I need an O-200 crankshaft to rebuild my engine (the original has a crack, discovered on its second run to TBO).
A brand new crankshaft is about $2500-$2700. I'm hoping to find a yellow-tagged used crank for significantly less. I haven't seen anything pop up on Trade-A-Plane or Barnstormers. Any ideas?
Personally, if I needed a crankshaft for my C150's 0-200 because it was cracked/undersize/"red tagged"...I would bite the bullet and purchase a new one.
The reason? The crank is the largest and most expensive single component of the "engine", followed by the case, and then each of the cylinders.
Buying a "used" one, regardless of the "yellow tag" status or what the seller tells you, you really have no way of determining how many hours are actually on it, or if it was ever damaged... and should it fail you would have to tear the engine completely down to replace it again. Unless you know someone personally who is selling a good one who actually has records of the time and you believe what they say,... the truth is that most folks don't have spare 0-200 crankshafts laying around to sell. If it's good it's usually inside their case turning a propeller. Why someone would replace a crankshaft when the removed one was still "airworthy", that they could then sell to you, is really stretching believability.
I have seen 0-200 cranks on eBay and other places from time to time, and a "serviceable" 0.010 crank(they're always ground to at least that) sell for $1000 to around $1500 or so. For another grand you could have a NEW one that could last through at least four more overhauls.
