overhaul shops

[billy hellcat]

Just looking for recommendations for good engine overhaul shops for my 0-360.

Costs

or factory rebuilt?

 

Midwest area preferably.

 

Thanks

[philiplane]

Columbia Aircraft Engines in Bloomsburg PA. They can quote you for several options.

A Lycoming factory rebuilt is 8-12 months out minimum, some models are 24 months out. Cost is about $41K for overhauled, zero-time rebuilt is $49,800. If your core is not acceptable, add another $30k.

[MikeOH]

I'm curious: how often is a core deemed 'not acceptable'?  Always worried me; think you're in for "only" $50K...and it turns into $80K

Anyone have any data? Opinions? Wild guesses?

[BDPetersen]

Check out Signature in Cincinnati. Curious to see what you find. I’ve always had good interactions with them for many years, but no full engine overhaul. John Buckles is the guy.

[201Steve]

9 hours ago, billy hellcat said:

Midwest area preferably.

Just make sure you stay far away from the boot heel of Missouri. Do not under any circumstance find an old thread on here and consider Jewell Aviation Kennett, MO unless you want to walk away with a high probability of parts falling off, or blowing off, your engine. 

My safety contribution for the day. Sorry I don’t have any positive recs in the area but others will. I will say, call several shops to compare prices and time. It seems the turnaround time can vary widely. 

[Brian2034]

Aerotec Engines in Nova Scotia, Canada 

They handle all of our rebuilds / overhauls, great shop and easy to deal with. Last time I was at there facility they had a number of engines going through for U.S. customers. The owner mentioned with the exchange rate on the dollar they had more American customers than local.

 

[AndreiC]

Poplar Grove, IL is a well known shop. They do many engines. I have not had engine work done by them, but I've known of themfor over 25 years. They seem to be solid, and their work balancing my prop was very good.

[philiplane]

9 hours ago, MikeOH said:

I'm curious: how often is a core deemed 'not acceptable'?  Always worried me; think you're in for "only" $50K...and it turns into $80K

Anyone have any data? Opinions? Wild guesses?

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/file/2021-12/21LYC-LycomingLoyaltyMatrix-TBO_Brochure.pdf

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/attachments/Lycoming%20Engines%20Exchange%20Engine%20Core%20Policy.pdf

[TangoTango]

43 minutes ago, philiplane said:

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/file/2021-12/21LYC-LycomingLoyaltyMatrix-TBO_Brochure.pdf

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/attachments/Lycoming%20Engines%20Exchange%20Engine%20Core%20Policy.pdf

The brochure appears very promising, but Service Letter 250 section C part 4 makes me nervous. What does Lycoming consider "catastrophic internal damage"? Is a spalled crankshaft "catastrophic", or does Lycoming take a more conservative approach?

[philiplane]

27 minutes ago, TangoTango said:

The brochure appears very promising, but Service Letter 250 section C part 4 makes me nervous. What does Lycoming consider "catastrophic internal damage"? Is a spalled crankshaft "catastrophic", or does Lycoming take a more conservative approach?

The crankshaft, rods, and crankcase must be re-usable. They throw nearly everything else away. Cam & cylinders are ground up and recycled. 

[DXB]

12 hours ago, billy hellcat said:

Just looking for recommendations for good engine overhaul shops for my 0-360.

Costs

or factory rebuilt?

 

Midwest area preferably.

 

Thanks

 

3 hours ago, BDPetersen said:

Check out Signature in Cincinnati. Curious to see what you find. I’ve always had good interactions with them for many years, but no full engine overhaul. John Buckles is the guy.

FWIW, here's my story. I just had my C's O-360-A1D overhauled last fall after contacting several of the decently reputable major overhaul shops east of the Rockies (Columbia, Penn Yan, Western Skyways, Poplar Grove, JB, Zephyr, Airmark, Signature).  The best quoted price / turnaround time combination was Signature (~32k, 8-10wks).   Timing however is contingent on any components that need to get sent out to get re-worked coming back in a timely manner.  My crank was sent out and came back in 6-8 weeks. However my case, which had some fretting, was predicted to be very slow coming back (it ultimately took 4-5 months).  To avoid delay, I ended up sourcing the correct Divco-refreshed case off ebay for 6k, and the shop bought my old case from me when it came back for 4.8k.   My engine was finished in 12 weeks, which isn't bad.  

Overall Signature and specifically John Buckles were decent to deal with, particuarly on the front end. There were some concerns (I think fairly minor) and annoyances during the assembly phase and after the engine delivery (happy to discuss offline).  Since I had the engine pulled and re-installed on the field, I appreciated that they let me use their hangar to store the plane while it was down free of charge.  If you decide to use Signature and particularly if fly your plane there for removal and reinstall, I can give you lots of guidance on who to work with on the field for that work and how best to work with them - feel free to DM me.

[Skates97]

11 hours ago, philiplane said:

Columbia Aircraft Engines in Bloomsburg PA. They can quote you for several options.

A Lycoming factory rebuilt is 8-12 months out minimum, some models are 24 months out. Cost is about $41K for overhauled, zero-time rebuilt is $49,800. If your core is not acceptable, add another $30k.

I replaced my O-360-A1D last year. I had been shopping for a core that I could send out for overhaul with no luck and ordered an engine from Airpower. I sent them the $8,000 deposit and was told 12-14 months. 12 months later I checked on the status and was told an additional 6 months so started shopping again. I found one at Airmark Engines in FL that they said they could have overhauled in 7-9 weeks with a cost of $33k for the overhaul. They had it done and ready to ship in 6 weeks.

