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Old December 18th 05, 01:35 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning
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Default Showing metal at 1,100 hours

As others have stated, you are free to pursue whatever path you like. On
one extreme, tear the engine apart and overhaul before further flight.
On the other side, fly for a few more hours, take another sample to the
lab, and cut open the filter to see if you have any more "goodies"
lurking. One course is known to be expensive up front. The other may be
just as expensive in the long run. If something major breaks in the air,
the outcome may be more expensive. No way to know until it happens.

It sat for 60 days prior to the bad oil analysis? Some say that could do
it while another camp says that ain't it. Really? Show me the testing
data either way. What we get out of the engine manufacturers and oil
companies suggest that anything other than almost daily flight of 1 hour
risks corrosion buildup at some rate. Seems to suggest that, under the
right conditions, you could be seeing 2 months of inactivity that ended
up in the oil sump. Then again, they sell oil and engines (and have
nervous lawyers and insurance companies). I don't expect them to say
"leave the engine idle for long periods and it will probably be O.K.".

I have seen a Lycoming 360 locally that ground a cam lobe to 1/2 its
original height. It ran fine and idled O.K. It made what felt to the
owner as full power. No way to know how long it was in that condition.
Some suggest that once the hardened layer is ground off a surface, it
will "go quickly". Have any of the engine manufacturers or oil companies
done any testing in this area to see how quickly this may happen?

There are those who say that flying further risks "more" damage. Well,
if you split the case at 1100 hours, you may want to strongly consider
a major anyway. So, other than an off-airport excursion, I'm not sure
what would be different in several hours as far as the overhaul. Maybe
some crank scuffing? As you said, if you pull a jug and see nothing,
then what? The only way to "know" you are O.K. in that case is a major.

The thing that irks me when I get in this situation (like a cylinder
that might be going South) is that I cannot FLY the thing anywhere with
confidence except a local hop. Until the problem is resolved, the plane
is "down" as far as I'm concerned. No freedom to take a 400 mile jaunt
whenever I want is as good as no plane at all. Worse, in fact. I have a
potential financial liability simmering on the ramp that I cannot use.

Good Luck,
Mike