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IO520BB problem

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Bringing this up.. my engine, an IO520 BB, has serious trouble – I have had (rather large) metal pittings and chips in the oil, so had to send it to scan aviation for check.
Turns out the chips came from two of the lifters and made their little journey through the engine; result: camshaft is history, the lifters, the camshaft gear, the crankshaft gear, the oil pump housing, the oil pump cog weels.
To make things worse, the crankshaft has got some stains of corrosion, which is a different can of worms, as it doesn’t come from chips, but from water / acid / lead residues, who most likely (well almost certain) came from when the engine was run on an ill futed oil change regiment of 100hrs for some time back in 2015 or so.
Now looking for either a repair or a well rebuilt IO 550, which I would rather prefer as it has more hp and adds value to the airplane.

Does anybody have any long term experience with camguard, and my question, being the nerd I am: how exactly does it work ?

Last Edited by EuroFlyer at 26 Mar 18:19
Safe landings !
EDLN, Germany

Very sorry to hear of your engine loss, EuroFlyer.

Camguard works by producing a coating on the parts which sticks better than just the oil would. I think practically every private pilot would benefit from Camguard, because none of us fly enough to keep the parts coated in oil. Even at 150hrs/year, and taking care to fly regularly, there are still going to be 2-week idle periods, or longer if you take a 2 week holiday for example. And most private owners fly much less than 150hrs. Anybody with a normal job will see periods of quite a number of weeks during which they don’t fly because they see bad wx spanning a number of weekends.

But this is really a Q about what to do with this engine. The crankshaft is the most expensive part of the engine and its condition (whether it can be reground and still be within new limits, or overhaul limits) will determine which is the most economical way to go forward. In general, if the crank is lost, a “factory remanufactured” engine is generally the cheapest way to go. I would not go for one myself, due to this sort of thing but you can always buy an engine overhauled by an independent shop.

Another option is to get a factory reman engine, or even factory new, and send it to a reputable shop to take apart and sort out; that is what I would do if buying a “new” engine.

If you are after a bigger engine anyway, then your old one will have some “core value” and that will be whatever it is… you have no control over that now.

If your plane is N-reg then you have a better choice of reputable engine shops in the US, like the one I use (Barrett Precision). There are also the bigger US shops which are still probably better than anybody in Europe and which are EASA approved. I would not use any European shop, though many will disagree, especially in some areas where certain companies have a fanatical following regardless of how many disaster jobs they have produced (which don’t make the forums) Some of these shops also have a history of taking a very long time, which is not so good at the start of the summer…

Overall you are in a better position by getting a “new” engine than waiting for an overhaul – especially at the start of the summer. You could be up and running in a few weeks, though the running-in regime requirements will prohibit high altitude (= low power) flying for a certain time.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I use it already 5 years on my IO520. Use straight oil W80 or W100. The starter adapter likes it better…No issues so far. Sorry to hear of your mishap that sucks!!
The IO550 is nice though an expensive upgrade. If your cranck is TU it might be a good option tough as a new cranck is mucho dinero…It looks like in your case factory exchange with IO550 may be the best solution avoiding. any pitholes…

Last Edited by Vref at 26 Mar 20:17
EBST

EuroFlyer wrote:

the crankshaft has got some stains of corrosion, which is a different can of worms, as it doesn’t come from chips, but from water / acid / lead residues, who most likely (well almost certain) came from when the engine was run on an ill futed oil change regiment of 100hrs for some time back in 2015 or so.

My observation is that this most often often comes from too low oil temperature versus other causes.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 26 Mar 20:40

Well, first my sympathy. None of us would like to be in that position.

I guess the optimum solution depends on your financial focus including whether you want to keep the airplane for some time. This is relevant because some of the expense may not be recouped at the time of sale if you go out of the ordinary in getting a very special engine (Barret can do a lot of that!)

It has not been said whether there was life remaining on the engine. If there is a lot, you may save some by not going for a full oh. However, once you split the cases the saving is not much, and only worthwhile if there is a lot of life remaining.

Other than that I agree with what’s been said: if you can save the crankshaft then it will be cheaper to oh than exchange. I also would do that in the us. You need to count a minimum of two months overall including shipping and repairing plus a fee weeks to allow for install. I used Penn Yan with excellent results. Communication is one of the key aspects in shop selection and they were very good.

Top-end issues are manageable with cyl replacements, but bottom end leaves few options.

On these engines, to avoid this kind of bottom end issues, it has all been said here and elsewhere:

Regular flying
Straight W oil (avoid semi synths unless you need to do frequent starts<10C) change every 25 or max 35 hrs
Camguard
Oil analysis+filter inspection
Borescope inspections (cams +cyls)

And on the big-bore continentals I like to add every year removal and inspection of the lifters. It adds some labour hours but allows you to replace them before major damage is done on the cams

It seems you did well in detecting the damage before a serious in-flight problem developed, so well done for catching it on the ground.

Antonio
LESB, Spain

Oh, I’m currently on steel, but had a very good previous experience with Nickel cylinders: no corrosion from sitting idle!

Antonio
LESB, Spain

Antonio and all, thanks for your empathy.
The crankshaft is history. We have to either replace it with a used one or choose a zero hour IO 520/ 550.
I assume the price difference between the 520 and the 550 will be less than the value added by the 550 to the airplane which is in very good condition.
Also, zero hours are better than 650hrs in that respect.

Peter wrote:

I would not use any European shop, though many will disagree

The engine is being repaired at scanaviation, a well known and large shop in Copenhagen, they do about 150-200 engines a year, and not only do we have a good relationship with them, they also know who in the US is worthwile talking to and who isn’t. The community isn’t that large.

Last Edited by EuroFlyer at 27 Mar 09:19
Safe landings !
EDLN, Germany

deleted I see you have a BB :-) no issue for the 7th stud

Last Edited by Vref at 27 Mar 15:03
EBST

Penn Yan should do a good job – or sell you an overhauled engine which will greatly reduce your downtime. Whether they can issue an 8130-3 with EASA approval needs to be checked. I thought they are EASA approved but their website doesn’t say so, although google digs out some EASA stuff mentioning them.

Also there may be a route for you to use just a normal 8130-3. Traditionally such an engine was usable on UK G-reg if accompanied by a US Export CofA (8130-4) which you can get done in the US by an FAA DAR for a few hundred $. I don’t know if other EU countries support this. Also at one point the Export CofA system was stopped (in the US) forcing the UK CAA to accept a straight 830-3 for engines and props. I have not kept up to date with this angle and being N-reg I don’t have this worry. Some years ago I helped one European TB20 owner with this and the US engine shop cocked-up and while delivering a perfect engine they failed to produce the Export CofA. He did manage to push the thing through his CAA anyway, somehow…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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