Aircraft Maintance O300D C170
 

OK so my last annual in August I had 1 Cylinder with low compression and last week maximum RPM was slightly over 2000 so no flying. Compression test showed #4 with a stuck exhaust valve wide open. So we have to pull #4 and the #2 was the cylinder with the low compression in August so we pull both and I drive both to a cylinder shop 30 minutes away. The shop grinds all 4 valves, installs 2 new exhaust valves and valve guides and only takes 1 hour and I am out the door .....Get This for only $180 with yellow tags. My A&P and I reinstall every thing and now all 6 cylinders have over 65/ 80 cold @ 35 degrees. I paid the A&PAI $550 and now it flies great again for only $730 and I could not be happier. What would that have cost on an 911 SC?

A lot more!!!! thats great about the cylinder shop close by. I'm an A&P and thinking new parts for 2 cylinders and misc. parts, around $1800 for parts and $1000 labor (1 person) so yeah, thats a great deal. O-300's are super smooth running and use a lot of O-200 parts so relatively cheap.

The 911 engine is a different bird because they are overhead cam. There are a lot more parts in the way to get the heads off. Then you gotta set the cam timing, etc when you reassemble. Not an afternoon job...

Gary,

I am in the middle of overhauling three C-145/O-300's right now and know the feeling!

Joe A

I had to replace a couple worn exhaust valves on a Continental IO-550. Each valve was over $180. Total from engine shop was about $600 per cylinder.

A while back Continental started using high-tech machining processes in their factory that was to have tolerances so tight that they could grab any head, valve, guide and seat and assemble them without any hand fitting. Exhaust valves wearing prematurely have been common ever since.

Possibly the best part the plane was down for less than 24 hours. When it first happened I figured 2 weeks down.

I've thought many times while owning two old Porsches I could easily afford a Cessna single for the same money. Hanger would be pricey, though.

Curious question: Is it now easier to find qualified Continental engine mechanics than it is to find good air-cooled Porsche mechanics?

At my airport and around DFW there are a good number of Continental engine A&Ps.......Harder to find an A&PI

Kurt,

The hangar is a killer in some areas. Friend of mine left his airplane in Phoenix after he moved to SoCal. Hangar there was $2000 a month... here $200.

Fan,

The older continentals are 1930's design, not hard to work on.

Gary,

The old timers are all retiring or passing. Thats why I got my IA a while back as very few these days understand dope and fabric airplanes.

^^ Two hundred dollars is actually pretty cheap for a hanger but places like Deer Valley won't let you put a car in the hanger, even when you have your plane out and flying.

Sorry but yes they will... We do it all the time and its written in the bylaws.

Well that's good news. Either something had changed from several years ago or I mis-heard.

I am in Orange County California and hangar at Chino for $250 per month. I have no issues with storing and keeping cars there.

The FAA recently revised, or clarified, the requirement for hangars at airports that have received federal funds to be used for aviation purposes.

With the old language, there were some (idiotic) airport managers banning everything other than airplanes. No cars. No refrigerators. No chairs. Get that screwdriver outta here!

The new language states that nothing can interfere with aviation purposes. As long as the hangar has an airplane, extraneous items are okay. As soon as non-aviation items evict an airplane, it is a violation.

I had heard about that and thought it was a little crazy how over the top the airport managers were getting with this, glad they clarified.