Min Cylinder PSI

[Niko182]

Over the last 2 months, I've been looking throughout multiple Ovations and Eagles, and each and everyone of them seems to have at least 2 cylinders in the mid 60s and some times even in the high 50's. Now I'm no mechanic, so I don't know if my gut is telling me the right thing, but I feel that the engines should be in the mid, if not high 70s.

Am I overthinking this, Or are engines that have these compression still a good option. I understand that I should always be prepared for an overhaul, but I would like to stay away from the overhaul as long as possible ( i have 50,000 reason why).

Additionally, anyone know where to find 95-03 ovations and Eagles. Controller, Trade a plane, ASO, MAPA, Mooneyspace, and strategicaircraft dont seem to have any aircraft for sale within a 170k budget where the engine seems to have decent compression.

[kortopates]

Not unusual for Continental cylinders. But compression is only part of the story in that borescope results are more important. But expecting Lycoming like compressions with Continental cylinders would have you needlessly replacing cylinders. As for a minimum compression it's what ever the master orifice leaks that day which is usually in the low 40's/80.


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[Guest]

See Continental SB03-3.  As Paul points out TCM engine have low compression reads as the norm.

Clarence

[carusoam]

I faced the same situation... back in the day...

And Let a good plane get away before getting the answer Clarence and Paul just outlined...

Compressions are a nice test.  PPIs are probably going to be using cameras down the spark plug holes.

Depending on how deep your PPI budget goes...

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic.  Paul and Clarence have deep technical mechanical knowledge of this topic.

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Marcopolo]

+1 for what Paul and Clearance have outlined above, and also consider that changing a cylinder or two or six is not the same as an overhaul so it should only account for 4000-6000 of your 50,000 reasons.  Now if the engine is low time and cylinders need to be changed that may say something about how the current owner is flying said machine.

 

Ron