While the engine is off ....

The timeline of the thread confuses me a little. Independent of your voluntary airplane teardown/rebuild, how long did it take to get your engine back overhauled?

Trying to set expectations on my end, as I'm going on a month of just watching the legal lawn ornament formerly known as 'airplane' collecting dust in that hangar, and the mechanic saying his preferred engine shop was "still quoting parts" as of this weekend. I have a theory, but I'm trying to keep it to myself and confirm, before I make drastic changes to my current relationship and/or my involvement in the hobby going forward.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Independent of your voluntary airplane teardown/rebuild, how long did it take to get your engine back overhauled?
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Can't really give you a straight answer, but I can clarify the timeline.

May '22: dropped off engine at shop. At time, shop said 3-4 months assuming order of cylinders came in. They currently had none.
Oct '22: visit. Engine was torn down, but still no cylinders available. I said no rush, my plane is currently a pile of parts.
Mar '23: visit. Shop had a huge stack of new cylinders. A week later it was ready to test run. I said wait until I called.
Oct '23: test run and pickup.

So 18 months total, but most of that was the engine sitting there waiting on me to tell them to move forward.

The same shop recently quoted my friend 6-8 weeks. Sounds like the supply chain and

This was my first rodeo. I learned the shop is not the only factor in the timeline. Removal, installation, and shipping time are also factors. Availability of other components and parts can also be a factor. Will probably take me the better part of a month to get flying AFTER I hang the engine.

Same goes for cost. When you hear $30K for an engine, keep in mind true cost will be well north of $40K after you factor in overhaul or replacement of accessories, new hoses, baffle repairs or replacement, possible repairs to mount and exhaust, removal and installation, etc. And hey, no time like the present to get an engine monitor and maybe overhaul that prop. Whole project can easily top $50K.
 
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Ed Haywood said:
Boom! It has an engine!
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Congrats. We might be pulling ours off this week. One of the owners diverted today due to an engine issue. Will be going down tomorrow to pull the cowls with our IA.
 
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Nylon ties on engine mounts will erode the mount tubing. That engine moves those cables and the ties, with windblown dust eventually embedded in them, grinds the paint off and then into the steel.

The tubing wall is typically only .035" thick. A 10% damage depth, the thickness of a sheet of paper, trashes it, in accordance with AC43.13-1B. The paint will resist the abrasion better than the steel.

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Dan Thomas said:
View attachment 122358

Nylon ties on engine mounts will erode the mount tubing. That engine moves those cables and the ties, with windblown dust eventually embedded in them, grinds the paint off and then into the steel.

The tubing wall is typically only .035" thick. A 10% damage depth, the thickness of a sheet of paper, trashes it, in accordance with AC43.13-1B. The paint will resist the abrasion better than the steel.

View attachment 122359
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There are no nylon ties on the engine mount.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Getting close! Assembly complete. Did W&B today. Next step, add oil and fuel and check for leaks, then test run. Hoping for first flight on Friday if no issues arise.
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Ed just out of curiosity: How much did the weight change? Also the CG?

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Ed just out of curiosity: How much did the weight change? Also the CG?

-Skip
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Sensitive subject. Appears I left too many donuts in the hangar. Not sure exact increase, gotta go home tonight and get old data from my AFM.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Sensitive subject. Appears I left too many donuts in the hangar. Not sure exact increase, gotta go home tonight and get old data from my AFM.
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Don’t feel too bad just saw a 69 C-172 gain about 13lbs when it was completely redone from nose to tail and converted to a full Dynon panel w/2-axis auto pilot.
 
mondtster said:
Nice job. How did the weight and balance turn out compared to before the restoration?
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TCABM said:
Don’t feel too bad just saw a 69 C-172 gain about 13lbs when it was completely redone from nose to tail and converted to a full Dynon panel w/2-axis auto pilot.
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I would be ecstatic with that. My weight gain was 40 pounds. CG moved aft one inch.
 
Ed Haywood said:
I would be ecstatic with that. My weight gain was 40 pounds. CG moved aft one inch.
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Is the 40 pound increase "real" (i.e. based on a measured weight right before you took the airplane down) or based on what was in the books?
 
kyleb said:
Is the 40 pound increase "real" (i.e. based on a measured weight right before you took the airplane down) or based on what was in the books?
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Notional, based on old computed weight. The scale guy said those are always off.
 
Added fuel and oil late in the day. Found several minor leaks, which led to decision to check tightness of all fittings. Everything is leak free now. Plan to test run tomorrow morning.
 
In you poh, is oil included in empty weight, and did you add unusable fuel before weighing?
 
Did first test run of the engine today. Ran for 1 min then shut down and checked for leaks. Had a few wet spots, but easily resolved.

Tomorrow will run up to operating temp, test control functions, then check screens for metal. If all is clear, test flight on Saturday morning.
 
My son has the 120. “Dad, it’s got an exhaust leak I’m gonna fix for ya…”

Followed a day or two later by this:

Is this normal to fix an exhaust leak?!!!!

Ed, your bird is BEAUTIFUL and you’ve done an AMAZING job. Bravo! But I’m tryin not to do that!! You’re never more than a 30 second decision away…
 

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Tools said:
My son has the 120. “Dad, it’s got an exhaust leak I’m gonna fix for ya…”

Followed a day or two later by this:

Is this normal to fix an exhaust leak?!!!!

Ed, your bird is BEAUTIFUL and you’ve done an AMAZING job. Bravo! But I’m tryin not to do that!! You’re never more than a 30 second decision away…
Click to expand...
Looks like the winter I decided to pull the engine in the Camaro to fix the leaky rear main and do a “little detailing”…and come spring, it had a new 383 and TKO 5-speed…
 
Omalley1537 said:
Looks like the winter I decided to pull the engine in the Camaro to fix the leaky rear main and do a “little detailing”…and come spring, it had a new 383 and TKO 5-speed…
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The 3 most expensive words in aviation (or classic cars) are: "might as well".
 
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