trying to recoup as much as possible for the overhaul and trip to the avionics shop.  

A big question I’d have with the high compression pistons is what was the engine life like (top, Time at which last was overhauled), etc. last go around. 

You should be able to find a nice model with a few hundred hours and similar avionics for 95-105k Id imagine.  

[TCC]

Thanks @bradp, @bluehighwayflyer, @Oldguy for the information and thoughts.  I've been watching the J market for a while now and feel  it's high for what's advertised.  I guess it feels like a flip to me and without knowing it's history, recent or otherwise, I'm not going to spend anymore time on it..

 

[Bug Smasher]

The useful load is on the low side for a J but they will probably get some lbs back after removing the old paper weights from the panel during the upgrade (ADF, old coms, transponder, etc.). Paint and interior are very nice. High comp pistons... no idea. I see experimental guys using them in Vans RVs sometimes. Check out the Vans Airforce forum and see what they say about it. I bet there has been plenty of discussion about pros & cons. Are they 10:1 or 11:1 pistons? Hot rods aren't always known for longevity. Nice airplane though, and I think the bladders in a J are a big plus if they are the 64 gallon system. 

[Dale Logsdon]

The high compression helicopter engines have a 1200 hr. TBO. They also have a manifold pressure limitation on max power settings.

These engines are hard on cylinders and I have seen lots of head separation problems.

[AaronDC8402]

Our 201 went to 1650 hours with the Firewall Forward STC. No top overhaul during the entire 1650. We pulled the engine for overhaul this summer due to the engine making metal. It was a cam/lifter issue. This was with the Centrilube cam as well. Cylinders and pistons were still in good shape. The engine still made good power, and used about 1qt every 6 tach hours. That includes a decent leak on the accessory case, so it didn't seem to burn too much oil.

When we overhauled, we went back to factory specs and factory cam. We felt like FF's reputation wasn't adding any value to the plane if we went back with their STC. Having flown both engines in the same plane, I wouldn't give any value positive or negative for the Firewall Forward engine. I'm comparing a 1600-hr FF engine to a new factory spec engine, but I haven't seen any performance gain or loss with the new engine. The FF engine did run cooler CHT's at ROP ops.

[AaronDC8402]

Oh, and I should mention, our plane sat for about a year and half before we bought it. I'm guessing that was the main culprit of the lifter issue. We got about 150 hours out of it before the mechanic said it needed to come out for overhaul. With regular flying, that FF engine likely may have gone beyond TBO.

 

[TCC]

Thanks@Dale Logsdon,@AaronDC8402

[amillet]

201XG was my first Mooney, purchased with two other partners. We flew it for 5 years and 500 hours (1990-1995) then sold it for $10,000 more than we paid.  It did have the FF 210 hp engine with 10:1 pistons. A year or so later it had an engine failure returning from KOSH.  I last saw it in 2002 in the Mooney Caravan. It was based in the Northeast at that time 

[jetdriven]

What was the cause of the engine failure. 

[zdog]

i own this airplane. the engine was renewed using lycoming parts. new cylinders, pistons, rings no aftermarket parts. this is the second time this stc has been in this airplane. this engine went through the break in period of 25 hours with only 1 qt of oil added and it was still at 8 qts at time of drain. looks like the engine rebuild was successful. since the oil change to exxon elite it has required no oil added. i have spent the money to bring this airplane up to a no squaks condition. far from the condition it was in when i aquired it. the engine was torn down for inspection because it required 3 qts of oil in the last 5 hours i flew it. the oil analysis show it was making lots of iron and chrome. upon inspection it was discovered someone had been into the engine off book and had spun a ball hone in the upper part of all of the cylinders, possibly in an attempt to reseat the rings that had collapsed probably from running the engine too hot. XG has demonstrated gound speeds in excess of 200 mph in level flight since the overhaul. it burns no more fuel than before with increased speeds or, less fuel at the standard engine speeds. the new radios were installed by el paso aero the installation has a very finished and professional result. if you have priced this equipment you know thge cost. if you have questions you may call me 432-682-6947

[TCC]

Thanks for the additional info and the pm@zdog.