Asking advice on continental engine at annual?

[Bill Greenwood]

Wes, my A&P is an very experienced on Beech particularly, and has been in business over 40 years. I asked and he said that the opening was of course covered while the cylinder was off, and it was short time thing, just a day or so as he keeps a replacement cylinder in stock.
This debris doesn't look like something that just fell in, doesnt' look like common dirt. I think it most likely is lifter material.
The Continental factory man said he could not really tell by the photos sent him on the internet.

I think I will send some flakes to Cont, but am planning on flying it for a few hours and checking again. I tend to be cautious by nature, but also because my normal flight is over the mountains. Most likely I am just delaying the day of paying anyway.

When and if I get the overhaul, I am strongly considering Ram in Waco. They are expensive, but seem to be good and I can easily fly the plane there and take the airline home, and I have friends in the area.

[WLIU]

The latest Sport Aviation has an article written just for you. Mike Busch has an article about Continental engines with cam problems. Nice photos and an explanation of the Continental service bulletin about how much cam pitting is allowable. Very interesting....

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[Pearson]

Bill,

Your description of the particles sounded like bits of threads from a bolt, or a bolt hole. Did your mechanic mention anything about any striped threads? If so, I would keep flying and check the oil filter every few hours for more particles. Good luck! Let us know what you find when this mystery is solved.

[58boner]

I would not panic about small amounts of metal in the oil after engine work. Monitor. Shouldn't be any cam wear at 700 hours. These Continental engines have huge lifters and cam lobes compared to Lycomings. I'm in the middle of doing a top overhaul on my IO-470C9B in my J-35 Bonanza. 1400 Hrs. with not even cylinder work since factory reman in 1995. At 1400 Hrs the lifers are just starting to show about 10% coverage of the micro pitting and the cam lobes look new. I am replacing the lifters as a precaution.
It's not that hard to pull the lifters on that engine, but I would wait for more evidence. They will run great until there is substantial wear giving plenty of time to find a problem before a catastrophic failure.
It sounds like you are a very careful and prudent owner. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. What you may have here is some break in trash or mechanic induced FOD.
I worked for Continental for a spell back in the 80's in their overhaul shop. These are really robust engines, you wouldn't believe some of the things I saw inside some of those engines!

[Sirota]

Bill,

WILU is on the right track. I'd call Mike Busch. I don't know what he charges if you don't subscribe to his service or even if you need to subscribe, he can proably tell you what to do and you can trust his advice. A hell of a lot cheaper then an overhaul.