After sending my core back it was deemed not acceptable.  It was an old narrow deck with 7445 total hours. The shops that the case and crank were sent out to condemned them. The reports from the shops stated the case was "TOO THIN TO REPAIR" and the reject reason for the crank was "DEEP GROOVES IN ROD THR DID NOT CLEAN UP AT MAX." Fortunately for me the core cost was $16k and not $30k. I am told that if you go through Lycoming they will accept any core but can't confirm.

[KSMooniac]

Midwest Aircraft Services Inc. - Aircraft Repairs Newton KS has done great work for me and many others I know around the Wichita, KS area.  They are experts with some of the big & complicated Lycoming engines and get those in from all over the country.

Barret Precision Engines in Tulsa is also good... I used them for my overhaul but more as a subcontractor.  I intended to assemble my engine under supervision to gain that experience, but my plan got derailed and I was left in a pickle after getting everything back from Barret, Divco, Aircraft Specialties, Firewall Forward, etc.  Midwest was willing to take all of my parts (with tags/records) and assemble them into a functioning engine and sign it off, fortunately.  

I chose to spec my own overhaul so I could get the "extras" done such as the Centrilube Cam mod from Firewall Forward, along with precision balancing from Barrett for the rotating components AND flow-matched cylinders.  Those were my first-run jugs that they overhauled.  After a break-in and dynamic prop balance, we got it down to 0.01 IPS and it feels like a sewing machine instead of a lumpy 4-banger.  I was also confident my crank, case, jugs, etc. were good, otherwise I might have considered a factory option.

Powermasters in Tulsa has a stellar reputation on Beechtalk, and I know of some Mooney owners that have used them as well.  They're experts with the big Continental engines, but I think they can work their magic with Lycomings as well.  

[Hank]

Signature did my engine (O-360-A1D) many moons ago for the previous owner. Twenty two years and pushing 1100 hours, with a couple years' not flying before I bought her. Still going strong!

[BrianWilkins]

Poplar Grove Airmotive in Poplar Grove, IL is a very good engine shop and stand behind their work. I had my IO360 overhauled there.

https://www.poplargroveairmotive.com/

 

[47U]

1 hour ago, Skates97 said:

After sending my core back it was deemed not acceptable.  It was an old narrow deck with 7445 total hours.

So, did you end up with a wide deck instead of a narrow deck?  If so, was there any difficulty in that transition?

[MikeOH]

2 hours ago, BrianWilkins said:

Poplar Grove Airmotive in Poplar Grove, IL is a very good engine shop and stand behind their work. I had my IO360 overhauled there.

https://www.poplargroveairmotive.com/

 

I had them quote my IO-360A1A back in October 2024.  $36.7K with OH cylinders, $38.3K with new Cont/ECI cylinders.  Pricing assumed that crank/cam/cases check ok. Shipping to/from California was just under $1K.  Lead time was 26 weeks. Approximately 18 weeks with $15K pre-payment for parts to be pre-ordered.

[Skates97]

4 hours ago, 47U said:

So, did you end up with a wide deck instead of a narrow deck?  If so, was there any difficulty in that transition?

Yes, wide deck. The doghouse had to be modified a little and I had to buy a new starter ring gear and support.

[Igor_U]

6 hours ago, Skates97 said:

 

After sending my core back it was deemed not acceptable.  It was an old narrow deck with 7445 total hours. The shops that the case and crank were sent out to condemned them. The reports from the shops stated the case was "TOO THIN TO REPAIR" and the reject reason for the crank was "DEEP GROOVES IN ROD THR DID NOT CLEAN UP AT MAX." Fortunately for me the core cost was $16k and not $30k. I am told that if you go through Lycoming they will accept any core but can't confirm.

This is correct, or at least it was in 2021 when I got a rebuilt IO360 from Lycoming. On my engine, case was cracked and couldn't be repaired. Also previous OH, done by well known shop in CA, screwed up and mixed the narrow deck camshaft and accessory case on my Wide deck engine. This and few other things was found out after the shop I intended to use (forgot the name: in Kamloops, BC) took the engine apart for OH. Basically, they told me Factory rebuilt would be a better deal (Lyc OH was not an option).

They placed the call to factory sales rep and so factory accepted the engine in pieces, even I've heard often that can't be done. It can! It sure helped they were decent size shop and dealer of the engines and had a great relation with factory.

[Scooter]

Just had my O360 overhauled at American Aircraft in Tulsa. $31 out the door. They do all the rebuilds on the Civil Air Patrol. Great people to work with.

[bigmo]

On 4/9/2025 at 1:29 AM, Scooter said:

Just had my O360 overhauled at American Aircraft in Tulsa. $31 out the door. They do all the rebuilds on the Civil Air Patrol. Great people to work with.

That seems pretty reasonable. What were your cylinder options?

[varlajo]

On 4/8/2025 at 11:29 PM, Scooter said:

Just had my O360 overhauled at American Aircraft in Tulsa. $31 out the door. They do all the rebuilds on the Civil Air Patrol. Great people to work with.

America's Aircraft Engines?

[EricJ]

11 hours ago, varlajo said:

America's Aircraft Engines?

Yes, those guys.   I fly behind their engines from time to time, including breaking in the freshly overhauled units, and they've been reliable.   

[Scooter]

Yes American Aircraft Engines. Just before I was walking out they were installing a dyno for engine run up and testing instead of just putting it on the stand. Their time if I recall was like 2 months but I told them to take their time because I had other things going on. As far as cylinder options you would have to talk to them. I got the mellinium.