Lycoming O-435

KRyan

KRyan

Pre-takeoff checklist
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KRyan
OK, here's another one from one of my customers.

Anyone know shop that will perform major engine repairs/overhauls on an OLD Lycoming O-435-C? He claims no one will touch it.
 
PMs are nice, but I'm actually interested also, as I am considering a certain aircraft with GO-480s on it :) I understand they're part of that same Lycoming bastard line.

My local engine guy will quote it, but I have never heard of him actually doing one.

There is a shop in OH that seems to like doing these and has a supply of parts, but I forget which one. Something Airmotive maybe?
 
There is a fellow in OH that had (past tense) a bunch of older parts.

First step is to find how currently owns the Type Certificate. For the O-145 (Lycoming's oldest GA engine), it's a guy near Williamsport (name escapes).

My A&P at KWAY has been willing to work on mine -- but I've been hunting for parts and providing them as needed.
 
Try asking Charlie Melot at Zephyr Engines in Zephyrhills FL. He's an occasional contributor to some of these boards, and if his shop doesn't do it, he'll know either a) who does, or b) that it's a lost cause.
 
G&N in Griffith, IN might handle them. They were willing to look at my Gopher35.
 
dmccormack said:
First step is to find how currently owns the Type Certificate. For the O-145 (Lycoming's oldest GA engine), it's a guy near Williamsport (name escapes).
Click to expand...

I had no idea they sold off their obsolete TCs. Interesting!
 
Mr. Lycoming disavows all knowledge of the 435 engines.
 
schmookeeg said:
PMs are nice, but I'm actually interested also, as I am considering a certain aircraft with GO-480s on it :) I understand they're part of that same Lycoming bastard line.

My local engine guy will quote it, but I have never heard of him actually doing one.

There is a shop in OH that seems to like doing these and has a supply of parts, but I forget which one. Something Airmotive maybe?
Click to expand...


A 480 is actually a lot easier to support than a 435, and the GO-435, there parts from the gear box that are from Unobtanbium and the stock of good junkyard parts is dwindling fast and typically not for sale. The good thing is with a CNC 7axis mill and a 3D referencing laser scanner, you can now make most any part cost effectively.
 
dmccormack said:
There is a fellow in OH that had (past tense) a bunch of older parts.
First step is to find how currently owns the Type Certificate. For the O-145 (Lycoming's oldest GA engine), it's a guy near Williamsport (name escapes).

My A&P at KWAY has been willing to work on mine -- but I've been hunting for parts and providing them as needed.
Click to expand...


I think I know the guy you're talking about, we ended up getting stuff for my buddies Stinson Voyager that had a 435 in it from Ohio. He even had another controllable pitch prop my buddy got from him (I had never seen one before and the mechanical linkage was a PITA). That was 15 years ago though... shame if he's out of business.
 
I've got som Gopher 35 parts still out in the garage.
 
Try Central Cylinder in Omaha,...they work on all kinds of odd and OLD stuff.
http://centralcylinder.com/services.asp

Last time I was there they showed me an engine from 1920 something they got running again....only the second one know in the world that runs.
 
I'll bet it's more of a matter of where the parts are, rather than where the workers are.
 
As a matter of posterity I necropost here. I still have my old Aero Commander 520 and it has GO-435's. They've been great engines that have served me well for over 350hrs. They've both been top overhauled and cylinders, although not easy to get hold of, are still available if you know where to look. Central Cylinders in Omaha bought up most of the surplus stock and sit on a lot of new stuff for these old geared engines, but they can be found in other places as well. As mentioned, the GO-480 was installed in greater numbers, so there are more parts for that. The 435 is just basically a 6 cylinder version of the O-290, so most of the cylinders are the same. For overhauls:

Central Cylinders in Omaha does them. Heart Of Texas Engines has done them. For 435 parts, people with Stinson, Helio Courier, Navion and Grumman Widgeon connections can sit on them - they all came with 435's at some point. It's always a good idea to give Morris at Commander Services in Stockton a call for hard to find parts for these.

Don't fear geared engines - they're great. My old 520 could get off the rwy in less than 600ft lightly loaded, simply because the geared engines give so much torque. I took it into small grass strips in the Cascade mountains for the Backcountry Fly-In. I was the only twin there.
 
Also Seabees. El Reno is another source of parts. I still have some accessories from my old gopher35 but the rest has been recycled as art.
 
I had an O-435 A in my Bellanca Cruisemaster and while cylinders were obtainable (same as O-290) they weren't all that easy to find and the rest of the engine parts were tough to come by. Most shops didn't want to deal with them and the costs on everything were sky high. Having said all that I think it was a great engine with no real issues other than the funky controllable prop. It worked great but had a huge bladder filled with engine oil that controlled it .

Last time I stopped at El Reno they were gone. Gibsons is just down the street and they said the owner quit the business.....maybe someone has taken over?

Frank
 
Henning said:
A 480 is actually a lot easier to support than a 435, and the GO-435, there parts from the gear box that are from Unobtanbium and the stock of good junkyard parts is dwindling fast and typically not for sale. The good thing is with a CNC 7axis mill and a 3D referencing laser scanner, you can now make most any part cost effectively.
Click to expand...

With the owner produced parts/vintage aircraft rules, there really is a business here. It's getting that first undamaged part to scan that's the problem. Per the rules you can't "stock" the part, but making them on demand per the customer spec meets the rule.

