Things to look out for with an older C / Ranger model?

[Losbright1]

What would be the top things you look at to assess the condition of a 1970 M20C Ranger? Are there any known issues that would be a deal-breaker if you found them? I am not at all knowledgeable on Mooneys, so anything from simple to complex that you'd want to put your eyes/hands on before considering one for purchase..?

[Ragsf15e]

26 minutes ago, Losbright1 said:

What would be the top things you look at to assess the condition of a 1970 M20C Ranger? Are there any known issues that would be a deal-breaker if you found them? I am not at all knowledgeable on Mooneys, so anything from simple to complex that you'd want to put your eyes/hands on before considering one for purchase..?

Corrosion is a killer. Specifically on the spar, stub spar, interior spar (under the back seats) and on the steel cage structure.  Definitely check for corrosion.  
They are wet wings too, but those can be fixed or completely resealed if required, however it can be expensive.  Looking for blue leaks is worthwhile but not necessarily a killer.

Otherwise they are pretty straightforward as far as engine, landing gear, flight controls, etc.

[MikeOH]

Check age/condition of the landing gear shock discs.  They are pretty pricey!

[bigmo]

Own a 1970 F - so a lot will apply. Literally everything else can be price adjusted out sans corrosion. It’s not a huge deal to pull the seats, and enough interior panels to look at the tubular structure,

 West I learned during my Mooney buying process is that there are some gems out there that look a little more like a gremlin (aesthetically speaking), and some monsters that look like gems.

I had a pretty high bar on my wants & needs and did get them all (but paid for them). One of my non negotiables was no damage history. It’s getting harder and harder to find a Mooney that’s not slid down the runway on its belly.

If it’s missing something you really want or need, be realistic with the time and $ that’ll cost. Ie bad paint will be $25k+. A new autopilot, also $25k. A new navigator, at least $10k. It’s not just the $ but the time the plane will be down.

 Good luck 

[LardLad]

There isn't a ton of model specific stuff to watch out for, the big ticket items are corrosion, engine condition, avionics, etc. that apply to any plane.

The only C model stuff I can think of are landing gear disc condition, leaky wet wing, whether or not the original PC wing leveler is still installed and if so then it's condition, and the potential for a recurring 100 hour eddy current inspection on the prop.

None of those are anything like a "deal breaker", just the only Mooney/Ranger specific things I can think of.

[Utah20Gflyer]

As previously mentioned Corrosion is probably the ultimate deal breaker as it can easily total a plane if it’s in a critical area. 
 

I would say the biggest thing you want to look for is a plane that flies a lot and is getting maintained.   It should be kept clean with an absolute minimum of squawks.  What ever you find initially will only scratch the surface of what’s actually there.  
 

The top end of the market will generally provide the lowest total cost of ownership.  
 

There are a lot of flying projects out there.  Unless you like spending lots of money and not flying I would avoid those.  

[47U]

7 hours ago, Losbright1 said:

I am not at all knowledgeable on Mooneys, so anything from simple to complex that you'd want to put your eyes/hands on before considering one for purchase..?

If the airplane has a flap-extend speed of 100 mph, you should check to see if the center splice is cracked, SBM 20-217.  Best way to check for a crack is to pump the flaps all the way down which puts stress on the center splice.  If there’s a crack, it will be much easier to see.

The repair isn’t difficult, but will require a significant number of shop hours.  

https://mooney.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/SBM20-217.pdf

[Hank]

16 hours ago, MikeOH said:

Check age/condition of the landing gear shock discs.  They are pretty pricey!

The manufacture date is molded into the edge of the discs. Be careful if they're upside down--I thought mine said "06-96", but they were upside down; when removed for replacement several years after buying my 1970 Ranger and turning right side up, they actually said "09-69". New shock discs land so much smoother than 40+ year old ones!

There's much less worry about the flaps, Rangers have 125 mph electric flaps and 120 mph electric gear.

Plan on simple 500 fpm descent (I prefer power on, periodically reducing throttle and richening the mixture to reset cruise values all the way to pattern altitude), then give yourself 3-4 miles to slow to Flap speed and drop Takeoff Flaps by pattern entry. Once you can do that regularly, you can reduce the distance from the field, but after 17 years I still aim for about 2 miles or a little more.

Good luck, search well and enjoy your new ride! Mine has been great fun, and we're still enjoying it!!

[Z W]

Had a '68 C ranger for a while. Great plane. Got my instrument rating in it.

Did have trouble for a while with the hydraulic flap system. Kept springing leaks. Eventually got it fixed, it was just O-rings, seals, and shop time. Plane lands and takes off fine without flaps.

Did find corrosion in a wing spar cap. Cost 25%+ of the plane's value to fix it. Maybe could have scrapped it but it was a good plane. Glad we did fix it - Someone is still flying it on the east coast. Check carefully for corrosion everywhere you can, just like with all 50+ year old airplanes. Otherwise fly on.

