Looking to overhaul C-145

[madpilot]

Well, I put the plane away for the winter here in Wisconsin. Now I am searching for a place to take the motor (c-145) for an overhaul. I would like to do business somewhere close by. I can have the motor taken off and crated with no problem but I would like to drive it to the overhaul facility myself. Contacted a place here in Wisconsin but they wanted $18,000 for an overhaul. There has got to be a place that is less expensive and provides good work. I live in central wisconsin but don't mind a drive if I am saving money. Any ideas ?

[loomis]

paul brindley in plainwell michigan overhauled my engine he is very good his number is 269-217-2140 tell him rob loomis gave you his number.

[derf62]

I O/H my own and the cost for parts was close to $11K. This included new thru bolts. All strictly accomplished per Continental O/H manaul. I did however have to replace the case. Only thing over looked was when doing the O/H I should have considered a conversion to a 180.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Always good to shop around. What were they going to do for $18000? New cylinders? Milleniums are $4320 alone.

[GAHorn]

Why do you want to drive it to them yourself? You will not likely have insurance coverage for it if you engage in an accident, or theft. Your expenses will likely meet/exceed the freight to ship it if it goes very far. If you have it shipped across the state or across the country to a favorable shop you will likely not find much difference in transport costs, yet may save on ovhl costs by have a wider selection of shops.

On the plus side of nearby shops: Any warranty work will be closer.

Shopping for an "overhaul" can be very misleading unless you have a WRITTEN specification. If you ask one shop what they charge they may be considering all items including accy overhauls per mfr specs. Another shop may give you a better price because they do not overhaul accys...they only repair them as necessary. While a third shop may actually REBUILD them (a much better and more expensive process.)

If you ship your engine out, you might consider: Mattituck, Penn-Yann, LyCon. One of the best shops around for a high-degree of customer satisfaction: Western Skyways, Montrose, CO (but rumor has it they may no longer do C145/O300 engines.) For a low-cost but quality overhaul: WhiteWing Engines, Junction, TX.

[SteveF]

FYI - Mattituck has a fantastic reputation around the NE area. I talked to them at Oshkosh a couple of years ago and at the time they said they no longer work on C145/O300 engines. They suggested a place in the midwest but I don't remember the name as I was not in need of an overhall at the time.

[GAHorn]

Mattituck will overhaul O-300 engines, but may require some discussion regarding differences in "dash numbers".
Their price for an O-300-D:
Complete Engine Overhaul Package: $25,480.00 includes: ignition kit, carburetor,
starter & clutch assembly, alternator and vacuum pump.

Warranty
12 months or 240 hours

800-624-6680

[madpilot]

I guess I am open to shipping it out. I was thinking that if I had a problem, I could take it back in person. The $18000 was everything overhauled, engine, starter, mags, harness, generator, and carb. Rebuilding or new which every would be the best. This was at a place called Poplar Grove which is close to the Wisconsin/Illinois line. I thought that was kind of high.

[GAHorn]

The problem most "quotes" have is that they must presume all items being discarded and not reused except for "core". The actual price may be higher at completion if your crank or case or cylinder cannot be overhauled, etc. On the other hand you might save money if you don't have them do a complete overhaul of carb or magneto, ign. harness, etc. (However I don't recommend such shortcuts.)

[derf62]

I'll second recc on Mattituk. Very professional and at both OSH & Sun N Fun shows. I guess it goes with the saying ya get what you pay for. Bit the bullet, you ''ll feel better every time you go flying.

[Kyle Wolfe]

Give these guys a call. They're well known in our area for producing a good product, and standing behind their work. Good info as well on their website.

http://www.poplargroveairmotive.com/Overhaul/index.html

I'd be curious what they're getting these days for a new limit overhaul.

[KarlWK]

For what it's worth, an older local mechanic highly recommends Poplar Grove. He is one of the technical advisers to the Bonanza Society, and in talking with him, he does seem to know his stuff (but that may reflect on my knowledge more than his). The ABS site lists Poplar Grove as one of two shops that still overhauls the E series Continentals (predecessor to the O-470) used in the early Bonanzas.

[53B]

Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm currently overhauling my O-300A myself. I called a few shops just to see where I'd end up in comparison. Poplar Grove was one of them and what I found was that they don't necessarily comply with the mandatory replacements parts list per the TCM Service Bulletin. The through bolts are listed as replacement items but I was told that they would magnaflux the old ones and reuse them if they were good. I have used Poplar Grove for customer engines in the past and have never had a problem but I thought that for 18K that they should comply with the S.B. I also called Mattituck and they do replace the through bolts with new and they do change all of the parts on the mandatory replacement list but the price reflects that as you can see.

I should end up around $13.5K using ECI nickel cylinders, all new hardware, all accessories overhauled and all service bulletins complied with. I have a tremendous benefit through my employer in that we overhaul our own engines so I have the overhaul shop at my disposal including magnaflux capability and can buy parts at our cost.

Hope this helps!

[Mark Harwood]

Give Mark at Custom Airmotive in Tulsa a call. They also have a website with price list. They did my engine a few years ago at the recommendation of one of the major case shops in OK. I was very happy with them. Website has price currently for c-145,0300 at $16,200.00 Price included choice of new cylinders, new mags and wires and rebuilt carb and gen if I remember. B&C starter was extra but I am glad I did it. Mark leitig is a real sharp guy who will stear you right. Definitely worth a call. Their number is on their website. Just google Custom Airmotive Tulsa. Good luck! Mark Harwood

[mrpibb]

If you want you can give Eric a call at Sandhill Aviation, hes a straight shooter when it comes to aircraft and engines. He can give you the low down on overhaul expenses or even a qoute, he has done a few 170 engine overhauls and is a authorized TCM overhauler I belive. He has no problem recomending other overhaulers if you want to know about them. We were talking the other day and he was commenting how Continental was off there rocker on the oil pump gears which I belive are now fetching $2400. a few years back (3) I priced out a overhaul if I did it myself, soup to nuts, A to Z was $12800 for my O-300-C with servicable crank and oil pump gears, new mags, carb, starter and same alternator. Give him a call at 603-479-5832, he is very 170 friendly.
Vic