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Old August 2nd 05, 12:24 AM
Michael
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If a plane (C172S) has 1600 TT but is at 250 hrs SMOH on an
original engine that's spec'd for 2000hrs TBO, does this mean that
the engine went in for overhaul prematurely?


In this case, yes.

For what possible reason and how would I find out?


For many possible reasons. It could have had a prop strike and the
owner opted to major since the insurance was paying for the teardown
and rebuild anyway. The engine could have grenaded itself (bearings or
whatever). The jugs might have worn out and the owner decided to major
rather than top because it wasn't that much more money or downtime
(which isn't true, but...) The factory might have done a ****ty job of
building the engine, and it just didn't last.

Look in the logs around the time of the overhaul and prior. Was there
airframe repair at the same time? Then it was a prop strike, or maybe
an engine failure resulting in an off-airport landing. Did the engine
have a history of replacing jugs? Maybe the owner just got fed up with
it.

Really, unless there are issues with unrepaired or improperly repaired
airframe damage, I would worry a lot more about HOW the engine was
overhauled rather than WHY.

Michael