Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only Seeking advice on a 150 purchase

Good evening! I'm a new member here, and very glad to "meet" you all. Quick background: I live in Atlanta, am close to getting my private pilot certificate, and currently shopping around for a 150 to build time for commercial. My goal is to find one with mid-engine hours, build time over several months, and then either resell it or pass it along to my father if he decides to start taking lessons too (and/or just keep it if we fall in love with the ol' girl).

We've run the numbers and anticipate decent cost savings over rental even leaving room for some repairs, depreciation, taxes, and other costs. It certainly helps that there's a nearby private airfield with a $50 tie down and 100LL for under $4/gal.

Anyways, I'm considering a 1965 150F located in TX with 3377 TTAF, 868 SMOH (overhaul was in 2002). I've narrowed my confusion down to 3 main areas now:

1) Most recent compressions were 67,72,70,68. Is this a cause for concern? Prior compression checks were all in the low-to-mid 70s. The current owner has been flying it regularly building xc time (~60 hours since January). In prior years it was flown 23, 36, 81, and 99 hours (most recent year first).

2) The owner said the engine wasn't running as smoothly as the 172SP that he had been using for training, so he spent $700 on a valve lubrication and it's been running much more smoothly since then. I've heard that these valves can be "sticky" sometimes, but is this lubrication procedure normal or is it a cause for concern? Would you expect that issue to be recurring if the lubrication wears/burns off, or would you expect it to be good for a while now that it's done?

3) Finally, I found a different 150 that looks good except that the last major overhaul was around 1982 (and 1071 hours SMOH). That's 36 hrs/yr average and I'm waiting on the logbooks to see how much of that flying was recent, but 35+ years SMOH seems like way too long. Is it smart to steer away from a very old engine even though it's at ~1071 hours SMOH?

Thanks very much in advance for any tips!

Hi, Kevin and welcome to the club!

I'll let some of our many A&Ps respond to most of your questions. Good luck with your search and eventual purchase. I hope you can make it to the fly-in in Clinton this summer. It's a great opportunity to meet people and learn more about the 150/152. Popular modifications and maintenance issues are nearly always popular seminar topics.

Kevin, My 150 is for sale, a '66F. About 900 hours on a very strong engine, just annualed and lowest cylinder was 78/80. It has milleniums and 28 degrees timing. I'm and A&P. Badly needs paint, but very good condition otherwise. Problem: it's in Vermont. Let me know if you want to pursue it. Very reasonably priced.

Vermont to Atlanta isn't that far by plane.

I'd be very cautious about buying a plane with any history of low engine times (less than 40 to 50 hours/yr). I bought a 152 that was getting constant use (200hrs per year and regular maintenance) but had sat for about a year and a half. I flew the plane but only averaged about 40 hours per year for the first few years. Long story short, the engine was about shot at 1500hrs (with a 2400 tbo). I put a rebuilt in it and now fly about 70-80 hours per year (get up every week). The engine is strong with mid 70's compression every year for the past 7.

When you get one, you also should consider running Shell's new W100 plus oil which I understand helps reduce fouling and corrosion.

"When you get one, you also should consider running Shell's new W100 plus oil which I understand helps reduce fouling and corrosion."

Use Aeroshell 100 if you have a LYCOMING 0-235 Cessna 152.
The TCM 0-200 uses Aeroshell 80 or Phillips XC 20W-50.
All the "plus" in Aeroshell oil is an additive to prevent "dry" starts on engines flown less frequently, where oil would "run off" internal components after sitting a while.


2) The owner said the engine wasn't running as smoothly as the 172SP that he had been using for training, so he spent $700 on a valve lubrication and it's been running much more smoothly since then. I've heard that these valves can be "sticky" sometimes, but is this lubrication procedure normal or is it a cause for concern? Would you expect that issue to be recurring if the lubrication wears/burns off, or would you expect it to be good for a while now that it's done?

$700 for "valve lube"? I have never hear of such a thing, somebody BS'd 700 bucks out of his wallet.

Kevin

Another though about any c200 eng is it is a low compression eng 7:1 and the 100 LL is not good mixture. An example: Rotax 912 eng oil is changed at 25 hr if you burn 100LL and can be changed at 50 hr if using fuel without lead-mogas or autofuel. That speaks volumes to me.

Bruce

Thanks everyone for your responses! We've investigated a lot of these and concluded that most/all 150s listed under $20k will have either high engine hours, low hours flown per year (or sat for years), or some kind of damage history. At least now that we know what to look for, we'll be better prepared when good ones pop up in the low-to-mid $20s.

The valve lubrication was a strange one, thanks for the feedback. The record says the engine was running rough on takeoff, so they did a compression test, removed plugs, borsecoped the cylinders, cleaned valve gaskets, lubed valve guides, tested the plugs, and "washed down engine." Charged the guy $587. At least it runs more smoothly after that according to the seller.

Overall, it seems that recent flying for a couple of hundred hours does not alleviate the concerns caused by an engine sitting for a year or more. It may be running fine for now, but things could go bad at any point and the total life of the engine is probably reduced. Accurate?

Not really, just set your standards and keep looking. My brother just bought a 150K, last year of spring gear, and light in wing for just under $18K and it has 680 SMOH.
They are out there.
https://www.barnstormers.com/listing_images.php?id=1355742

Welcome to the Club, Kevin!

In my opinion, if an owner has time and resources to fly at least an hour a week, that is sufficient to keep the engine well lubricated and all the radios, etc., working. Not good for any of those things to sit without use. That being said, sometimes owners who aren't pursuing an advanced rating like you are, and have jobs and family responsibilities, just cannot break away for an hour every week. Also, some owners might fly a long cross country or two, then the airplane sits for two or three months without flying. I would rather have one flown for an hour every other week than one that sits for months without moving. Just my opinion based on my ownership experience.

Also, C-150's do have valve sticking problems because of the lead in 100LL. Many folks, myself included, use TCP in the fuel to scavenge the lead out and prevent the valve problems. Using TCP and leaning aggressively seems to adequately address the valve sticking problem.

Good luck on your search, and take my input with a grain of salt. I am not an A&P, but am a 12 year C-150 owner and flyer.