Knowing the rare parts and sitting down in an aviation junkyard and scanning them all could put someone in business and most certainly would be a lucrative side business for an existing shop. Doesn't even need to be related to aviation.
 
Really? How do you make coils for the old Bendix Heavyweight mags. There is not a single mag that is LEGAL on a GO-435 that is currently in production (either in whole or parts). Half of the problem of keeping the gophers flying is accessories. I've already shipped off my fuel pump, etc... to AOG friends that persist on trying to operate these.

Let me know how your CNC mill gets done making new pistons.
 
Ron,
Just overhauled the Romec fuel pump less than 2 months ago. Took a little detective work, but it go done. Just overhauled the mags less than 6 months ago without problem (SL60 and SL61's). I have two cases of factory new pistons and rings sitting in the cellar.

No problem.
 
stratobee said:
Ron,
Just overhauled the Romec fuel pump less than 2 months ago. Took a little detective work, but it go done. Just overhauled the mags less than 6 months ago without problem (SL60 and SL61's). I have two cases of factory new pistons and rings sitting in the cellar.

No problem.
Click to expand...

Where did you get the coils? Bendix isn't making them, and testing of the NOS on the shelf show over half of them are bad out of the box.
 
flyingron said:
Really? How do you make coils for the old Bendix Heavyweight mags. There is not a single mag that is LEGAL on a GO-435 that is currently in production (either in whole or parts). Half of the problem of keeping the gophers flying is accessories. I've already shipped off my fuel pump, etc... to AOG friends that persist on trying to operate these.

Let me know how your CNC mill gets done making new pistons.
Click to expand...

Custom pistons to spec are available from a variety of sources, at not a particularly high cost. There are also companies out there who can and will rewind you coils.
 
I don’t know if anyone is still looking for parts/overhaul of a “legacy” engine. But if you do, try loma-air. I know they still service them, same for the old conti’s (A, C and E series).
 
schmookeeg said:
PMs are nice, but I'm actually interested also, as I am considering a certain aircraft with GO-480s on it :) I understand they're part of that same Lycoming bastard line.

My local engine guy will quote it, but I have never heard of him actually doing one.

There is a shop in OH that seems to like doing these and has a supply of parts, but I forget which one. Something Airmotive maybe?
Click to expand...
Central Cylinder?

We'd better not be competing for the same plane, or else we're going to have to be partners since we're only 100 miles apart.

I do get a kick out of you always trash talking the GO engines though. :)
 
MIFlyer said:
Central Cylinder?

We'd better not be competing for the same plane, or else we're going to have to be partners since we're only 100 miles apart.

I do get a kick out of you always trash talking the GO engines though. :)
Click to expand...
I'll go out on a limb and say you're not competing for the same plane. Go look at the date of that post ;)
 
MIFlyer said:
Central Cylinder?

We'd better not be competing for the same plane, or else we're going to have to be partners since we're only 100 miles apart.

I do get a kick out of you always trash talking the GO engines though. :)
Click to expand...
Heyy, nothing wrong with the Geared engines, unless you treat them in the same way as you would with a regular one. They aren’t very forgiving to brusque throttle handeling. And you have to consider that all those little rotax engines have a gearbox too. :):)
 
Do I trash talk GOs? :D T bones, sure, but I don't mind the motors overmuch. They're like 700 pounds of 1950s detroit iron, making the same power a 400 pound non-geared mill can nowadays. But I get the nostalgia value, and the sound is pretty nice.

I'd love to work in one of those giant BE50 nacelles though. It's gotta be much easier doing mag timing while standing on the exhaust or reclining in the hammock of engine baffles. :D

If I had to own and feed one of these relics, I think it would be a Beech 18.
 
Finding a shop that will work on these old engines is far less of a problem than finding the parts for the engines. Parts for Franklins are easier to come up with than ones for a 435.
 
poadeleted20 said:
Try asking Charlie Melot at Zephyr Engines in Zephyrhills FL. He's an occasional contributor to some of these boards, and if his shop doesn't do it, he'll know either a) who does, or b) that it's a lost cause.
Click to expand...

Central Cylinder would be my first choice followed by G&N ! In my 25 years in the engine business I do not recall ever seeing an O-435-C. A few GO-435,GO-480,IGO-540,IGSO-480;IGSO-540 and a bunch of VO variants from helicopters went though Mattituck.
 
flyingron said:
Really? How do you make coils for the old Bendix Heavyweight mags. There is not a single mag that is LEGAL on a GO-435 that is currently in production (either in whole or parts). Half of the problem of keeping the gophers flying is accessories. I've already shipped off my fuel pump, etc... to AOG friends that persist on trying to operate these.

Let me know how your CNC mill gets done making new pistons.
Click to expand...
CP carillo could make new pistons for you I am sure
 
mondtster said:
Finding a shop that will work on these old engines is far less of a problem than finding the parts for the engines. Parts for Franklins are easier to come up with than ones for a 435.
Click to expand...

I thought most shops that service these engines (290, 435, 480) still have parts for them in stock, maybe not all new, but at least overhauled ones.
 
Eagle_ said:
I thought most shops that service these engines (290, 435, 480) still have parts for them in stock, maybe not all new, but at least overhauled ones.
Click to expand...

For one simple example, try to find a set of pistons for a 290 or a 435. Depending on what you need, you might be looking for a long time if the ones you have aren’t salvageable. Just because a shop will work on them doesn’t mean they have all the parts on hand. They’ll have to go looking for stuff the same way others do.
 
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