Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Windy in Wyoming...

What do you make of this boys & girls? Here's an edit from a e-mail from a seller today:

[color:"blue"]While is shows low hours since a major overhaul, it doesn't tell the whole story.

The overhaul was done by a mechanic who did not do a thorough job and cover everything he was supposed to do. I have put a lot into bringing her up to snuff so it is dependable and airworthy.

I had a mechanic whom I know and trust go completely through the engine since an overheating problem began and he replaced all the bearings in the engine as well as the crank and cam shafts. Any part that was not up to standards was replaced and the engine is as good as a major overhaul.

The only thing not done to keep it from being called a major overhaul was that the case was not magnafluxed since it didn't have that much time on in since that was done. Even the starter was replaced with the light-weight starter and the pull handle was replaced with a push button in accordance with the STC. The accessory housing was rebuilt and a new oil pump was installed, one mag was replaced with a new one and the other was rebuilt. And new baffeling was installed as well as new engine mounts.

At the last annual, in June, 2006, the wheel bearings were also replaced. So she is in excellent condition. The only problem is that I moved to Wyoming where the wind is so strong and blows so much that I rarely get to fly. So she has to go!

There may be about 12 hours since all that work was done. So the engine is being broken in and the compressions will settle in when it is. Right now one is in the low 70's and the others in the high 70's. It needs to be flown lots to break it in properly! [/color]

Sounds OK, but if there are comparable deals elsewhere I'd go with them.

Rob,

Sounds a lot like my situation with the Cherokee. It wasn't making power, so despite an overhaul only 164 hours before, we went back inside with my local AP/IA to put in a new camshaft. We did not magnaflux the case, nor the crank, but all new bearings, cam, lifters, seals and safety's. While it is not a major, I feel very comfortable with the internals of the engine now. I personally worked with him to measure all tolerances and specs to the best possible spec. It is tight, smooth and pulls like a farm tractor now that we have the new muffler on it.

This wouldn't scare me away too bad as long as it is not making any metal (make sure the engine has a few hours on it before pulling and cutting the filter, and drain the oil through a coffee filter.)

Check at some nearby airports to get a feel for the reputation of the mechanic. I looked at a deal on a rebuilt bird in Wyoming a few years back. An A/P owner was the one who did the work. When I checked with a couple other local AP's for a pre-buy, they all declined saying the guy slaps wrecked birds together with non-certified parts and generally does lousy work, so I walked away. If the mech is reputable, then it wouldn't scare me off at all.