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“How much does an overhaul cost?”


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Thursday, May 20th
Initial report back from Zephyr Aircraft Engines. DIVCO found my crankcase is cracked beyond repair. The crack is located on the upper left side of the case by the front through bolt. I had noticed that this area was wet with oil in recent months but could not determine the source of the leakage.
We are discussing the pros/cons of the purchase of a yellow tagged crankcase versus a new crankcase.
Still waiting for word on the crankshaft.
This is part of the real world of aircraft ownership. This can happen to any of us. More updates to follow.

I went with a new case, I think the difference was only a $1000.
What about the camshaft?
Crankshaft is usually good because it sits low in the case.
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On 4/19/2021 at 10:29 PM, N201MKTurbo said:

I could tell you exactly what an overhaul costs. But the folks at Mooneyspace forbid me from totaling up the receipts.

We strongly recommended for your own mental health that you nit total them. And we begged you, for our own health and marital concerns, to please not post the answer publicly if you did so . . . .

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On 5/21/2021 at 7:10 AM, Hank said:

We strongly recommended for your own mental health that you nit total them. And we begged you, for our own health and marital concerns, to please not post the answer publicly if you did so . . . .

You can ignore reality and deny reality but you cannot change reality.

 

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If you are on a budget and want an engine monitor, you might consider an EDM 700. It's about $2K with fuel flow. Non primary so you need to keep the factory gauges. It's been around a long time but it's still in production and JPI has great support. There are always used ones available from upgrades also.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Tuesday, June 22nd

About time for an update! Time is one of the things that people don’t often think about when it comes to airplane projects like overhauls, paint jobs, interiors and avionics upgrades. Everyone tends to focus on the costs but not the time and aggravation that goes along with it.

Today I received my engine mount back from AWI “A deep passion for aviation with an understanding for urgency”.

It was delivered to them on April 23rd by FedEx Ground and received back today on June 22nd.

AWI “A deep passion for aviation with an understanding for urgency.”

59AC2182-D1BE-4D3C-AC43-0E949CF8A2EC.thumb.jpeg.fd1b6bbe71fd2c9bc60500f7124af71c.jpegA3748960-D41C-4BCF-8E99-985B2AED1B81.thumb.jpeg.100eaadd65fa03c1b9e32b7f83d7138b.jpegAWI used Estes for shipping the mount back. It arrived at their Tampa Terminal on Friday and I was told that I would receive a call from their “residential delivery department” to schedule an appointment for my delivery. Well, still haven’t received the call to schedule my delivery appointment but this was sitting on my driveway this afternoon when I went out to check the mail.

The mount had some tube damage from a tie wrap (don’t use tie wraps on your mounts) which needed to be repaired. The lower section of the mount is commonly cracked, mine miraculously was not, but they recommended that I go ahead and have them install an FAA approved beef-up to that area to prevent future issues. 
 

After incurring the expense to remove and ship the mount to them, it just didn’t make sense to forgo the beef-up and help avoid future issues. I agreed to the improvement. 
 

Total cost for the inspection, repair, beef-up and painting was $1,888.00 plus freight charges of $308.78 for a total of $2,196.78.

Our current project total is now up to $19,044.50.

Edited by BKlott
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21 hours ago, carusoam said:

BK,

Any special paint type with that?

Best regards,

-a-

I spoke with Brad Baxter at AWI and he advised that they use Imron by Axalta. He said it is a polyurethane paint that is very strong.

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  • 1 month later...

Imron is a very good, but very old paint, there are better paints now, but Imron is very, very good, tough paint.

Be very diligent about respiratory protection when spraying Imron though, I would want a hood with an external air supply myself.

‘Imron is what was used on all of the Military VIP aircraft in the 80’s and likely prior to then too. It may have been one of the first polyurethane enamel paints?

‘Imron is very difficult to remove, because it’s so tough.

Edited by A64Pilot
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On 8/9/2021 at 11:20 AM, J0nathan225 said:

How’s the progress going? :blink: I’m nervous for the engine parts :(

Great timing with your question as I just got an update from Zephyr today. The last I had heard was that the Lycoming O-360 cylinder assemblies were NOT available but the O-320 assemblies were. Turns out that the O-320s are not available either so we are using the Superior cylinders instead. This will save me $800 on the overhaul cost. I was also told that Superior stands behind their cylinder warranty which is not always the case with Lycoming. Zephyr provides the same warranty using either brand.

Apparently my crankshaft came back with no issues as Zephyr advises that they now have all the parts in and will start assembling my engine the beginning of next week. I should get the engine back before the end of the month!

I’ve updated my IA and he said he’ll be ready to jump on it when it gets back. 

Other than that, my big worry will be flying the 172 again after flying nothing but a Duchess since April’s ill fated flight in my plane. That will be an adjustment.

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On 5/1/2021 at 9:00 PM, gsxrpilot said:

Best Budget Engine monitor (good enough for carbureted engines): Insight G2 or G3

Best Priced Full Primary replacement: JPI EDM900 (Close second with discount coupon: EI CGR Combo)

Best top of the line primary replacement large screen: EI MVP-50

Just my well researched $0.02

I appreciate and agree with your analysis. Today I ordered a new G2 unit from Insight Avionics, taking advantage of their Oshkosh Show Special. Thank you for your input!

