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Lycoming SB 632 7/17/2017

2nd Response

Vans quickly got back to me with the following, "Van's is not dealing with this SB here. We will not have the tools etc. The person you talked with at Lycoming is misinformed. Please contact Jonathan Korelitz, our Lycoming rep. for instructions."

Looks like we are on our own to find the tool and gaskets at Spruce, Aviall, etc.

Mean while AOPA sent this bulletin: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/august/03/bad-bushings-prompt-lycoming-mandatory-service-bulletin?utm_source=ePilot&utm_medium=Content&utm_content=adv&utm_campaign=170803epilot
 
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Yep, very disappointing. Good luck getting anywhere with some of the distributors too. If you're not a shop or an A&P with an account, they also won't deal with you.

I ordered a gasket kit from Omaha Airplane Supply. I also had the tool on order with them, but Tommy Turner nicely sent me his at cost. It took 1.5 weeks for the gasket kit to arrive and drop ship to me, and I don't know how much longer the tool would have taken.

My understanding is Spruce has them both now listed, and if you call and talk to the counter sales they can handle the warranty claim too.

Lycoming is not reimbursing the tool, though I hear you can get some of a credit back for returning it.

If anyone needs the ST-531, I should be done with it after this weekend and will be glad to send it on at cost.

Vans quickly got back to me with the following, "Van's is not dealing with this SB here. We will not have the tools etc. The person you talked with at Lycoming is misinformed. Please contact Jonathan Korelitz, our Lycoming rep. for instructions."

Looks like we are on our own to find the tool and gaskets at Spruce, Aviall, etc.
 
ST-531

With the help of a few local A&Ps I got the work done for SB632. I have the ST-531 tool available if anyone needs it. Send me a PM.
 
Not so lucky as the others: two bad bushings in mine! One bushing required about 1/2 of a turn before it slipped, the other about 1.5 turns. The other two were fine.

My A&P said and expletive on the first one. He's pretty shocked. He went back and checked the two that are "good" from the other direction just to make sure.

RPaXOfh.jpg
 
Revision to SB 632

There is a revision to this SB that came out Aug 4. No big change but more detail about inspection procedures. I am waiting on info from rebuild shop on when my rod bearings were received from Lycoming. My engine was assembled with new Lycoming rod bearings but I don't know when those bearings came from Lycoming.
 
Recommended engine repair facility

Well, my brand new engine is on the list. 80 hours, flying since March. After reading Mike Busch's comments, I am thinking I should take this plane to a really good repair facility and not just a local A&P.

Can anyone recommend a good repair shop to me? I am in Virginia, but am willing to fly it to a shop that is further away. In the end, i want to be flying an engine that I trust has been reassembled well. Some names I have come up with so far are Penn Yan, Zephyr, Triad, Aero Performance in PA. Does Aviall do repairs or just parts? Does Lycoming do engine repairs at their shop? What about Barrett's, Aerosport power, Superior, etc. You can tell I don't know anything about these shops!

Thanks for the help,

Rick Solana
RV-10
N804RS
 
Is that s SPLIT bushing????

Not so lucky as the others: two bad bushings in mine! One bushing required about 1/2 of a turn before it slipped, the other about 1.5 turns. The other two were fine.

My A&P said and expletive on the first one. He's pretty shocked. He went back and checked the two that are "good" from the other direction just to make sure.

Is that a split bushing !?!?!?!?! :eek: :eek:

or a weird mark??
 
It is split, but it's supposed to be. However the amount of split is likely the problem as to why it can "slip" out of place. Probably a tolerance issue in the part by the supplier.
 
A quote from the SB

"YOU MUST COMPLETE THE ?REQUIRED ACTION? IN THIS SERVICE BULLETIN. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE THE ?REQUIRED ACTION? IN THIS SERVICE BULLETIN, AND THE CONNECTING ROD BUSHING MOVES OUT OF PLACE, THE CONNECTING ROD CAN FAIL AND CAUSE UN-COMMANDED STRUCTURAL ENGINE FAILURE."

I love that term, "Un-Commanded Structural Engine Failure", as opposed to, I guess, a "Commanded Structural Engine Failure".

