O-200 been sitting a while. Opinions?

Suppose you came across a nice Cessna 150 with an O-200A that’s been sitting in a dry, heated hangar for over 10 years. The engine has 250 hours since a comprehensive major and got those hours over several years before it was put up. Not pickled.
What would you do to ensure this engine could be relied upon?

I believe I know what I would do, but I’d like to see what the experience here thinks.

Rich

I bought my 11 from my friend Ron back in 94. He had owned it for about 2 years and flew it about a 100 hrs. He bought it after it had sat parked on floats on a river bank for 7 years abandon waiting for the estate to get settled. Had 374 hrs on it when I bought it, except for exhaust guides and a quick ball home and rings at 1200 hrs it never missed a beat and had 2200 hrs + when I wrecked it in 07

Glenn

I'd buy it and fly it. Nothing is going to fail quickly on the O-200, so if it has any issues, you can deal with them as they come up. But my expectation would be that it would be fine.

-Cub Builder

Have a look into the accessory case holes and valve covers. Borescope the cylinders/valves and make sure the seals look good and aren't cracked or brittle. Run fresh oil and check for corrosion. Then WFO it to refresh stuff and fly.

Gary

Put an oil filter adapter on if there isn’t one and go fly!

Dry, heated hangar? Fly it. Probably go to TBO and beyond.

Same as if it were a B&S on a lawn mower, start it up and go. (Be glad it isn't a O320 conversion)

I'm in the buy it and fly it camp. The 200 doesn't have the disappearing cam issue of the Lycoming. I second the spin-on filter.

It does have filter. Looks like I’m going ahead. After a thorough inspection and AD checks.
Thanks for the input.

Rich

Of course you are going to change the oil and filter. I would pressurize the oil system to prime the oil pump and lube the bearings before any start up attempt especially after sitting for ten years.. Depending on the oil filter setup it can be difficult to prime the pump.

Don't assume they removed the oil screen when they put the spin on oil filter on it. Ask me how I know!!

Larry.

If desired prime the pump by filling the inlet hole to the spin-on filter adapter on the case side with oil (it's the top hole I believe). There's two holes...one from the pump and one to the engine. And I too had both a F&N-Tempest TAF-N filter and a pressure screen on my C-85 Stroker. That plus a partially plugged oil pressure line to the gauge created a slow start to indicated oil pressure.

Gary

Ok, so I bought the airplane. It is an O-300 (C-145) on a beautiful C170B. My paranoia about losing the deal led me to use the O-200 example because they are close enough.
The airplane had not moved in 12 years. It needed to be moved as there was no room to do a real pre buy and the maintenance needed. After changing all the fluids and filters and getting a ferry permit it ran great and flew today. After the flight the leak down was all above 76, in fact two were 80, except one that was 70 and coming out the exhaust. Since we had considered pulling one cylinder to take a look at the cam, that one was the big winner. What we could see all looked new. No evidence of corrosion.

Thanks for all the advice. At this stage of my flying life, the 170B is the perfect airplane for me. I’d post pictures if I knew how. Used have the app to do it but lost it somewhere.

Rich

A 170B is one of my dream planes. One with a O360 Lycoming/CS prop. would be for me a perfect airplane. Best of luck.

Jack

n40ff said:

A 170B is one of my dream planes. One with a O360 Lycoming/CS prop. would be for me a perfect airplane. Best of luck.

Jack

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My next door hangar neighbor has exactly that, with gorgeous paint and a nice panel/avionics. Wanna go halfsies on stealing it??

Years ago I owned a 58 172 with the Bolen tailwheel conversion. Sweet airplane. Almost a 170. I thought about doing that conversion and upgrading the panel, but for a lot less money I sold it and bought a 250 Comanche. I enjoyed the Comanche for 10 years and it fit my mission then, but now the C170B is perfect. Even with the O-300. This one has a beautiful panel and I’m putting some new Garmin stuff in to comply with ADS B.

Rich

Have dealt with a couple of O-200 that sat a long time and then started flying them. Main issue we had was stuck valves. Replaced all the o'rings in the brake system over time as they all started leaking in short order.