[cliffy]

Here ya go-

Check that all the model numbers and serial numbers match on everything with the log book, engine, prop, airframe, I do radios also. Actually read the data plates and compare to the logs. Check that the parts actually installed match what is contained in the TCDS and/or the logs show an STC change for the big stuff and changes for radios and electronics. Anything added like engine monitors, fuel flow gauges, etc should show an STC listing in the log books. 

Pull the rear seat bottom and open up the inspection holes to check for corrosion on the spar caps. Look at the spars real well in the main wheel wells for same. 

As noted fill up fuel tanks the night before and look for leaks the next day.

If you can jack the airplane do a gear over center torque check. Make sure the A&P has the correct tools to do it.

While on jacks, move the main gears in and out toward the wing tips for excessive movement. Lift the main wheels to check for play in the donuts. The donuts should expand enough after 5 mins unloaded to not have much movement. Check the mouse boots for condition in the main wheel wells. While down by the main gear look at the spar bottom between the fuselage and wheel wells. Look for smoking rivets there. The rivets that hold the spar sandwich together. That can be a big $$$$$$. I found one in AU with almost every rivet loose on the bottom of the spar. It was grounded by the owner when Kerrville said it had to be repaired. 

Nose gear area - if on jacks this is easy- twist the nose wheel left and right to check for excessive play in the steering linkage. More than about 10-15 degrees either side of center before tightening up on the linkage is too much. You will see the slop way at the top of the nose gear on the rod end linkage up there.  

Most important on the nose gear! Look and feel for dents where the steering system touches on the tubing for dents where it touches. Turn the wheel by hand and you will see where it touches and stops. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO DENTS THERE!

The limit is 1/32" depression. Any dents and the nose gear comes out for repair $$$$

On the tail surfaces grab the tip of the stabilizer and try to move it up and down and fore and aft. If it moves or clicks you might have work to do. Limits are about 1/10th of an inch either way. Usually fixed by changing out the "close tolerance bolts' in the hinge. As noted lift up on the rudder to check for play in the jackscrew. Same limit about 1/10 of an inch. Lots of times it is wear on the 2 bolt hinge bracket at the aft end of the jackscrew and not the jackscrew it self. I found one stabilizer that moved 1/2 inch either side of center!

Look over the outside surface of the entire airplane for dents, filliform corrosion, hangar rash (the elevator tips seem to be especially susceptible to this damage and NO repairs are allowed to control surfaces (no patches, partial skin replacement, etc). The FAA in one case here on MS made a big thing out of this stuff on a routine ramp check on one of our posters. Basically they said it didn't come that way from the factory so fix it. 

I check all the exterior control surface rod ends to see if they are loose enough to move or if dry and frozen. If dry and frozen I start looking at the logs real close to see if the lube and gear swing AD had been being done. 

One item missed almost always due to the effort but it can cause big headaches, is pulling the sidewalls inside and actually looking at the steel tubing frame for rust. If the windows are not sealed well, water gets in there and runs down inside on the tubes and rusts them. The insulation SB aside. There is actually a SB describing how to check for leaks by pulling the sidewalls and directing a water hose at the windows looking for leaks. 

Make sure everything, and I mean every switch, knob and button works as designed! Put power to it and try all radios in all modes, all lights, all warnings (landing gear warning horn, stall warning horn, etc), all exterior lights, everything that can be turned on or off or moved in and out. There was one write up on here a while back where someone bought a Mooney and the stall warning didn't work nor did the gear warning (IIRC). That makes the airplane unairworthy. 

If on jacks (and it should be) do a gear swing and make sure the gear works properly. I've seen them signed off 3 months ago and they hang 3" from the wells when sucked up. If its electric gear do a manual drop also to make sure it works. Had a couple on this board recently that went in for annual and the manual gear drop didn't work. So check it out. Look to see if the gear actuator has ever been removed, cleaned, checked for proper gear lash and relubed. If it hasn't you may be doing that on the next annual yourself  It's that important. Disregard if its a manual gear.

It goes without saying that a full log book check is required for all applicable ADs and required inspections even though the annual has just been done. The logs tell a story and knowing how to read them is a skill. Make sure you know what to look for or have someone that does. 

The engine stuff is the normal stuff. Compression check, oil filter inspection, looking for leaks, cracks, anything not normal. Pull the plugs and read them, they too have a story to tell. 

My caution to any whom I help buy an airplane? Trust no one selling an airplane period. Take nothing for granted. Don't trust anything even though it just had an annual. If you do, it will bite you in the arse. Check and verify everything before money changes hands. Once you pay for it , its yours!

Good luck and show us pictures even of the prebuy!   :-) :-)

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