Slick magneto repair

[Derrickearly]

My Slick 4370 out of an io-390 needs sb1-15a and it has an oil leak. Will you folks recommend a repair shop on the east coast please?

http://aeroacc-vny.com/  declined to work on my slicks since they came out of an io-390. He cited a high failure rate.

[Derrickearly]

Does a magneto repair shop need to be a certified repair station?

[PT20J]

www.aircraftmagnetoservice.net does mine. 

[Derrickearly]

3 minutes ago, PT20J said:

www.aircraftmagnetoservice.net does mine. 

Thank you for the recommendation. I’m hearing good things about them. Does he have to be a part 145 FAA certified repair station?

Edited April 20 by Derrickearly

[EricJ]

52 minutes ago, Derrickearly said:

Does a magneto repair shop need to be a certified repair station?

No. An A&P can overhaul mags, but they need the overhaul manual and all required tools and equipment.   

For repairs just maintenance manual (usually the overhaul manual) is needed.

[Derrickearly]

3 minutes ago, EricJ said:

No. An A&P can overhaul mags, but they need the overhaul manual and all required tools and equipment.   

For repairs just maintenance manual (usually the overhaul manual) is needed.

What if my A&P mechanic doesn’t want to do the work?  For him to send it out, does the magneto repair shop have to be 145 certified?  Or, can it be another A&P?

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Derrickearly said:

What if my A&P mechanic doesn’t want to do the work?  For him to send it out, does the magneto repair shop have to be 145 certified?  Or, can it be another A&P?

I would take your focus off of whether a shop has to be a repair station to do the work. You want a specialist who does mags successfully every day to do the mags on your airplane. You do not want someone learning on your mags. There are a few good shops across the country that do mags. Having one close to you is not nearly as important as finding an excellent shop - that's what UPS and FedEX are for.

But now drilling down to your specific mag, if one of the best shops in the country, Aero Accessories, won't do them I would pay close attention. That means that even with their very high standards they have a high failure rate. Internal parts can be replaced with new, but is it the housing that wears and makes a reliable overhaul improbable? Why the high failure rate?

You must have a good A & P, since he realizes that a great shop has turned down the work - why would he want to put his reputation and your life on the line?

Are you noticing a pattern here? People who make their living doing things like this are turning down your money - very unusual in aviation that anyone turns down your money. There must be a good reason. Talking another A & P into doing it may not be a good choice. 

Slick mags when they came out were regarded as "disposable" mags, even though some models were better than others. 

I would explore better options:

Does Bendix make mags for your engine?

Does Slick make new mags for your engine  that May have been updated and improved (even though new Slicks haven't had a perfect reputation the past few years)?

 

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, Derrickearly said:

What if my A&P mechanic doesn’t want to do the work?  For him to send it out, does the magneto repair shop have to be 145 certified?  Or, can it be another A&P?

No, an A&P with the overhaul manual and appropriate tools can do the work.   It does not have to be a repair station.    Repair stations are required for instruments, propellers, and propeller governors, but really that's about it for our airplanes. 

If you find a reputable shop that you and your A&P want to use, it does not have to be a repair station.   Many good shops (like Maxwells) avoid getting repair station status because it limits what they can do, adds a ton of paperwork and requirements, etc., etc.

[Derrickearly]

2 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

I would take your focus off of whether a shop has to be a repair station to do the work. You want a specialist who does mags successfully every day to do the mags on your airplane. You do not want someone learning on your mags. There are a few good shops across the country that do mags. Having one close to you is not nearly as important as finding an excellent shop - that's what UPS and FedEX are for.

But now drilling down to your specific mag, if one of the best shops in the country, Aero Accessories, won't do them I would pay close attention. That means that even with their very high standards they have a high failure rate. Internal parts can be replaced with new, but is it the housing that wears and makes a reliable overhaul improbable? Why the high failure rate?

You must have a good A & P, since he realizes that a great shop has turned down the work - why would he want to put his reputation and your life on the line?

Are you noticing a pattern here? People who make their living doing things like this are turning down your money - very unusual in aviation that anyone turns down your money. There must be a good reason. Talking another A & P into doing it may not be a good choice. 

Slick mags when they came out were regarded as "disposable" mags, even though some models were better than others. 

I would explore better options:

Does Bendix make mags for your engine?

Does Slick make new mags for your engine  that May have been updated and improved (even though new Slicks haven't had a perfect reputation the past few years)?

 

Bendix mags are not an option for my io-390; however, I could replace the oil leaking right mag with a surefly electronic ignition. 

[McMooney]

this is exactly what i did,  installed surefly and haven't looked back.

[Fritz1]

Any A&P with the right tools and documentation can repair mags, however a rather large and rare piece of test equipment is required for testing them. Aircraft Accessories of Oklahoma, Sheridan Ave, has overhauled the Slicks in my Bravo several times, I always keep a set of spares ready to go and have them overhauled at 500h, with that provision they are reliable, 1000h is pushing your luck.

[N201MKTurbo]

14 minutes ago, Fritz1 said:however a rather large and rare piece of test equipment is required for testing them. 

In my retirement fantasy job, I was going to overhaul dual mags. I have been gathering parts to build a mag spinner (spark gap tester) I have a suitable servo motor and controller. I just need to build some mounting brackets, mag couplers and the spark gaps, and write some software. That will take some quality time in my friends machine shop.

[EricJ]

22 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

In my retirement fantasy job, I was going to overhaul dual mags. I have been gathering parts to build a mag spinner (spark gap tester) I have a suitable servo motor and controller. I just need to build some mounting brackets, mag couplers and the spark gaps, and write some software. That will take some quality time in my friends machine shop.

Yes, it's doable, but not trivial.   The one we had at A&P school was basic and functional.    You may have seen it...if not remind me next March. 

[N201MKTurbo]

9 minutes ago, EricJ said:

Yes, it's doable, but not trivial.   The one we had at A&P school was basic and functional.    You may have seen it...if not remind me next March. 

The function of it is described in the overhaul manual. I have seen a few. You need a variable speed drive so you can test what RPM they start making spark and to test impulse couplings to see what RPM they drop out. They also need adjustable spark gaps to test the voltage output.

I was going to go overboard and put a degree wheel and a pointer on the drive shaft with a strobe to see the timing difference of the two mags.

[Fritz1]

My IA claims he will get a big old military piece from the 60s from a friend in Jersey before he kicks the bucket, then we will overhaul and test our own mags, let's see.

[Marc_B]

13 hours ago, Derrickearly said:

could replace the oil leaking right mag with a surefly electronic ignition.

+2. Did the same. Changing to Surefly makes much more sense when you’re gonna have to get a mag replaced, overhauled, or even IRAN. Then you have a  EIS with a TBO of 2400 hrs (time will tell) and timing that doesn't drift.  Smoother LOP. Easy starts. I feel it was a good upgrade. 

[802flyer]

www.aircraftmagnetoservice.net does mine. 

This is also my recommendation. I sent them mine from the east coat. Either that or go SureFly.


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[Derrickearly]

16 hours ago, 802flyer said:

This is also my recommendation. I sent them mine from the east coat. Either that or go SureFly.


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I just sent a path forward for my mag to my mechanic:  1st choice replace with a surefly.  2nd choice repair by aircraft magneto service.  3rd choice replace with a new mag. 

I'm not completely sure that I can fly a surefly. I have a io-390 in a 20f. Fingers crossed.