I have had the same problem with O-200 and O-300 that have NOT sat too long also. My brand new O-200 on the Legend had one stick, not hard but enough to fail a leak down after less than 300 hrs. Using TCP and MMO after that and had no more issue. I had a valve stick hard on an O-300 that required removing the cylinder to remedy.

One possible problem with this 170 having sat too long is flat spot on wheel bearings and/or races. That’s all coming part anyway to go through the brakes as you suggest.

Rich

I liked flying behind the O300. Back in the early 70's(APG Flying Club) we had 3 or 4? 172's, one older with the Cont. I found the Cont. much smoother. It would be my first choice at the time. Then we got 2 T41B's. At only $1/hour more of coarse they became my choice. Only issue I had with the O300 172, it was the only airplane (other than the old J5A-75) that I had a really bad case of carb. ice. It happened very fast and it barely recovered with carb. heat, another few sec. of me not on top of things and I would have had an off airport landing. I think there is still part of the seat fabric lodged up my butt? The J5A-75, on a humid day you couldn't get from hangar to runway w/o carb. heat...

Now days my only concern is cost of OH or parts for the old Cont.'s, O200 or O300.

Again, good luck and blue skys with the 170B

Jack

Jack

100%. I’ve had days with the 172 that it would ice up taxing to the run up pad! It sure is a smooth motor though.

Rich

Continentals (carbureted) as a whole are ice machines. The Lyc. has its carb mounted to that hot sump and they're a LOT more tolerant of adverse atmospheric conditions.

The only ice maker I've found worst than the Cont.'s was my ^%#%^ 1972 Datsun PU Truck. I used it delivering papers and on humid mornings could hardly finish my route.

I had a Lycoming try to kill me for the opposite reason although not the engine's fault. Carb. Heat on my old EAA Biplane was very effective giving almost 400 rpm reduction. There was a combo of errors. I was trying to get into a strip really too short but could do it if slow enough. There was no reason to use carb heat except I was in the habit of using it. I pulled carb heat on base and the bloody cable pulled all the way out(broke) leaving heat on. No problem, I'd land and fix it probably by wiring it off.....Except that on short final a herd of %$#$% deer decided to graze in the middle of runway. (I actually tried to honk the horn) Go around was only option and I could barely climb. My approach speed was lower than usual and below best climb speeds. I went through the top of a tree but was able to put the nose down on the other side and get enough speed to give a solid 2-300 feet/min. climb and made it the 10 miles back home. So much for $5 lawn mower cable assembly.

The above is fresh in my mind. I went to fly the Spezio last week and the mixture wouldn't move to full rich. After 200tt and too sharp bends from front quardant through FW the wire had worn through teflon inter sleeve and metal to metal was too much with the too tight bend. Oh well. I decided to delete the mixture from the front pit to enable install with more moderate bends and ordered another $90 cable w/.078 wire from ACS. Meanwhile I was tempted to get a simple push-pull cable from the lawn mower dept at Auto Zone as a temp. "fix" just to get back in the air.....until I recalled my EAA Bipe thru the trees incident.

BTW, one could be tempted to place blame on the ability to use cheap junk on a E-AB(which is an issue) until I recall when the mixture cable broke on my PA22 project(I was on the ground) and as I recall Piper must have used a cable that came off a 1955 Ford PU truck that was not much better than a B&S mower.
OTOH I don't recall breaking any cables on any of my very many lawn mowers, tractors or old cars, trucks, etc......

Jack

Richgj3 said:

I have had the same problem with O-200 and O-300 that have NOT sat too long also. My brand new O-200 on the Legend had one stick, not hard but enough to fail a leak down after less than 300 hrs. Using TCP and MMO after that and had no more issue. I had a valve stick hard on an O-300 that required removing the cylinder to remedy.

One possible problem with this 170 having sat too long is flat spot on wheel bearings and/or races. That’s all coming part anyway to go through the brakes as you suggest.

Rich

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Just remember, when you pull a cylinder on an O-200 or O-300 orC-145, you have to do the NDT test called out in the AD before replacing the cylinder.


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C145 / O300 Continental has the carb bolted to the sump also.
But they can still be ice makers.
I owned a C170 for about 11 years, they are great airplanes--
not the best at anything, but good at about everything.
I hope you can have fun with yours Rich!