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Slick Mag Recall


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This apparently came out in December. I had not heard much about it but Slick has used copper electrodes in distributor gears for years and is now going to monel but the recall is not for all distributor gears with copper electrodes?  Is this a real problem since it is not an AD?

https://www.aviationpros.com/engines-components/aircraft-engines/piston-engines-parts/news/12438456/champion-aerospace-recalls-all-4300-and-4700-series-slick-magneto-distributor-gears-with-copper-electrodes

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  • 2 weeks later...

We just removed the mags from my '66E to get this SB done. Sent them in on Monday to QAA in Ft Lauderdale. I will update this thread when I know something.

However, before we removed them, we checked the timing and found that one was spot on, but the other one was about 4 degrees off, i.e. was firing at 29 degrees BTDC.  This was a real concern as it could have aggressively introduced mayhem to the engine.  Since installing these mags 600 & 400 hours ago, we have had to change the points and the internal cam due to their uneven wear, as per Champion's earlier problem. The new points and cam really did fix the starting problem I had several years ago, to the point of not even thinking twice about a hot start anymore.  Cold starts were 2-4 blade events as well.  (The mags are being overhauled, not just having the cap replaced.)

Let us hope that Champion will finally resolve their mag problems once and for all. Until later, gang.

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25° BTDC is strong, when under full load...  CHTs are a bit warmer...

Risk of detonation increases, but is still under control with good ROP mixture...

29° BTDC is even stronger, under full load, you might find out where detonation begins... Expect even hotter CHTs...

Bad detonation challenges can melt pistons enough to make holes in them in a few minutes...

What keeps pistons cool... boundary layers... and oil splashing on the bottom side, and excess fuel on the top side...  top/bottom figuratively writing...:)

In cruise... the additional timing is probably pretty good at converting fuel to airspeed, under the lighter load of LOP...  making variable timing something to look forward to...

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

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We received the mags back from QAA in Ft Lauderdale, and installed them in the E model yesterday. They went in perfectly, and on startup, the engine fired up on the 2nd blade. The internal timing was set correctly.  We did not open up the mag to inspect the rotor cap, as this would have voided the warranty (we had both mags overhauled), so we can't say what kind of metal/parts were installed for the SB.

By the way, we can highly recommend QAA for this service.

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