AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022 - 99

RUDDER & WRENCH
FINALLY!
A CARD
FOR PILOTS.
The Continental cam lobe at left has " crack-like features " on its apex and needs to be retired. The one
at right has minor distress and should be given the benefit of the doubt with a new lifter.
toast. Once again, Continental came to
the rescue with its Service Information
Directive SID05-1B, which provides
detailed inspection guidelines for
Continental camshafts and lifters.
This nine-page service bulletin is
chock-full of photos showing what
normal, distressed, and unairworthy
cam lobes and lifter faces look like.
Continental's stated criterion for an
unairworthy cam lobe is " the presence
of indentions or crack like features in
the surface along the cam lobe apex "
which have sufficient depth to " repeatedly
catch " the tip of a sharp pick or awl.
Anything less is considered acceptable.
For borderline cases, Continental
believes in letting the cam decide its
fate: " For minor distress, the camshaft
may be continued in service and reexamined
upon the accumulation of 100
hours operation or 12 months, whichever
occurs first. "
I asked the Skylane owner to email
me a high-resolution photo of the cam
lobe that had his IA's knickers in a twist.
The photo revealed a cam lobe with
some obvious corrosion pitting but definitely
no " crack like features " or large
indentations on lobe's apex. My advice
to the owner was to sit down with his
IA, go over the SID05-1B guidance, and
try to persuade him that the appropriate
action was to install a new lifter
and re-examine it after 100 hours or 12
months to see if it was torn up by the
cam (which is the cam's way of saying
" I'm toast " ). If the lifter survives, then
the cam is exonerated.
It's important to understand that
there's really no risk in taking this
approach. Nobody ever fell out of the sky
because of a spalled cam lobe or spalled
lifters. I like to tell owners: " This isn't a
safety-of-flight issue, it's strictly a safetyof-wallet
issue. "
I was pleased to learn that the
Skylane owner's IA agreed to this plan.
A year from now, we'll find out which
way the cam voted. So very democratic.
Lycoming making metal
Another Skylane owner emailed me,
this time about a Cessna T182T with a
Lycoming TIO-540-AK1A engine:
" Mike, please help me! My engine is
300 hours over TBO, makes good power
and all compressions are in the mid-70s.
But it has started making metal. There
are chips in the screen and metal in the
filter. I don't want to replace the engine
since it runs so well. "
The email contained two photos of
metal chips adhered to a magnet. " The
quantity of metal has decreased from
the first oil change to the next one, " the
owner said. He also included a report
from Aviation Laboratories in Houston,
indicating that the chips were alloy steel
consistent with AMS 6414 or 6415. Clearly,
this fellow was doing his homework.
I was not terribly optimistic about
the prospects for saving this engine. I
had to give the owner the bad news:
AOPA PILOT / February 2022
99
3%
Cash Back1
A CASH BACK1
on
purchases with Select
AOPA Partners2-4
REDEMPTION IS APPLIED AS A STATEMENT CREDIT.
QUARTERLY BONUS POINT CAP OF 2,500 POINTS
Visit
AOPA.org/creditcard
to learn more.
*Certain points and purchases restrictions apply, see full Rewards Terms
and Conditions for full details at AOPA.org/creditcard.
1. Rewards points can be redeemed for Cash Back or other items provided
through AOPA Pilot Rewards. A Cash Back redemption is applied
as a statement credit. The statement credit will reduce your balance but
you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. A minimum
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back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards, and travel may
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with Commerce Bank, nor are the listed merchants to be considered
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= 3%) for every $1 of Net Merchandise Purchases made at select AOPA
partners, 2% Cash Back (1 regular point + 1 bonus points = 2%) for every
$1 of Net Merchandise Purchases made at FBOs (fixed based operators),
aviation and auto fuel, and flight schools, and 1% Cash Back (or 1 point)
for every $1 of other Net Merchandise Purchases. For example, if you
spend $100, you will earn 100 points which is equal to $1 in Cash Back
rewards. A maximum of 2,500 bonus points will be awarded per calendar
quarter, per rewards account. Please allow up to five business days after
the transaction posts to your account for bonus points to be awarded.
+ 3 bonus points = 4%) for every $1 of Net Merchandise Purchases on
select AOPA purchases, 3% Cash Back (1 regular point + 2 bonus points

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2022

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