donmtt

donmtt

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One of my mags in my IO-360 hasn't been touched in 500 hrs. Total time is 1020 hours since new. I know it's time to have it inspected and what I'm wondering is, is it better to just buy another one?

And if so, new or "overhauled". I do have an impulse coupler in the mag. New from Aircraft Spruce it's $2350. If found an overhauled one at https://hartzellaviation.com/produc...KU4M9I8KWkfHoth_pETBj-oilhsrEmbvW6MNRX6DH-sqF

My other mag is brand new. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
 
donmtt said:
One of my mags in my IO-360 hasn't been touched in 500 hrs. Total time is 1020 hours since new. I know it's time to have it inspected and what I'm wondering is, is it better to just buy another one?

And if so, new or "overhauled". I do have an impulse coupler in the mag. New from Aircraft Spruce it's $2350. If found an overhauled one at https://hartzellaviation.com/produc...KU4M9I8KWkfHoth_pETBj-oilhsrEmbvW6MNRX6DH-sqF

My other mag is brand new. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
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I got a quote for $600 to "IRAN" what I have. I'm worried that maybe it won't be repairable and it will be a waste of time and money.
 
Why don’t you get yours overhauled? Maybe a tad more then Iran, but unless you want a spare, why buy another?
 
lipper03 said:
Why don’t you get yours overhauled? Maybe a tad more then Iran, but unless you want a spare, why buy another?
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Because mine has an impulse coupler and my shop is telling me that it's "not financially viable" to overhaul it (AKA, a new one is cheaper). My fear is that if it fails IRAN then I'm out not only the charges for inspection but the time it takes.
 
Martyrv6a said:
Try Aircraft Magneto Service in MT !
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Yeah. I've heard of them. But the same issue I just quoted is still in play. If it fails IRAN, then overhaul is more expensive then just buying a new one (or overhauled one). Plus the time wasted in turnaround.
 
Get it serviced....Avoid new, unless you have it opened up, the points set and some grease on the follower. I am amazed at the QC from Slick mags in recent years :-o
 
Let me re-write the question..."Is a 20-year-old magneto with 1000 hours on it better to be IRAN'd or replaced?"
 
I’d get other quotes on overhaul, if it’s the same as new, I’d still overhaul, as your core components have proven themselves, the overhaul takes care of the wear items.
 
I use AMS in MT for my Slick (other side is LSE PII). At 500, 1,000, 1500 hrs - ASM does a 500 hr IRAN. At 2,000 hrs, I’ll look at a new Slick, or something else. I’m watching the Champion, Lightning Slick replacement, perhaps it will be released and proven before my Slick hits 2,000 hrs.
 
Don
I had Poplar Grove Airmotive do my 500 hr inspection. Did a great job and replaced everything. I had less than 500 hours on mine but they were quick and thorough. I have Slick Mags on my 7.

Good Luck
Darren
 
My mags were roughly 18 years old when I had the 500-hr inspection done, that was around 8 years ago. They haven't given me a scrap of trouble before or after, and my airplane lives outside in a very wet environment. They seem like pretty solid units to me.
 
Sounds like a good time to put electronic ignition in place of that older mag. Food for thought…the good folks at Aircraft Magneto Service once told me an impulse coupler is the greatest source of failure on a mag.
 
Buy the overhauled one from Hartzel. Then sell the old one. Will probobly get more than the core charge. Then you won't have any downtime.
 
donmtt said:
Let me re-write the question..."Is a 20-year-old magneto with 1000 hours on it better to be IRAN'd or replaced?"
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If indeed it is 20 years old, I would replace. There could be various service bulletins/AD’s at play.

My 8 has 2100 hours in 19 years. I’ve gotten in the habit of doing one 500 hour inspection and then replace the mag with new. I turn in the old mag for the core charge. I go through Spruce because they’re in my backyard. Easy peasy. I do this my other plane too. Also, somewhere along the way I acquired a mag that was close to needing the 500 hour and got a good deal on it. So I exchanged it for a new one at Spruce and now I have a brand new spare mag on the shelf waiting for the next 500 hours.
 
donmtt said:
One of my mags in my IO-360 hasn't been touched in 500 hrs. Total time is 1020 hours since new. I know it's time to have it inspected and what I'm wondering is, is it better to just buy another one?

And if so, new or "overhauled". I do have an impulse coupler in the mag. New from Aircraft Spruce it's $2350. If found an overhauled one at https://hartzellaviation.com/produc...KU4M9I8KWkfHoth_pETBj-oilhsrEmbvW6MNRX6DH-sqF

My other mag is brand new. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
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I suggest looking into he new PowerUp magnetos before finalizing your decision. They have replaced the old impulse coupling with one that has fewer parts and made several other changes including to the coil. Take a look here: Power up Mag info. I would call the number and talk to them personally. In my mind it makes the choice between EI and mags a bit more difficult, especially after re-reading and really studying Nigel Speedy’s article that DanH recently posted a link to. BTW if I understand correctly the “Premium Overhaul” uses the new PowerUp parts in your old mag case.
 
I faced a similar question regarding new replacement vs IRAN/overhaul recently in my Cherokee. Turns out the IRAN on two Slick's was going to cost almost the same as new PowerUP's. I went with the new PowerUPS rather then spend $1500 each on a pair of 20 yr Slick magnetos.

The PowerUPS are upgraded versions of the Bendix magneto. They offer 3 models: 1. Overhauled, 2. Premium Overhaul (ie some upgraded components) 3. Factory New w/upgrades

Factory new are about 20% more than Overhauled and include all the upgraded components included in the Premium.
 
I would NOT recommend QAA/Hartzell for 500-hour inspection.

Sent a Slick 4370 there in December 2025 because they were quoting better lead times than anyone else at that time. It was an early service for this mag, only about 420 hours since the last IRAN and still running flawlessly. But I wanted to do the maintenance over the winter when I'm not flying as much.

It's totally my fault for not realizing this, but any Slick mag over 12 years old needs to have a full overhaul ($$$) instead of a 500-hour inspection. Since this mag was indeed over 12 years old since DOM, they could not perform the 500-hour. My mistake, of course. I asked them to simply return the mag to me at my expense, and I would continue to fly off the remaining 80 hours while evaluating other options.

They sent it back, all right. Disassembled, in pieces, with points and cam missing. I guess the sequence of events for mags sent there is: disassemble, throw away replacement parts, then inspect s/n to determine eligibility.

Given that PowerUp is a Hartzell brand, I think I'll stay away. AMS will be my go-to from now on.
 
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