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- Aug 8, 2017
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Warning: This post is a long vent / rant.
When I bought my PA-28RT-201T ~4 years ago, we found corrosion pitting on the cam during the pre-buy (pulled lifters and inspected). It cost ~$25,000 to get it repaired (total bill, including local mechanic's bills). Here I am, ~3.5 years / ~300 flight hours later and we have visible pitting on the lift area of all of the cam lobes (they're certainly there, it can be felt with a pick). Lifters look clean (no spalling). The same facility that did the repair 4 years ago gave me a new quote: 100% more expensive for the exact same repair. You're reading that right, they doubled their prices in the last ~3.5 years since taking delivery.
I'm beyond pissed. So now, 3.5 years later I have a total repair cost of $35,000 on the low end, up to $50,000 if this certified**** you repair station finds something else "wrong" with the engine. The engine has ~550 hours on the bottom end. I've had to replace 2 cylinders in the last 12 months due to burned exhaust valves, and 3 more are showing excessive movement on the exhaust valves indicating premature valve guide failure. Turbo looks great. I've watched all the Mike Busch seminars; I have the fancy engine monitor; I do the LoP thing; I change my oil frequently; my CHTs almost never exceed 370 in the summer (absolutely never above 400); I can't ****ing figure out what I'm doing wrong. How the **** can my peers in my income bracket hang on to and run Cessna 340's for decades is beyond me.
I'm struggling with what to do next. Frankly, I'm not sure I want to repair the engine. I intent to fly it until it starts shedding the lobes at which point I'll take what's left of the air frame to my local aluminum recyclers. I get it - flying is expensive. But dumping ~$20,000/year (averaged, not including acquisition costs) into a PA28 is madness. People ***** about their annuals being $2000 instead of $1500. By the time you factor in repairs, I've yet to have a single annual be less than $10,000 and I've owner assisted on every single one of them (ok, the first annual was deservedly expensive due to lack of mx by the previous owner, and my insistence that we comply with *all* piper SBs).
When I bought my PA-28RT-201T ~4 years ago, we found corrosion pitting on the cam during the pre-buy (pulled lifters and inspected). It cost ~$25,000 to get it repaired (total bill, including local mechanic's bills). Here I am, ~3.5 years / ~300 flight hours later and we have visible pitting on the lift area of all of the cam lobes (they're certainly there, it can be felt with a pick). Lifters look clean (no spalling). The same facility that did the repair 4 years ago gave me a new quote: 100% more expensive for the exact same repair. You're reading that right, they doubled their prices in the last ~3.5 years since taking delivery.
I'm beyond pissed. So now, 3.5 years later I have a total repair cost of $35,000 on the low end, up to $50,000 if this certified
I'm struggling with what to do next. Frankly, I'm not sure I want to repair the engine. I intent to fly it until it starts shedding the lobes at which point I'll take what's left of the air frame to my local aluminum recyclers. I get it - flying is expensive. But dumping ~$20,000/year (averaged, not including acquisition costs) into a PA28 is madness. People ***** about their annuals being $2000 instead of $1500. By the time you factor in repairs, I've yet to have a single annual be less than $10,000 and I've owner assisted on every single one of them (ok, the first annual was deservedly expensive due to lack of mx by the previous owner, and my insistence that we comply with *all* piper SBs).
