cliffy Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 Anyone ever used Gibson Aviation El Reno OK for cylinder overhaul? I had a question come up at the airport about doing a top overhaul on a higher time O-470-R (1200 hrs) wanting to go over TBO on the bottom end. (1500 hrs TBO) I've never had occasion to use them. Looks like they do "Service Limits" stuff but if they last 500-600 hrs seems it might be a choice. They've been around a long time All ears!
LANCECASPER Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 Gibson has been around a long time and they are the cut-rate place. Around here (TX) if someone is selling an airplane they use Gibson. If someone is keeping an airplane they use J & J in Pleasanton TX (https://www.jjairparts.com/?gad_source=1) 2
hammdo Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 Sal’s in Prosper Texas is a very reputable cylinder overhaul/repair shop: https://www.mapquest.com/us/texas/sals-aircraft-cylinders-419158893 -Don
Ragsf15e Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 I don’t know about using Gibson, but I replaced one of their cylinders on my F. My mechanic somehow knew it was a Gibson, told me to prepare to replace it and then the next year, all the chrome plating was falling off the inside of the barrel.
jetdriven Posted January 28 Report Posted January 28 We just got a couple of Gibson cylinders in that the customer supplied for a bonanza, they painted all of the flanges, but they didn’t paint the barrels black, and they also painted the exhaust port. So by the time we stripped the paint under where all the base nuts go, and we stripped the paint off the exhaust flange that takes time to do. And then we had to put the cylinder on the second day to get the paint stripper time to work. The honing looks like it was done with a bottle brush by hand, and the scratches were 45 degrees at the bottom of the barrel and 30 or less at the top of the barrel. We didn’t even have time to check the choke and out of roundness and the bore diameter but I bet you that stuff wasn’t straight either. It looks like a bottle brush hone was used on the cylinder and then they painted it with a rattle can in nine minutes and sent it out. I wouldn’t put a Gibson cylinder on my Neighbors weedeater. 4 3
Jsno Posted January 29 Report Posted January 29 I spoke with them once about overhauling my cylinders. They mentioned that they would install serviceable exhaust valves. Well the sodium filled exhaust valves work harden over time and should be replaced at overhaul. Maybe it will last or maybe it will harden and break. I did not want to take the chance.
Andrew T Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 On 1/28/2026 at 4:37 PM, cliffy said: Anyone ever used Gibson Aviation El Reno OK for cylinder overhaul? I had a question come up at the airport about doing a top overhaul on a higher time O-470-R (1200 hrs) wanting to go over TBO on the bottom end. (1500 hrs TBO) I've never had occasion to use them. Looks like they do "Service Limits" stuff but if they last 500-600 hrs seems it might be a choice. They've been around a long time All ears! I used Gibson for O360 cylinders Very pleased with what I got back
47U Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 3 hours ago, Andrew T said: I used Gibson for O360 cylinders Very pleased with what I got back First post… providing feedback on a vendor. Nice job right there. A (revered) B model… would like to see some pictures. But, no pressure. Welcome!
cliffy Posted February 4 Author Report Posted February 4 12 hours ago, Andrew T said: I used Gibson for O360 cylinders Very pleased with what I got back Thanks for the feed back
201Steve Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 There is so much variance in the field across providers interpreting what an overhaul means. I had no idea this was the case. Engines, cylinders, etc. This isn’t a discussion about regs, because they don’t matter to a lot of people and there is almost never enforcement. So, it’s the Wild West. I would start by asking said shop what kind of honing machine they have. If they don’t tell you some Sunnen XXX model and fumble that question, it’s because they are using a drill with a dingle berry hone. Are drills useful? Sure. For an overhaul, GTFOH. 1
N201MKTurbo Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 The regs don’t say much about overhaul in general or cylinders in particular. And why should they? Cylinders don’t really cause accidents. When was the last time you read an accident report that said a cylinder caused the accident? Even if a cylinder goes completely off line from throwing a valve head or something, the engine will still make enough power to get you on the ground in one piece. Cylinders usually just cost you money, they don’t kill you. The FAA doesn’t care about your wallet.
