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Engine Compression

A long time mechanic I've worked with has told owners to find another mechanic when informed that Savy was involved with the inspection.
Said it was a big waste of time........too many back and forths regarding decision making.

A mechanic buddy of mine got wrapped up in that with a new customer. Finally told the guy he wasn't dealing with Savy, he could find another mechanic. They wanted to grant him permission to do this or that. He talked to Busch himself. He asked Busch if he was gonna sign the logbooks. Busch told him the only logbooks he has ever signed are his own.
 
Weird when all mechanics share the same opinion of him.


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Thanks to all who’ve contributed to this thread- this is one of my favorites in a while. I’m about sick and tired of some guy 3500 miles away behind a computer telling my customers why my opinion and analysis, which is based on years of real-world experience on 100’s of different planes, is wrong. I take issue with the accusation that all mechanics are knuckle-dragging, unthinking con-artists who all have an instantaneous reaction to this one tiny number. No consideration that maybe I’ve already looked inside, at plugs, engine/component times, type of flying/hours per year, and taken all that into account when I’ve made a recommendation...? Sorry for the rant, but I’m tired of the insinuation that we’re all greedy predators trying to sell top overhauls. And don’t even get me started on how it’s impossible to safely replace a cylinder in the field...
 
Pet leave of mine, are mechanics actually doing a compression check or are you truly doing a leak down test. BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE 2. Using a 2 gauge setup and looking at your leak down at ? / 80 psi is not a compression test, it is a leak down test / check. Or a cylinder differential pressure test. Look at SB03-3 from tcm
 
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Pet leave of mine, are mechanics actually doing a compression check or are you truly doing a leak down test. BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE 2. Using a 2 gauge setup and looking at your leak down at ? / 80 psi is not a compression test, it is a leak down test / check. Or a cylinder differential pressure test. Look at SB03-3 from tcm


I found TCM SB03-3 here - https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pdf/servicebulletin.pdf (only first 9 pages)
but I could not find it in the TCM listing here - http://continental.aero/support/service-bulletins.aspx or with a search of the entire TCM site.

Was SB03-3 withdrawn or am I looking in the wrong place?

This FAA legal interpretation may be of interest - https://tinyurl.com/57n9n8d9 in the general context of this thread.
 
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Do you really think whoever wrote this in at the FAA understands what a compression test is? Or what a differential cylinder test is? Obviously not. I truly hope the mechanics that peruse this forum do. Even the way lycoming words it in places I have read gets the wording wrong. Please read up and understand the differences between the 2 if you have never thought about it and or been taught.
 
Do you really think whoever wrote this in at the FAA understands what a compression test is? Or what a differential cylinder test is? Obviously not. I truly hope the mechanics that peruse this forum do. Even the way lycoming words it in places I have read gets the wording wrong. Please read up and understand the differences between the 2 if you have never thought about it and or been taught.

No part of my reply disputed your assertion that a leak down test was not a compression test. The FAA legal interpretation doesn't comment on that either. It was linked in reference to the question of whether SI and SB were mandatory.
 
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Differential compression test is kind of an industry standard no matter if you call it that or a compression test.
 
FYI, according to Continental Aerospace’s web page SB03-3 has been superseded. To view the new docs requires signing up for an account, being approved, and paying a fee for on-line access. I have no idea whether anything has changed but the index of service docs clearly shows 03-3 is not current. More good customer care from good ol’ Continental.
http://www.tcmlink.com/pdf2/INDEX.pdf
 
Guy’s, not trying to be a jerk here but compression test versus a leak down / differential pressure test are totally different and require different instrument. I agree Steve industry standard has and is very sloppy calling it a differential compression test.

Frequent flyer, yes the FAA document does mention several times compression test and even references tcm sb03-3. And then the FAA call it a compression test which it is not.

if I am to do a differential compression test I will do just that with a compression test gauge and do all cylinders and see the difference. And compare them.
if I am doing a differential al pressure test then I use my differential pressure test gauges and do all cylinders and compare them.
2 totally different tools and procedures.
 
I’d think Continental would want the current document to be easy to access for Continental owners and mechanics. The FAA should require as much. I can’t find it. Not a fan.
 
Lol Stewart. I agree very bad business model. Can you really see the FAA being proactive and telling the Chinese they have to provide us free of charge a document for our engines.
 
I’d think Continental would want the current document to be easy to access for Continental owners and mechanics. The FAA should require as much. I can’t find it. Not a fan.
For years Cessna was like this. I was constantly getting bulletin notification letters from them telling me to go find an authorized service center to find out what the bulletins were all about. There weren't any near me. You would think they would at least tell the buyer of one or more of their new airplanes what a bulletin was about. This even though I was the only mechanic who worked on them. After a while I concluded it was their legal department mailing out the notices only to cover their rear ends. They don't care about the customers getting the information.
 
Counterpoint- Textron (Cessna) sends me emails regularly and I have a (free) account that allows me access to service documents. Continental is a different entity. They’ve had a few good people through the years when I was lucky enough to deal with them but their company has never been customer service forward, at least not for me.
 
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