jrh
Well-Known Member
I am in the process of buying a 1946 Cessna 140 and I need some advice on how to properly care for the engine. Here is the situation...
The plane has not been flown much in the past several years. I have complete maintenance logs and this is what they show:
Plane flew regularly (3-5 hours/month) through the end of 2002. It flew a few times (less than 10 hours) in 2003.
The engine (Continental C85) had a major overhaul dated Nov. 14, 2003. Tach time at that point is listed as 1,227. An annual was also performed at this time.
On Sept. 15, 2004, with tach time at 1,253.3 (25 hours SMOH), an A&P changed the oil and replaced the mineral oil with 100WT Aeroshell oil, cleaned the lower plugs, test ran, and found satisfactory.
On Dec. 27, 2004, at tach time 1,267.5 (40 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and did everything except change the oil.
On Mar. 27, 2006, at tach time 1,268 (41 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and put in Philips 20W50 oil.
I looked at the plane yesterday and the tach currently reads 1,268.24 hours.
So, basically what I'm seeing is, this plane hasn't been flown since early 2005.
It looks great and has been in a hangar all that time, but still...2+ years without turning the engine over is something I wonder about.
Could somebody tell me what I should do in order to bring this engine back to life in the gentlest way possible? I will be test flying/ferrying the plane to my mechanic this Sunday in order to have a prebuy inspection/annual performed.
Thanks in advance!
The plane has not been flown much in the past several years. I have complete maintenance logs and this is what they show:
Plane flew regularly (3-5 hours/month) through the end of 2002. It flew a few times (less than 10 hours) in 2003.
The engine (Continental C85) had a major overhaul dated Nov. 14, 2003. Tach time at that point is listed as 1,227. An annual was also performed at this time.
On Sept. 15, 2004, with tach time at 1,253.3 (25 hours SMOH), an A&P changed the oil and replaced the mineral oil with 100WT Aeroshell oil, cleaned the lower plugs, test ran, and found satisfactory.
On Dec. 27, 2004, at tach time 1,267.5 (40 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and did everything except change the oil.
On Mar. 27, 2006, at tach time 1,268 (41 hours SMOH) an A&P performed an annual and put in Philips 20W50 oil.
I looked at the plane yesterday and the tach currently reads 1,268.24 hours.
So, basically what I'm seeing is, this plane hasn't been flown since early 2005.
It looks great and has been in a hangar all that time, but still...2+ years without turning the engine over is something I wonder about.
Could somebody tell me what I should do in order to bring this engine back to life in the gentlest way possible? I will be test flying/ferrying the plane to my mechanic this Sunday in order to have a prebuy inspection/annual performed.
Thanks in advance!