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On 8/11/2021 at 9:48 PM, BKlott said:

Great timing with your question as I just got an update from Zephyr today. The last I had heard was that the Lycoming O-360 cylinder assemblies were NOT available but the O-320 assemblies were. Turns out that the O-320s are not available either so we are using the Superior cylinders instead. This will save me $800 on the overhaul cost. I was also told that Superior stands behind their cylinder warranty which is not always the case with Lycoming. Zephyr provides the same warranty using either brand.

Apparently my crankshaft came back with no issues as Zephyr advises that they now have all the parts in and will start assembling my engine the beginning of next week. I should get the engine back before the end of the month!

I’ve updated my IA and he said he’ll be ready to jump on it when it gets back. 

Other than that, my big worry will be flying the 172 again after flying nothing but a Duchess since April’s ill fated flight in my plane. That will be an adjustment.

Before you start installing the engine mount, you might consider polishing the firewall.

Clarence

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On 8/9/2021 at 10:24 AM, A64Pilot said:

Imron is a very good, but very old paint, there are better paints now, but Imron is very, very good, tough paint.

Be very diligent about respiratory protection when spraying Imron though, I would want a hood with an external air supply myself.

‘Imron is what was used on all of the Military VIP aircraft in the 80’s and likely prior to then too. It may have been one of the first polyurethane enamel paints?

‘Imron is very difficult to remove, because it’s so tough.

What would you say is better paint?

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41 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

What would you say is better paint?

My preference is Sherwin Williams Jet-Glo.

Unless things have changed, it’s what Air Force One, the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds use, my assumption is that those three likely use the best paint there is, cost isn’t an issue, just quality. That data is a few years old though and things change.

But for steel tube assemblies I prefer powder coat, specifically white, there is a type of powder coat called anti-sabotage that Maule and Thrush use for their fuselages, motor mounts, landing gear etc. that works very well, apparently it’s made so that spray paint is easily removed from it, I guess for Inter City use.

Being gloss white if you have a crack it will show up as a brown line, the brown line is rust which works it’s way out similar to a “working” rivet.

Edited by A64Pilot
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3 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

My preference is Sherwin Williams Jet-Glo.

Unless things have changed, it’s what Air Force One, the Blue Angles and Thunderbirds use, my assumption is that those three likely use the best paint there is, cost isn’t an issue, just quality. That data is a few years old though and things change.

But for steel tube assemblies I prefer powder coat, specifically white, there is a type of powder coat called anti-sabotage that Maule and Thrush use for their fuselages, motor mounts, landing gear etc. that works very well, apparently it’s made so that spray paint is easily removed from it, I guess for Inter City use.

Being gloss white if you have a crack it will show up as a brown line, the brown line is rust which works it’s way out similar to a “working” rivet.

It seems that both Jet Glo and Imron first hit the market in 1970 and they are both catalyzed polyurethane paints. I really don't see any difference between the two except for Sherwin-Williams has a lot more GA plane painting companies spraying their paint perhaps because they push it more. It is difficult to find an Imron supplier.

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28 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

It seems that both Jet Glo and Imron first hit the market in 1970 and they are both catalyzed polyurethane paints. I really don't see any difference between the two except for Sherwin-Williams has a lot more GA plane painting companies spraying their paint perhaps because they push it more. It is difficult to find an Imron supplier.

I think Imron came first, maybe back in the 60’s. I think you will find many pulurethane paints, and a significant quality difference between them, Jet-Glo isn’t cheap, it’s one of the most expensive, but I believe it’s worth it.

PPG is another one, and I have experience with both, and the Sherwin Williams paint was easier to apply and significantly less rework, which in the long run made the paint cheaper, even though it cost more.

Now I have seen very good painters make inexpensive paint look beautiful, but given average painters the Jet-Glo consistently comes out better making me think it’s easier to apply.

Paint wise, I’m a hack, I could paint farm tractors etc fine, but not aircraft, but I was responsible for a aircraft paint facility for a number of years and can attest that the paint itself can make a big difference.

Like I said, nothing wrong with Imron, it was I believe the first and was for a very long time the gold standard, it just didn’t get any better, but better paints exist now. time has moved on.

Imron was forever the best boat paint, I believe Hatteras boats were all painted with Imron and not Gelcoated.

Perhaps a professional painter will chime in 

Edited by A64Pilot
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13 hours ago, M20Doc said:

Before you start installing the engine mount, you might consider polishing the firewall.

Clarence

I did clean up the bad spots on the firewall while the mount was off. Good suggestion though!

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On 8/23/2021 at 7:55 AM, bnt83 said:

Any well aged engine push-pull controls? Engine overhauls is good a time to replace them as any other. 

The Throttle, Mixture and Carburetor Heat controls have all been replaced during my twenty years of ownership but, I have to admit, I’m not sure when they were done off the top of my head. I’ll need to take a look at the log books to see. Good suggestion!

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