I am wiring the cockpit right now. I am thinking of putting in a switch with the notation of "Commanded Structural Engine Failure", just in case I need to kill the engine at some point. Just to be safe, I will make it a guarded switch.

Yeah, good idea,,, guarded switch will prevent any fast fingers from hitting the switch prematurely and you wouldn't want that!
 
Chances are that most of the affected engines are factory or Thunderbolt built engines shipped from November 2016 - February 2017.

If you engine was overhauled/repaired in the field prior to 11/2016, you will not be affected.

From my shop if your engine was overhauled/repaired between 11/2016 and 2/2017, you most likely will not be affected as the shop we use for these repairs almost exclusively uses Superior rod bushings, except for parts under EASA regulations. But, if you have a question, feel free to drop me an email.

I just wanted to make a shout-out for Rhonda; I found out about the SB, dug out my paperwork and saw I was in the timeframe. Since the connecting rods on my engine were done by another shop, I didn't have part numbers so I emailed Rhonda last night just to be sure. This morning while I'm eating breakfast her reply arrived, with the Superior part numbers used for my build. So, she got the email this morning, researched the build, and got back to me before I even got my tail in gear. That's fast! Just another reason I'm glad I had my engine built at BPE.
 
Not sure I understand why Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority listed Group 1 Factory Engines during 2011 calendar year. From reading the Lycoming SB, the bad parts started late 2015.

Copy / Paste Lycoming SB632B: "If your engine was overhauled or repaired on or after November 18, 2015,"

As several have speculated, it appears this problem may be a bit more widespread than the Lycoming SB indicates.
 
Rhonda, so what is (your opinion) the design issue? Are the Lyc bushings just dimensionally poor or is the bushing material too soft and they are yielding and losing preload?

Sorry for all the questions, but one more - are the bushings installed with rod and bushing cold and pressed, hot, or light pressed then internally burnished to expand and reamed to final dimension?

Sorry for the delay in response - still getting back in the swing after Oshkosh. I'm not privy to information as to whether it is a manufacturing issue or a material/design issue.

My initial thoughts were that the OD of the bushings was simply out of spec and it got missed in QA, or maybe that they weren't properly installed in the factory engines, but that doesn't make sense as Lycoming also quarantined lots of bushings sent out for field overhaul of rods.

The bushings are installed at room temp, pressed in then burnished and machined or rolled to final dimensions. I believe that ASSI rolls theirs to final dims.
 
Well, my brand new engine is on the list. 80 hours, flying since March. After reading Mike Busch's comments, I am thinking I should take this plane to a really good repair facility and not just a local A&P.

Can anyone recommend a good repair shop to me? I am in Virginia, but am willing to fly it to a shop that is further away. In the end, i want to be flying an engine that I trust has been reassembled well. Some names I have come up with so far are Penn Yan, Zephyr, Triad, Aero Performance in PA. Does Aviall do repairs or just parts? Does Lycoming do engine repairs at their shop? What about Barrett's, Aerosport power, Superior, etc. You can tell I don't know anything about these shops!

Thanks for the help,

Rick Solana
RV-10
N804RS

Hi Rick:

We can complete the work for you and apply for the warranty through our Lycoming distributor if you like. I don't know if Lycoming will pay freight to and from me though. Worth checking on. Please feel free to contact me directly if you need assistance. 918-835-1089
 
Sorry for the delay in response - still getting back in the swing after Oshkosh. I'm not privy to information as to whether it is a manufacturing issue or a material/design issue.

My initial thoughts were that the OD of the bushings was simply out of spec and it got missed in QA, or maybe that they weren't properly installed in the factory engines, but that doesn't make sense as Lycoming also quarantined lots of bushings sent out for field overhaul of rods.

See the CASA link previously posted #61. Interesting reading, entirely correct or not.

BTW, for those who don't bother checking the suction screen at every oil change, Section 5 is worth a look.
 
Sorry for the delay in response - still getting back in the swing after Oshkosh. I'm not privy to information as to whether it is a manufacturing issue or a material/design issue.

My initial thoughts were that the OD of the bushings was simply out of spec and it got missed in QA, or maybe that they weren't properly installed in the factory engines, but that doesn't make sense as Lycoming also quarantined lots of bushings sent out for field overhaul of rods.

