Anyone out there willing to share how much an overhaul cost in your
Cardinal's IO360? If so, what type of overhaul, from where, and how
satisfied are you?

In looking at Cardinals, I'm trying to get a handle on how much to plan
for when it comes time for a new engine. Hopefully, that would be many
years down the road but I've seen a few Cardinals that look like they'd
be candidates yet only have a few hundred hours left on the engine.
Before pursuing any of these, I want to more fully understand the cost
of an overhaul.

Thanks!

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Jack Allison wrote:
> Anyone out there willing to share how much an overhaul cost in your
> Cardinal's IO360? If so, what type of overhaul, from where, and how
> satisfied are you?

You'll get quite a range of prices, I think. It depends on who does it and what
you have done.

I'd budget $24K, and that should cover most things that might come up.

You will probably want to overhaul the prop at the same time (including that in
the $24K).

Don't forget that some of that $24K goes to increase the value of the airplane.
If the plane you buy is close to TBO, you should discount the price accordingly.

Never had the IO-360 in a Cardinal, but I've done three overhauls, a Mooney
IO360 and a Cherokee O360 at Triad Engines in Burlington, NC, both of which were
very satisfactory, and a Cherokee O360 at Firewall Foreward in Loveland, CO,
which I would rate as unsatisfactory. The unsat is mostly because of difficulty
of obtaining warranty service from a long distance away. FF was willing to work
with us, but the distance complicated everything. Based on my experience, I'd
recommend using a nearby shop.

Dave

As mentioned in a previous posting, our mechanic discovered 3
cracked cylinders in our first annual. With 1700hrs SMOH (we bought
the plane 6 months earlier at 1600hrs), the obvious choice was a
complete overhaul. Basically, we ordered a Lycoming overhauled engine
through Air Power then send the old engine back to them later.

http://www.factoryengines.com/lycoming.asp

The cost was close to $15K (including shipping both ways) with
something like $9K deposit for the core (they kept the check uncashed
and sent it back to us when they received the old engine).

As mentioned in a previous posting, our mechanic discovered 3
cracked cylinders in our first annual. With 1700hrs SMOH (we bought
the plane 6 months earlier at 1600hrs), the obvious choice was a
complete overhaul. Basically, we ordered a Lycoming overhauled engine
through Air Power then send the old engine back to them later.

http://www.factoryengines.com/lycoming.asp

The cost was close to $15K (including shipping both ways) with
something like $9K deposit for the core (they kept the check uncashed
and sent it back to us when they received the old engine).

The two answers you've received thus far are (IMHO) at the extreme high end
of what it will actually cost.

If you can find a reputable local shop to do the rebuild, you can get the
same -- or better -- workmanship for thousands less.

Start asking around at your airport -- you'll get the real skinny about
local shops pretty quickly.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 6-Dec-2004, Jack Allison >
wrote:

> Anyone out there willing to share how much an overhaul cost in your
> Cardinal's IO360? If so, what type of overhaul, from where, and how
> satisfied are you?


Is this for a fixed gear Cardinal? If so, the engine would be an O-360 (180
HP, carbureted). The Cardinal RG used the IO-360 (200 HP, fuel injected).
There would likely be a few thousand dollar difference in overhaul costs
between these two engines.

--
-Elliott Drucker

wrote:

> Is this for a fixed gear Cardinal?

Nope, RG...should have specified that in the original post.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Jay Honeck wrote:

> The two answers you've received thus far are (IMHO) at the extreme high end
> of what it will actually cost.
I sure hope so. Actually, I hope to find something that has 1000 or
more hours left on the engine so that I'm not looking at an overhaul
within the first couple of years. We'll see...the looking has only just
begun. Got some good prospective partner opportunities though...that's
a start. Heck, if I get an airplane before OSH this year, I may just
*have* to fly to Oshkosh via Iowa City :-)

> If you can find a reputable local shop to do the rebuild, you can get the
> same -- or better -- workmanship for thousands less.
>
> Start asking around at your airport -- you'll get the real skinny about
> local shops pretty quickly.
There's a good shop at my home airport and I'm going to do just that
when I get a chance. I'd agree, if I can find something locally with
great workmanship, why go elsewhere?

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)