Engine overhaul time - Lycoming IO-360-M1A

[mhoran]

Flew down to Augusta, GA today so I can bring the plane back to Watson Aero tomorrow. James and I discussed the situation, he can't think of how the drive gear would be out of place without ripping the internal teeth to shreds. But the rocking does seem to be indicating that something is off. Maybe the case, maybe something else.

Since I can't catch a break it also seems my starter is dying. First (cold) start this morning made a terrible grinding noise. I've found this to mean I only have a few more starts before the thing rips itself to shreds. I don't understand why we have such bad luck with them. We follow all the recommendations from SkyTec (no cranking more than 10 seconds, 20 seconds between cranks, no more than 6 cranks before waiting 30 minutes.) But this will be the third time we've had to replace it in 10 years.

Will report back once James figures out what's up, hopefully that will be the end of it.

[Steve]

That starter is bad luck, but at least you will have the airplane in the shop. I've replaced my starter twice in 22 years. SkyTec used to have a repair (rebuild) option that was less expensive than a new starter, and the turn around was like two days for me (first replacement). They don't offer that option anymore, and require a core deposit of around $200 until they get your old starter back. I'm due for another failure, so I keep a spare in the hangar...

[Charles]

After a little under 12 months since the overhaul and about 70 flight hours, the CHT for cylinder #4 which was initially 40F hotter than the others seems to have settled down. We'll know for sure when summer temperatures are back but now #4 is no longer the hottest cylinder so I'm optimistic that that issue has resolved itself.

My only remaining gripe is that my old injectors were perfectly balanced and EGTs all peaked within less than 0.5gph which allowed smooth LOP operation. With the new injectors, I now have one injector that peaks a little over 1gph richer than the 3 others so I will be looking into GAMIs later this year after I pass the 100 hour mark.

All in all, I'm very happy with the overhaul and the plane flies wonderfully.

[mhoran]

Our engine is also running well now that the oil leak has been resolved. Still have a small leak at the oil filler tube, hopefully that will be taken care of at our upcoming annual. There are some gaps in the baffle I’d like to seal up as well to try and improve cooling on the hottest of days. But keeping temps manageable has been pretty easy, even through my cross-country trip last summer.

Seems like overhaul timelines have come down a bit since we went through this process and three months is more normal. Parts availability has improved as well. The issues I had with Divco backlog are also resolved, so shops seem to be moving through their backlogs with less delay. James at Watson Aero has become incredibly busy and has stopped doing R&R, only overhauling engines and sending them out in crates. Still super impressed with his work and the fact that he stood by all he did.

[Charles]

Speaking of shops, I was a bit angry at my shop for not wanting to do anything about the hot cylinder, which they dismissed as something that would work itself out "eventually". In retrospect, they were right and I was wrong to want them to take it apart for investigating.

[Diamondsare4ever]

I direct DA40 Maintenance for a flight school. We end up changing a few engines a year. Recently I've used Penn Yann Aero up in New York just because they're one of the few shops that have some overhaul exchange M1A's, allowing us to reduce downtime. Signature engines in Cincinnati or Western Skyways in Colorado are also good options, though didn't have exchange options the last time I checked. Penn Yann has been running about $32,000 recently, you might be able to work out a deal with them being a charity.

In the case of having he work done in a different state, do you fly the plane their, or have the engined removed and shipped?

[Charles]

The overhaul shop that did my engine is about 200 miles away from my base. The shop that does my routine maintenance at my base airport removed the engine from the airplane and put it on a wooden pallet, and the overhaul shop picked it up with their truck and delivered it back after the overhaul. This is normal practice. Jet engines are almost always shipped over long distances for their overhauls, sometimes halfway around the world.

[SLB_DA40]

Me and a buddy recently purchased a 2008 DA40 with a zero hour engine rebuilt by Penn Yann. Flown it 50 hours in two months with no issues so far. Replaced 2 quarts of mineral oil in that time and now running motor oil. Screens and filters all clean. IIRC, it was $37k but included all new hoses, lines, etc.

[jwx96]

Do you know if Penn Yan used new Lycoming cylinders or did they overhaul the old ones. They advertise that they are very good at cylinder overhaul. I’m wondering if new cylinders are becoming more available. The price seems good compared to a factory reman engine. Enjoy your new plane!

[antoinemo]

We're putting in an overhauled engine in ours now. The quote I got from Penn Yan back in December was $39k with overhauled Penn Yan steel cylinders, or $43k with factory new. The lead time was 20 weeks for an overhaul or an exchange, so we ended up going with Aerotec in Canada. 10 weeks end to end to get an overhauled engine on exchange, $38k with new Lycoming cylinders. The engine is being put in right now, but so far happy with my experience with Aerotec.