Q: When an engine with chromed cylinders comes into a shop with oil leaks and the source has been identified as thru bolts and cylinder base o-rings, how should the cylinder removal and reinstallation be handled? Also, is there any wisdom in turning the oil scraper ring upside down in chromed cylinder to help control oil […]
Ask Paul: What is causing mag drop?
Q: I work on a IO-360-MIA Lycoming engine. My problem is that the right mag has a drop of 220 rpm. I have done internal timings, engine to mag timings, ignition leads check and cleaned the plugs. I have done nothing to the left mag, and now the left mag is dropping to 210 rpm. […]
Is there an STC for a primer system for my engine?
Q: I have been looking for a possible STC to install a primer system on a O-320-A2D. Would you know of one? JERRY BARNHILL, Longville, La. A: Jerry, after checking a few things out, I discovered that almost all of the O-320 series engines were delivered from Lycoming with a factory installed primer system. However, the […]
Ask Paul: Why is my engine oil creamy?
Q: I am doing a 100-hour inspection on a Piper Aztec with TSIO 540 Lycomings using Shell 15/50 oil with 50 hours on the oil. They are both midtime engines on this photo plane. They fly six hours a day at low power settings. The left engine oil is black like it should be after […]
Ask Paul: What’s causing vibration?
Q: I recently installed a new three-blade propeller in my Comanche 250 with an O-540 engine. After the first flight I noticed a vibration when I decrease the rpm to 2400 or below, so I had the prop dynamically balanced. This did not change anything. The engine still vibrated. I contacted McCauley and they had […]
Ask Paul: What’s the TBO on my engine?
There isn’t much else I can say about the O-320-A2B except for the fact that it’s probably one of the best engines Lycoming ever produced and has been around forever.
Ask Paul: Fly more, get longer TBO?
Q: I bought my first plane, a 1981 Cessna T182RG, in May 2012. I have been flying this plane frequently and have put over 300 hours on it in the last calendar year. I can tell you that in 2005 it received a factory remanufactured engine from Lycoming and at the 1,000 hour mark got […]
Ask Paul: What’s causing intermittent roughness?
Q: I am an European-based A&P with a customer who is experiencing intermittent roughness and loss of rpm (200) typically close to the top of climb on a long climb out. The roughness goes away once it is throttled back, and it does not occur all the time. The snag can’t be produced on the […]
What’s causing Mooney’s rough-running engine?
Q: I bought an older Mooney with a Lycoming IO-360 with Bendix fuel servo. The engine starts to run rough once the last 1/2 inch of throttle is given. An induction leak cannot be located. Would a faulty sniffle valve be to blame? Any other possibilities? JAMIE RICHARDS A: Jamie, with regard to your older […]