C182 Engine Question

Hawkdriver1965

Hawkdriver1965

Filing Flight Plan
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Old Retired Guy
I am planning to buy an older 182R (Mid-80's model). I'm not there yet though, but I am wondering if I find one that is up against a TBO that has the O-470, am I better off replacing it with a newer fuel injected motor (If that's possible) or just doing a factory reman? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a newby at airplanes, so the experience here is valuable! Thank you!
 
Do you fly near icing conditions from time to time?

Do you care about rich or lean of peak?

I assume but don’t know if injected has better gas mileage. Make up some numbers and then decide-2 gallon per hour saving times 50 hours a year = $500. So how many years to get that initial outlay back?

Etc

Good luck!
 
It’s a matter of wallet first. It’ll cost more to get an injected engine. I have an IO-470 in my 182P, but I bought it that way.

Second, you get a few benefits:
-No carb heat.
-You can fly lean-of-peak and save fuel if you like.
-My engine is 260hp and helps with climb performance.

Hot starts are different, some say finicky, but not a big deal.

Also, your ability to run Mogas may go away with the injected engine due to higher compression.

One other thing to check is TBO of carbed vs injected choice.

Speaking of TBO, unless something is wrong with the engine, no need to replace it at TBO. Fly it til it needs overhaul.
 
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I wouldn’t pay for a Factory Reman and we just swapped our motor earlier this year. There’s enough quality engine shops with better warranties, lower prices, and faster turnaround.
 
Ask yourself what are you trying to achieve by doing so?
 
Hawkdriver1965 said:
I am planning to buy an older 182R (Mid-80's model). I'm not there yet though, but I am wondering if I find one that is up against a TBO that has the O-470, am I better off replacing it with a newer fuel injected motor (If that's possible) or just doing a factory reman? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a newby at airplanes, so the experience here is valuable! Thank you!
Click to expand...

It’s not as easy as an engine swap. The O-470 is a simple gravity fuel system. For an injected engine, you will need to modify the fuel system to include an electric fuel pump, full pump switch. a fuel pressure / flow gauge , maybe different fuel selector, control cables and return lines. It all adds up.
 
I’ve had zero issues with my o-470-u in my 81, other than typical wear and tear stuff. Starts within 2 blades every time, cruises at 140kts, it’s quiet, and TBO is 2200hrs. You always want more power though. PPonk/XP470 is the route I’d go for that.
 
Hawkdriver1965 said:
Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a newby at airplanes,
Click to expand...
FWIW: If you haven't done so already, discuss this with the mechanic you plan to use after you purchase this aircraft for the most important subjective input. It will be his determination that will have the ultimate effect on that motor come annual time.
 
Hawkdriver1965 said:
I am planning to buy an older 182R (Mid-80's model). I'm not there yet though, but I am wondering if I find one that is up against a TBO that has the O-470, am I better off replacing it with a newer fuel injected motor (If that's possible) or just doing a factory reman? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm a newby at airplanes, so the experience here is valuable! Thank you!
Click to expand...
Just fly it until the oil pressure falls below specs. If compression falls replace the jug. If you decide to rebuild, keep it factory. Injection requires LOTS of alterations. Electric fuel pump is not all that's needed. I changed planes years ago and only noticed lack of carb heat as advantageous
 
Clip4 said:
It’s not as easy as an engine swap. The O-470 is a simple gravity fuel system. For an injected engine, you will need to modify the fuel system to include an electric fuel pump, full pump switch. a fuel pressure / flow gauge , maybe different fuel selector, control cables and return lines. It all adds up.
Click to expand...

Added header tank on my conversation too.
 
Clip4 said:
It’s not as easy as an engine swap. The O-470 is a simple gravity fuel system. For an injected engine, you will need to modify the fuel system to include an electric fuel pump, full pump switch. a fuel pressure / flow gauge , maybe different fuel selector, control cables and return lines.
Click to expand...
As 455Bravo says, a header tank also has to be installed.

I did the IO-550 Air Plains conversion in a 180. The 182 would be about the same. There was an awful lot of work to it, including some difficult fuel system plumbing changes behind the firewall. That takes a lot of expensive shop time. Cutting and forming aluminum fuel tubing to the exact shapes that would fit in the constricted places they had to go, without interfering with control cables and pulleys and the rudder trim mechanism. A 182 also has steering bungees in there to make it even more interesting. A separate cable-operated fuel shutoff has to go at the bottom of that fuel reservoir, too; the original fuel selector has an off position, but it shuts the fuel off upstream of that header tank, and a distracted pilot can take off and have the engine quit if the selector is off. The header tank's fuel allows that. Crunch.

Fly it the way it is. It's better to buy an airplane with all that stuff in it if you want it. The only reason this 180 was done up that way was because 180s were last built in 1986, and the owner wanted all the goodies. Cost was no object.
 
Dan Thomas said:
A separate cable-operated fuel shutoff has to go at the bottom of that fuel reservoir, too; the original fuel selector has an off position, but it shuts the fuel off upstream of that header tank, and a distracted pilot can take off and have the engine quit if the selector is off.
Click to expand...
The 182's I've seen with the AirPlains mod had a physical block off (piece of metal with some bent up fingers) installed on the fuel selector (at the trim level, just under the selector knob) that prevented the selector being moved to the off position.

The other thing that is odd about the mod (I've only seen 182's with the older 520 mod, which I believe is the pretty much the same) is the header tank was only fed from the left tank, and all excess fuel from the servo returns to the right tank. Which definitely requires awareness of!

They sure climb like a bat out of hell though, but definitely very forward CG and a lot of useful load lost from the extra weight. It's an interesting mod, but not without some drawbacks.
 
When looking at a plane that is near TBO, factor in how long it will take to get a reman or to have a shop rebuild, and the availability of the shop to install.

Also look at the cost, not just the price of the plane. A reman is about $70,000 installed BTW. So take ($70,000/2000 hours) X ( 2000 - (2000-Current Hours) ), up to an upper limit of $70,000. Add that to the price of the plane to tell you what it really costs.
 
Ryan Klems said:
The 182's I've seen with the AirPlains mod had a physical block off (piece of metal with some bent up fingers) installed on the fuel selector (at the trim level, just under the selector knob) that prevented the selector being moved to the off position.
Click to expand...
Yes, that was to prevent the taking off with the selector off. But it also required a separate fuel shutoff (to comply with FAR 23) at the header outlet. The injected 185s were all built like this from the factory.
 
Ryan Klems said:
The other thing that is odd about the mod (I've only seen 182's with the older 520 mod, which I believe is the pretty much the same) is the header tank was only fed from the left tank, and all excess fuel from the servo returns to the right tank. Which definitely requires awareness of!
Click to expand...
Something wrong there; maybe the whole thing was misplumbed by the installing mechanic. The header is fed from the selector outlet so that either tank can feed. The fuel return is to the header, not either of the mains. The header is vented to the right main tank at the vent crossover tube.
 
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