The bushings are installed at room temp, pressed in then burnished and machined or rolled to final dimensions. I believe that ASSI rolls theirs to final dims.

Rhonda, Thanks for a precise reply. That helps, If the busing was pressed and machined, I could see how the large gap might might have yielded less than 100% contact, but if it is roller burnished the expansion in place would press it to the rod wall. The CASA report shows an failure that I am not familiar with, it appears that small pieces are fatigued and broken off, resulting in a cocking load on the con-rod. Thinner walls are more difficult to retain installation press fits.
 
I bought an experimental O-360 through Vans about a year ago and it's on the list... about 50 hours on my engine now with no problems.

The odd thing is, I only found out about this from an A&P friend during casual conversation. Lycoming knows I have an engine on the list, shouldn't I have heard of this through them, like a serious-looking envelope in the mail or something?

What is the normal channel for an engine owner to be notified of a time sensitive SB?
 
What is the normal channel for an engine owner to be notified of a time sensitive SB?

In prior years, the owner who wanted to stay informed could buy a set of service letters/service instructions/service bulletins (SL/SI/SB) from Lycoming, and subscribe to annual Lycoming updates for a fee (about $50/year). Envelopes from Lycoming would show up in the mail every month or so with the latest documents. Starting this year, Lycoming stopped that service. You can now go to http://www.lycoming.com/contact/knowledge-base/publications and see the latest publications, and sign up for notification of when publications are released/updated.

If you want a full set of publications (including hundreds of documents not shown on Lycoming's web site), Lycoming points you to a couple of vendors who sell electronic subscriptions for several hundred dollars per year.
 
I have a new Lycoming engine from Vans that is currently being built. Would I be correct to assume that my new currently being produced engine will not be affected?
 
I have a new Lycoming engine from Vans that is currently being built. Would I be correct to assume that my new currently being produced engine will not be affected?

I would think that is a safe bet. I have a Lycoming Thunderbolt that didn't make the list by about 2 weeks.

Vic
 
No IO-390's affected

Interestingly, I just got off the phone with Lycoming because although my engine was shipped 12/2014, I still had the curiosity on the IO-390 being affected...it's not on the lists.

They told me that the IO-390 production never received any of the questionable parts, so the IO-390 is not affected.

I find it a bit strange because on some forum somewhere I did see that someone said that they had to have their IO-390 torn down for the SB. I don't know if they did that "just in case" or what, but according to Lycoming today, no IO-390 is affected at all. Strange but true or so I'm told.
 
I'm Affected --- My Experience.....So Far

I purchased a YIO-360-M1B last fall from Vans. Last night I got an email from Vans saying they believed I received an engine from Lycoming that is included in SB-632-b. Attached was a link to the SB ( https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SB632B%20Connecting%20Rod%20Identification.pdf )

I went to Table 1 in the SB and my EXACT engine model and serial number is listed on page 15. Following the instructions included in Van's email, I called Van's this morning. Lycoming indicates Vans is an "Authorized Distributor" and I should work through them.

Van's collected my information and is making arrangements to have the engine shipped back to Lycoming. Vans indicates the next step is to get authorization to return the engine and request a shipping crate. Shipping to be covered both ways. Vans says I'm the second builder they have worked with on this and that they are still learning the Lycoming process.

The engine has just barely been hung. I've made most of the connections and was starting to fit the cowl. Its never been started. Talk about taking the wind out of the building sails.

I'm taking this as just another hurdle to get over. :( First there was the recall for my heated Dynon pitot tube. Then the SB 14-01-31 for the inspection/repair of potential cracks the horizontal stab. It's all part of the build. I could have been worse....i.e. the big fan stopped with an off field landing. Maybe I should blame the Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast. I was listening to them talk about the SB in the shop right before I got the email. They Jinxed me. NOT!! :eek:
 
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Big bummer. I'm always amazed when something like this comes up as the engines really haven't changed since the 50's.

Have they ever been perfect or does one SB eventually just create another down the road after material and or procedures change? I'm guessing it is always work in progress after looking at the 74 pages of Service Bulletins Letters and Instructions.

Wow, tough business...

