After almost 20 years of flying our factory rebuilt Contentinal IO-520 it’s past it TBO… 225 hours to be exact. We got 1925 hours on this engine, and she’s tired. With a total airframe time of 5500 hours, this new engine will be our Cessna 210’s 4th engine.
We knew we were running past TBO. That’s not uncommon, but during this year’s annual, we got an unwelcome surprise when Craig, our mechanic, found two cylinders with low compression.
Cylinder Compressions:
- 68 – good
- 38 – poor
- 32 – poor
- 64 – good
- 52 – ok
- 50 – ok
Now, every mechanic always has a different opinion on what compressions are good, ok, and poor, but these numbers, given our engine’s age, made us think. Craig checked into having the jugs remanufactured, but when he took them off, he discovered the camshaft was in poor shape. We needed to seriously consider a new engine. Those two fixes were going to cost us $5,000 – $6,000 and investing that kind of money for 100/200 hours with all the risks that come with it was not worth the costs.
So, we went on the hunt for a new engine. We knew it was going to cost us but didn’t know how much. When the research was done, we used a few parameters to keep everything equal. New cylinders, repairable (crankshaft, camshaft, and crankcase), and round trip shipping. This kept all engine shops we talked to on the same page and allowed us to make an apple to apple comparison. Check out this PDF with our options.
During my research, I also found out we needed to do a prop overhaul. While this was unexpected on my end, Craig was not surprised. That’s why it’s important to keep a good relationship with a trusted mechanic that knows your airplane and can help you make rational and smart decisions. With the engine being overhauled, and the prop being the same age, we knew this needed to be redone at the same time. You can see the prop overhaul costs in Check out this PDF with our options.
We also took a brief look at upgrading to an IO-550 for $91,000. This cost included a brand new prop that you would need as well. At the end of the day, the costs vs. performance gains for our missions didn’t add up. We would get about 7kts more useful load, but we’ve already got 1,462 useful load.
Plus, you also have to consider the removal of your engine and reinstall when it’s overhauled – not to mention all these numbers are just estimates. Keep in mind, it’s easy to find more issues quickly and spend even more money to finish your overhaul.
With all the research done, how did we come to a decision? First, Craig added a ton of input. All these shops have good reputations but Craig had a better experience with some over others. Obviously, he has helped owners buy more engines than we have. I was also torn between the factory rebuild vs. an overhaul. The higher costs came with less risk but was the expense worth the higher costs?
As part of planning, I also reviewed options to sell 611TM as well. To help make that decision I had reached out to Dan Howard. Dan is a 210 expert and almost exclusively sells Cessna 210. If you’re to buy a Cessna 210, he is a wealth of knowledge. Dan explained to me that because our engine is a factory rebuild, we had a good chance of having a great overhaul and the extra money spent on a factory rebuild would be a waste vs. the overhaul. When our partnership looked at the option to buy a different plane, we couldn’t find a more capable airplane for the cost, value, and reliability of a Cessna 210. It’s hard to find a single that will carry 4 adults and bags.
Check out this PDF with our final two options.
With the final decisions made we had our budget.
Engine Overhaul: $32,000
Prop Overhaul: $4,525
Removal & Install: $2,975
Engine Mounts: $500
Total Budget: $40,000
At the time we did this overhaul, we did not have an engine fund, so that leaves us with an assessment of each partner. An assessment is a 1-time payment from each partner usually based on a 1-time need for cash like an engine or an avionics upgrade.
As a ⅕ ownership plane, each partner shelled out $8,000 to get our engine and prop overhaul. While not cheap, this is a great example of why a partnership works for so many.
We also did this because it’s much better to sell a partnership as a new zero-time engine vs. the pending need of an engine. Many feel comfortable with a zero time vs. a high time engine. It’s just too much work to get done on your own!
In the future, we are considering an engine fund cost assessed for each hour flown. We’re not sure yet, but check out our partnership blog and you can learn more!