201Steve Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 It doesn’t make a lot of difference to me what the standard is per the FAA, we as users just ought to stop using the word “overhauled” in general if there is no standard. Too many users think they are getting something for that term. They are instead getting whatever vendors feel like it is. We ought to just do away with the term and start treating all assembly work as an a-la-carte menu.
N201MKTurbo Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 I think as long as the cylinder and its parts are within the service limits specs in the overhaul manual, it is a legal cylinder that can be returned to service.
201Steve Posted February 4 Report Posted February 4 Sure. Call it a repair then. If I’m getting an “overhauled cylinder” I want a fresh cylinder machining, new guides, seats ground, etc. Not that you just measured it and it looks good. That would be a repair in my mind. 2
chunko Posted March 5 Report Posted March 5 On 2/4/2026 at 2:55 PM, 201Steve said: Sure. Call it a repair then. If I’m getting an “overhauled cylinder” I want a fresh cylinder machining, new guides, seats ground, etc. Not that you just measured it and it looks good. That would be a repair in my mind. That is an overhaul. If you want a fresh cylinder with new ecks, why, and zed, then that's a rebuild. These two are defined in 14 CFR § 43.2, and a rebuild costs more. If a shop is doing an overhaul of a component, they are just measuring it to see if its good enough. There is a standard, and it is set by the FAA, discovered by the OEM engineers, and posted in their acceptable data. A serviceable limit is what a shop does during an overhaul. It's perfectly safe. A new part limit is what a shop does during a rebuild. It's perfectly safe.
jetdriven Posted March 6 Report Posted March 6 On 2/4/2026 at 7:49 AM, N201MKTurbo said: The regs don’t say much about overhaul in general or cylinders in particular. And why should they? Cylinders don’t really cause accidents. When was the last time you read an accident report that said a cylinder caused the accident? Even if a cylinder goes completely off line from throwing a valve head or something, the engine will still make enough power to get you on the ground in one piece. Cylinders usually just cost you money, they don’t kill you. The FAA doesn’t care about your wallet. A friend of mine was doing eights on pylons practicing for her commercial, in a Piper Arrow. The engine started to run rough and about two seconds later it shut down. Luckily, she happened to be right on top of a grass crop duster strip and in about 20 seconds she was on the ground. They took the engine apart on the airplane and they discovered that one exhaust valve head had broken off, but it got sucked into two other cylinders and those cylinders also ended up with bent valves, so the engine completely shut down. So yes, it can certainly get you killed. Interestingly, I had flown this plane with her about four days before that, and I remembered it would only do about 120 mph with the gear in the flaps up at cruise power. There are tons of oil jugs over in the corner of the hangar, and the engine had plenty of cylinders from those discount places that advertise in trade a plane. They stuck four cylinders on this thing, and they flew it another few hours until one guy took it for a 90 minute cross country and it used up all the oil and lost oil pressure on final. He measured the height of the fence, but he did make the runway. They finally sent the whole thing off to the engine shop, were they declared the whole thing unserviceable. 1
201Steve Posted March 6 Report Posted March 6 Alright. Since nobody NOBODY uses the term REBUILT, you’ve got a lot of people to teach so get to work. 1
1980Mooney Posted March 6 Report Posted March 6 21 minutes ago, 201Steve said: Alright. Since nobody NOBODY uses the term REBUILT, you’ve got a lot of people to teach so get to work. Huh? Continental and Lycoming use the term. I have a "Rebuilt" from the Continental factory. You can buy NEW, REBUILT or OVERHAULED from either company.
jetdriven Posted March 6 Report Posted March 6 They use the term for the whole engine, but not for cylinders. For example, how does a rebuilt cylinder meet all new tolerances? You guys take a look at that tag that comes with a Gibson cylinder, it says repaired. And that could mean anything too. It means that it was in one piece when it left their shop. 1 1
201Steve Posted March 8 Report Posted March 8 @jetdriven exactly. @1980Mooney is talking about factory engine exchange options while we are discussing engine accessories where the term rebuilt is not used AT ALL. he makes a good point though. Factory rebuilt is about the only place that term appears. We don’t use it anywhere else. It just further adds to the point I’m making, you shouldn’t rely on the terms for any universal meaning. It’s whatever the entity saying it decides to interpret it as.
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