David Clifford
Well Known Member
I purchased an IO-540 V4A5 Lycoming that had a light prop strike. It is a 2001 with 461 hours SNEW. The previous owner had a first prop strike @ around 300 hours and the engine was removed and shipped to Lyc for inspection and repair. The crankshaft was replaced at that time with a brand new one to comply with the crankshaft AD. New rings, bearings,,,ect were installed at that time. I purchased it after his second prop strike @ 461 hours. I disassembled the engine last Friday and am leaning towards Aircraft Specialties to check and repair the crank flange,,,it dials .008 so there is a good chance it can be repaired. My first question is if anyone can provide a recommendation on their services and second is just how far should I go in replacing parts? i.e. bearings and rings that have 160 hours use on them and are just barely broken in. I know that It would be a good idea to replace this stuff while the engine is apart, but considering the costs of Lycoming engine parts, I am trying to get this done as cheaply as possible. My thoughts are to just send out the crank and do a cleaning and inspection of everything else and verifing everything is within limits, just cleaning up the cylinders and pistons/rings, and reassembling the engine with new gaskets, the repaired crankshaft, and the cleaned-up parts. Any comments or suggestions from knowledgable aircraft engine folks here would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.