Looking for advice from those smarter than me. I'm certainly more of an operator than engine mechanic.
I have an older O-360 C2A installed on my RV-4. The engine was overhauled in 2002 and sat (but preserved) until 2009 when I first flew my RV-4. I do not know the total years in service on this engine or number of times it has been overhauled. Oil consumption has always been slightly high (1 quart per 5 hours), I'm guessing due to a less than stellar break-in by me. The perils of a newly OH'd engine and new plane test flight regime. I recently added an air/oil separator and the consumption is down to 1 quart per 8 hours.
I now have 600 hours SMOH and the engine is starting to tell me it's maybe time to take action. A few oil samples ago, the iron went up quite a bit, but has since worked itself most of the way back down to where it was historically, but not all of the way. Silicone was higher on the last sample as well. Compressions are fine (mid to high 70s) and the engine still runs well, and the performance has not dropped off at all. It is leaking oil a bit more than it used to but I have yet to determine where it is coming from. Guessing a few tablespoons per flight based on what I'm seeing on the belly. Not enough to see on the dipstick but annoying for cleanup. I fly the aircraft regularly - 2 or 3 times a week on average, if not more.
Any advice on what path to take? Here are my options: Of course it gets more expensive the further I go down the list but the safety factor goes up as well
- Continue to run it as is, and monitor with borescope inspections, compression checks, oils samples, etc.
- Pay for a teardown and then repair as required
- Suck it up and do a major overhaul
- Screw that old hunk of junk and go new.
I was leaning towards having a teardown done, and received a quote for just under $13,000. The provider of this quote thinks the total price to bring it back up to very good condition will be more once any required repairs are done. So that makes me think more about doing a major OH, but then with the unknown age or total time of the engine, would a major OH be a waste of money in the long run?
I did not put "top overhaul" on the list as I am not too concerened about the cylinders - more the bottom end. Not sure if that is a good thought process or not.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Rick
I have an older O-360 C2A installed on my RV-4. The engine was overhauled in 2002 and sat (but preserved) until 2009 when I first flew my RV-4. I do not know the total years in service on this engine or number of times it has been overhauled. Oil consumption has always been slightly high (1 quart per 5 hours), I'm guessing due to a less than stellar break-in by me. The perils of a newly OH'd engine and new plane test flight regime. I recently added an air/oil separator and the consumption is down to 1 quart per 8 hours.
I now have 600 hours SMOH and the engine is starting to tell me it's maybe time to take action. A few oil samples ago, the iron went up quite a bit, but has since worked itself most of the way back down to where it was historically, but not all of the way. Silicone was higher on the last sample as well. Compressions are fine (mid to high 70s) and the engine still runs well, and the performance has not dropped off at all. It is leaking oil a bit more than it used to but I have yet to determine where it is coming from. Guessing a few tablespoons per flight based on what I'm seeing on the belly. Not enough to see on the dipstick but annoying for cleanup. I fly the aircraft regularly - 2 or 3 times a week on average, if not more.
Any advice on what path to take? Here are my options: Of course it gets more expensive the further I go down the list but the safety factor goes up as well
- Continue to run it as is, and monitor with borescope inspections, compression checks, oils samples, etc.
- Pay for a teardown and then repair as required
- Suck it up and do a major overhaul
- Screw that old hunk of junk and go new.
I was leaning towards having a teardown done, and received a quote for just under $13,000. The provider of this quote thinks the total price to bring it back up to very good condition will be more once any required repairs are done. So that makes me think more about doing a major OH, but then with the unknown age or total time of the engine, would a major OH be a waste of money in the long run?
I did not put "top overhaul" on the list as I am not too concerened about the cylinders - more the bottom end. Not sure if that is a good thought process or not.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Rick