Stupid question

[asgcpa]

When buying a plane what so you look for in an engine?

 

[wabower]

Oil, preferably XC.

When buying a plane what so you look for in an engine?

 

[warthog1984]

Not nearing OH, no expensive ADs, recent running, general good health.

 

[poadeleted20]

Not nearing OH, no expensive ADs, recent running, general good health.

...plus complete and proper logs.

 

[Geico266]

Does it run? All you need to know.

8.5 -1 pistons so I can safely run car gas.

 

[tinerj]

First, will it start.

Seriously, how well does it start. How well does it idle. Does it vibrate (that could be the prop), does it run up smoothly to full throttle, or does it hesitate along the way. At full throttle does it continue to run smoothly or does it surge or fade. Does it develop a good oil pressure. Does it sound like a thrashing machine or does it have a continuous smooth tone.

Of course, problems may not be strictly related to the engine, but a holistic test of the entire system with the engine running tells me more than reading the log books.

 

[JOhnH]

When buying a plane what so you look for in an engine?

Of course you want to look at the size and power ratings.
And how well it has been maintained and flown.

And you might also want to visually inspect it for things like wasp nests. Seriously. We had a thread lately about a crash that may have been caused by a plane that was out of annual and was brought down by wasps in the intake.

 

[flyingron]

You're getting disparate answers because the question is overly vague.

Are you asking for what condition aspects you should be concerned about with a particular engine you are looking at?

Are you asking what sort of engine for a particular airframe you should be considering (for example Navions have factory engines of E-185, E-225, IO-470, GO-435, IO-520 and STCs exist for IO-550, GO-480, and I've seen TSIO-520's and TIO-540's put in them)? Commanche's come with engines from 180 to 400 HP as well. Even Skyhawks have gone through three major engine changes (and lots of little minor model differences).

Are you asking what engine you should be looking for so you can find an aircraft that has one of those in it?

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

When buying a plane what so you look for in an engine?

First I try to avoid entines with a high number of known problems. Conti's are known for problems with their jugs.

Second I would prefer to buy a near run out engine so that it is reflected in the price of the airplane. This way I can perform the maintenance required and pay for what I get. Many buy what they believe is a cream puff engine paying a higher price in the aircraft only to find some dismal maintenance or destruction due to poor use and have to pay for the engine again.

I woudl prefer an engine is at least 75% of tbo.

What happened to me was I bought a run out engine and it turned out that I was able to fly that engine for 880 hrs over 8 years without spending much more than a jug or two and I sold the plane for a run out engine price which is what I paid for it so it was a great deal for me.

Engines do not wear out as much as you might think. They do deteriorate in sitting and no flying situations with high humidity or left on tiedowns.

 

[201Driver]

When buying a plane what so you look for in an engine?

I would inquire about the reputation of shop that has been maintaining it and talk to them about the engine if possible.

 

[Djwillco]

A good A&P will know what to look for in a pre-buy. Things like compression, oil sample reports, borescope, plus all the things others have suggested.

Dave

 

[asgcpa]

Looking at a plane with Lycoming 0-540.