"That's an oft-reported myth"

"That's an oft-reported myth"

From Ask the A&Ps by AOPA

March 1, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the costs associated with running an engine past TBO and addresses fuel venting issues in aircraft.

Is going past TBO more expensive? Plus fuel vents and turbocharger temps. Email podcasts@aopa.org for a chance to get on the show. Join the world's largest aviation community at aopa.org/join Full episode notes below: Mike wonders if running past TBO actually costs more. He has a Mooney and has heard that overhauls far beyond TBO can cost more as a result of having to replace more parts. That is an oft-reported myth, Mike says. The only things that can cause an up charge on most field overhauls are having to replace the case or the crankshaft. Otherwise it’s a fixed price. Paul says the top engine generally goes into the trash. On the crankshaft, they usually just have to polish it or grind it. There’s no repairing a crankshaft. If it’s bad, it was bad because it had some other type of problem. You can go thousands of hours on crankshafts. Mike said Lycoming had a white paper on their website that said crankshafts are generally good for 14,000 hours. Cracks on the case can be welded. Mark has an early 182 and he’s having issues with the fuel caps properly venting. He has noticed that once you fill the tanks with cold fuel, there doesn’t appear to be an outflow vent. Paul said…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mike, Paul

Topics covered

  • TBO
  • engine overhaul
  • fuel venting
  • turbocharger
  • aviation maintenance

Keywords

  • TBO
  • engine costs
  • fuel vents
  • turbocharger temperatures
  • aviation community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lycoming

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