Slick mags when mine are good?

A mechanic that worked on my aircraft tried to push me to buy slick magnitos
and when he was done repairing my airplane he said "Ok the noise you brought
it in for is gone" It was, and the plane ran like any of the planes he works
on for a local flight school. Not wonderful, and surely not as good as when I
brought it to him, but it ran ok.
I went in to talk to him about my now rougher running engine to hear from him
exactly what I expected "You have the older style magnitos and you need new
slick mags."

To make a very long story short, I got stuck at another airport when I had a
bad mag check during run up, the next mechanic to work on the aircraft said
it was timed wrong, and there were a few other issues. It runs perfect now,
thankfully.

When I returned to he first mechanic to question him he said "I told you that
you would have problems with the old Bendix magnitos." Of course I dont think
anyone in their right mind would fly an aircraft knowing there would be
problems with it. He also put "Ignition system is good" in my engine log book.

Is this true that the old style magnitos should be replaced or is something
wrong with this whole thing? If the old style Bendix mags were something that
needed to be replaced, would the 40 aircraft and mine have an AD on it? I
just bought this aircraft, a 68 Piper 140, and have little experience with
engine repair, but this seems very fishey.

Thank you for your time
Steven Aulisio
239 Hanson Dr.
Springfield MA

Look through your engine log books. Find the entry of when the mags were
last overhauled. If it's more than 400 hours ago, talk to the second
mechanic about overhauling the Bendix mags. Get an estimate from him, then
compare it to the cost of new Slicks. Do what makes sense for your
situation. Forget the name of the first mechanic.
Jim

Jim Burns wrote:
Look through your engine log books. Find the entry of when the mags were
last overhauled. If it's more than 400 hours ago, talk to the second
mechanic about overhauling the Bendix mags. Get an estimate from him, then
compare it to the cost of new Slicks. Do what makes sense for your
situation. Forget the name of the first mechanic.
Jim

Thanks Jim!
I will do just that. I love the closing statement and will do that as well.
That mechanic, umm I forgot his name.

What would you say about replacing the Bendix mags because they are the older
style?

SteveN1660J u36161@uwe wrote:
What would you say about replacing the Bendix mags because they are the older
style?

I replaced my mags because they were old, had never been rebuilt, the
harness was getting a bit flaky, and Slick has a package deal where
you get new mags, harness, and plugs.

Look in the Aircraft Spruce catalog/web site.


--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

It would depend upon the frequency and expense of any recurring AD's, the
recentcy of their overhaul, number of hours you expect to fly per year,
condition of your harness and plugs, any recent repair or parts replacement
to the mags... the list goes on. I have a hard time replacing something
that works just because it's a newer style. Bendix mags are mechanical
devices. Their components will wear and they will need maintenance and
adjustment, plan accordingly. If safety or exhorbinent maintenance expense
or possibly excessive down time would be an issue, then it's a no brainer...
replace.

If you need a harness and plugs, the Slick package may be a better option
than rebuilding your Bendix mags, in fact we're due for an overhaul on the
left engine of our Aztec and I've had every engine shop quote it with the
Slick kits rather than overhauling our Bendixes because we also need
ignition harnesses on that engine. Our mags haven't been touched for over
500 hours. They're due for some parts. Get quotes, talk to your A&P about
your options. Take into account how often you fly and how long you plan on
owning the airplane.
Jim

"SteveN1660J" u36161@uwe wrote in message news:75c480d563182@uwe...
What would you say about replacing the Bendix mags because they are the
older
style?

On Jul 26, 1:27 pm, "SteveN1660J" u36161@uwe wrote:
A mechanic that worked on my aircraft tried to push me to buy slick magnitos
and when he was done repairing my airplane he said "Ok the noise you brought
it in for is gone" It was, and the plane ran like any of the planes he works
on for a local flight school. Not wonderful, and surely not as good as when I
brought it to him, but it ran ok.
I went in to talk to him about my now rougher running engine to hear from him
exactly what I expected "You have the older style magnitos and you need new
slick mags."

To make a very long story short, I got stuck at another airport when I had a
bad mag check during run up, the next mechanic to work on the aircraft said
it was timed wrong, and there were a few other issues. It runs perfect now,
thankfully.

When I returned to he first mechanic to question him he said "I told you that
you would have problems with the old Bendix magnitos." Of course I dont think
anyone in their right mind would fly an aircraft knowing there would be
problems with it. He also put "Ignition system is good" in my engine log book.

Is this true that the old style magnitos should be replaced or is something
wrong with this whole thing? If the old style Bendix mags were something that
needed to be replaced, would the 40 aircraft and mine have an AD on it? I
just bought this aircraft, a 68 Piper 140, and have little experience with
engine repair, but this seems very fishey.

Thank you for your time
Steven Aulisio
239 Hanson Dr.
Springfield MA

I have Slicks and have never had a problem. I"m also immune to the
recurrent O/H AD of Bendix.

-Robert

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
Look through your engine log books. Find the entry of when the mags were
last overhauled. If it's more than 400 hours ago, talk to the second
mechanic about overhauling the Bendix mags. Get an estimate from him, then
compare it to the cost of new Slicks. Do what makes sense for your
situation. Forget the name of the first mechanic.

Is it not true, though, that slick magnetos can not be overhauled, while bendix
can? (again and again)
--
Jim in NC

In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

Is it not true, though, that slick magnetos can not be overhauled, while
bendix
can? (again and again)

I believe the slick mags I have can be overhauled, but new slick
mags don't cost much more (if anything) than the parts and labor
to overhaul them.

--
Bob Noel
(goodness, please trim replies!!!)

The newer Slick series can be overhauled. The old 40xx 60xx series were
throw away. Add overhaul parts, labor, downtime, shipping... the current
series may be "throw away".

Unison says....
See Unison publication L1363 for details.
Overhaul includes complete disassembly and replacement of:
Condenser, bearings, bearing cap assembly, coil, impulse coupling, oil seal,
points, rotor gear, and distributor block and gear.

Jim

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
Look through your engine log books. Find the entry of when the mags were
last overhauled. If it's more than 400 hours ago, talk to the second
mechanic about overhauling the Bendix mags. Get an estimate from him,
then
compare it to the cost of new Slicks. Do what makes sense for your
situation. Forget the name of the first mechanic.

Is it not true, though, that slick magnetos can not be overhauled, while
bendix can? (again and again)
--
Jim in NC