Looks like it was a sub-contrator supplier problem...

"Lycoming has determined that a small percentage of the bushings manufactured by a sub-supplier during a specific time period were diametrically undersized, resulting in a tightness of fit below factory accepted tolerances.These non-conforming bushings may have a substantially lower push-in/pull-out force than conforming bushings and may be susceptible to unseating during normal engine operations."
 
Replaced two connecting rods. Send everything back to the distributor including a detailed invoice for just over $3300. Let's see how smoothly my warranty refund goes.

The good news is airplane flew today for the first time with no issues.

What actually amazed me most was the fact that, in doing the inspection, Lycoming wanted the stamped lot number and serial number off of all of the installed connecting rods. However, the replacement rods I got have absolutely no lot or serial number on them. The SB even says this may be the case. What kind of quality control is this??
 
All Six Good

New YIO-540-D4A5, SN EL-36630-48E, bought through Van's, built July 2016, completely mounted, but not run on a RV-10 project. Connecting rods LW-11750 S from lots K476, K477, and K480. A&P, IA did the work in my shop. Bushings were tight on all six rods. Online survey completed.

Now the time has come to submit a warranty claim. Anyone know what shop rate Lycoming will reimburse? Will it pay for the tool and gasket kit?

I agree with ctennis that anonymous parts without identifying numbers is poor practice. How will anyone know if the parts are genuine? This disassembly was my first look into the guts of an engine and I was surprised the other way. It seemed everything, including components as small as a piston pin cap, had markings.
 
At work we were about to install an IO-360-B series engine that had been shockloaded and rebuilt in March. It was covered by the SB. The engine shop (Nicholson-McLaren in England) took the engine back and carried out the check. The rods needed replacing. I'm very glad we were able to get the check done before the engine was installed, so was the owner!

Pete
 
Update of my SB-632B Experience

Received a shipping crate Thursday from Lycoming. It just showed up. No email, no notice, no call...just showed up. The fact that I was out of town when it showed up made this an inconvenience. But I can't complain because at least there is movement to get it back to the factory. The engine came off a lot easier than it went on.


I purchased a YIO-360-M1B last fall from Vans. Last night I got an email from Vans saying they believed I received an engine from Lycoming that is included in SB-632-b. Attached was a link to the SB ( https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SB632B%20Connecting%20Rod%20Identification.pdf )

I went to Table 1 in the SB and my EXACT engine model and serial number is listed on page 15. Following the instructions included in Van's email, I called Van's this morning. Lycoming indicates Vans is an "Authorized Distributor" and I should work through them.

Van's collected my information and is making arrangements to have the engine shipped back to Lycoming. Vans indicates the next step is to get authorization to return the engine and request a shipping crate. Shipping to be covered both ways. Vans says I'm the second builder they have worked with on this and that they are still learning the Lycoming process.

The engine has just barely been hung. I've made most of the connections and was starting to fit the cowl. Its never been started. Talk about taking the wind out of the building sails.

I'm taking this as just another hurdle to get over. :( First there was the recall for my heated Dynon pitot tube. Then the SB 14-01-31 for the inspection/repair of potential cracks the horizontal stab. It's all part of the build. I could have been worse....i.e. the big fan stopped with an off field landing. Maybe I should blame the Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast. I was listening to them talk about the SB in the shop right before I got the email. They Jinxed me. NOT!! :eek:
 
Follow Up to the Follow Up

The engine was picked up on Sept 6th. Talked to the Lycoming logistic person yesterday and she said that it could ship on Oct 4th, but I asked for delayed shipment until the 20th. Was told they could hold it until then.

Received a shipping crate Thursday from Lycoming. It just showed up. No email, no notice, no call...just showed up. The fact that I was out of town when it showed up made this an inconvenience. But I can't complain because at least there is movement to get it back to the factory. The engine came off a lot easier than it went on.
 
Has anyone else had any trouble with getting paid under warranty for this SB? My engine guys says the engine distributor says Lycoming is dragging their feet getting these paid.

My work was done almost 5 months ago FWIW.

DB
 
No trouble

No trouble. Triad (Lycoming distributor) handled the whole claim for me. Had the cash within a few weeks. SB work done August 2017.
 
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