Newbie question- time limited components

[cracker928]

Hi, all. Shopping for my first plane with strong consideration for a mooney. I know that other makes have time limits for major components such as spars and wings at which time they must be replaced. Does mooney have any such limits?

Thanks,

Neil

[N9453V]

Hi, all. Shopping for my first plane with strong consideration for a mooney. I know that other makes have time limits for major components such as spars and wings at which time they must be replaced. Does mooney have any such limits?

Thanks,

Neil

A Mooney has no life-limited airframe components. There are, however, some things to look for that can be expensive:

• Was Service Bulletin 208 complied with (if manufactured before 01/01/1976 to check for corrosion)? http://www.mooney.com/images/pdfs/sb-pdf/sbm20-208b.pdf
  
• When were the landing gear shock discs last replaced (and are they the new style if manufactured before 1966)?
  
• When was the landing gear actuator last serviced (if not manual gear)? Some landing gear actuators recommend replacement of a spring every 1500 hours, so check if this is required and if it was done.
  
• When were the fuel tanks last re-sealed? If longer than 10 years, they may need to be re-sealed again.
  

-Andrew

[cracker928]

Thanks, Andrew!

[fantom]

The no back clutch spring in landing gear actuators from '78 forward is actually recommended by SB to be replaced every 1000 hours. Not every 1500. My original one was replaced at 3500 hours TTAF and I replaced the second at 10000 hours TTAF. Hopefully the third will see me through to the end.

Jim

That's a recommended change, not a required one, and once the background of the SB is known, it would be wise to change on condition only. There is a shake/rattle that will warn that a new spring should be installed.

[scottfromiowa]

AND the biggie...not specific to Mooney, but THE most expensive pitfall. Engine TIME since overhaul...I made a HUGE error on this when I purchased my plane. If it has 1,000 hours since overhaul, but it was NOT flown regularly in last five years...LOOK OUT!

Visual checks will show MANY of the above concerns (Tanks, Corrosion, Discs), BUT the engine is THE big ticket item when buying a Mooney/pricing a Mooney. DATE of overhaul AND HOURS FLOWN are CRITICAL. Low time, BIG DEAL. NOT all time is = and a lot of time with little operation would be my NUMBER ONE area of emphasis/concern on a Mooney or any airframe.