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Lycoming Recalls 1200 Crankshafts...(from Avflash)
The New MSB (AD Expected Soon)
The ongoing controversy surrounding Lycoming crankshafts took a new twist Monday as the company issued Mandatory Service Bulletin (MSB) 566, which greatly widens the net draping a crankshaft issue previously limited to high-horsepower six-cylinder engines (often found in high-stress turbocharged applications). The new MSB recalls crankshafts in more than 1000 engines manufactured, rebuilt, overhauled or repaired since March 1, 1999. In addition, some 227 crankshafts not affiliated with a specific engine serial number are also affected. This is a group of engines distinct from the set of high-power, six-cylinder Lycomings that have been subject to a previous recall and Airworthiness Directive (AD) for crankshaft replacement. Time of compliance is listed as within the next 50 hours or six months and, as Part 91 operators know, a Mandatory Service Bulletin is not a defining rule as is an Airworthiness Directive. Ian Walsh, Lycoming president, says, "We've been watching the data since 2002 and have come to the conclusion that we need to expand the scope" to include other crankshafts.
...Same Problem, Broader Scope...
Lycoming said that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) would be issued by Friday with an AD to follow, making the new MSB truly mandatory for Part 91 operators. According to Lycoming president Ian Walsh, "We had enough incidences to finally decide that all cranks with the same 'heat code' manufactured by Interstate should be recalled." These crankshafts are found in a wide array of Lycoming six- and four-cylinder engines, even some low-power, 180-hp O-360 applications. Crankshafts for the high-power engines that were caught in the previous recall are not affected. Affected crankshafts have a serial number starting in V5379, although not all cranks in that series are covered under the MSB. (See Lycoming's Web site for the full text of the MSB and a listing of affected engines and crankshafts.) In the MSB, Lycoming lists somewhere near 1056 engines and 227 crankshafts by serial number, impacting O-540, IO-540, AEIO-540 and TIO-540 engines rated at 290 hp and lower; IO-540-P, -S, and -AA engines rated between 250 and 290 hp; IO-540 and AEIO-540 engine rated at 300 hp; and counterweighted O-360, IO-360, and TIO-360 engines rated at any horsepower. Also, Lycoming has called out a set of specific serial-number crankshafts that may have been sold as spares since March 1, 1999.
...Legal Battle Ongoing...
This MSB comes on the heels of Lycoming's loss of a lawsuit sought by Interstate Forging in Navasota, Texas, alleging that Lycoming had improperly specified vanadium to be added to the crank alloy. Lycoming claimed that Interstate had improperly manufactured the cranks and that the addition of vanadium was not at fault. The jury verdict awarded Interstate $96 million. Lycoming has appealed the decision. Marty Rose, an attorney who defended Interstate in Texas, offered comments on Lycoming's latest move. "Seems rather obvious that they learned a lesson from our jury verdict in Texas because the jury found the problem was the vanadium," he said. "And now they're pulling all the crankshafts that they had manufactured with vanadium added." Rose added, "The four-cylinder crankshafts are forged on a press not a hammer. So all the supposed nonsense about bad practices [from Interstate] doesn't apply to the four-cylinder cranks."
...Owners: What It Means
Lycoming claims to have all the cranks in hand, produced by new vendor Louisville Forge in Georgetown, K.Y., to replace the affected parts without an interruption of normal programs. If your engine has an affected crankshaft, Lycoming will replace the crank at no cost and, "when authorized by Lycoming," will reimburse owners for the removal and replacement labor according to Lycoming's current Removal and Installation Labor Allowance Guidebook (SSP-875). The contentious crankshaft issue first surfaced in early 2002 when Lycoming recalled some 400 crankshafts used in TIO- and LTIO-540 engines. By late 2003, after a fifth crash attributed to crank failure, Lycoming broadened the recall to include some 1800 airplanes total; the recall program was concluded in 2003. It was believed at the time that only the high-horsepower versions were at risk.
The New MSB (AD Expected Soon)
The ongoing controversy surrounding Lycoming crankshafts took a new twist Monday as the company issued Mandatory Service Bulletin (MSB) 566, which greatly widens the net draping a crankshaft issue previously limited to high-horsepower six-cylinder engines (often found in high-stress turbocharged applications). The new MSB recalls crankshafts in more than 1000 engines manufactured, rebuilt, overhauled or repaired since March 1, 1999. In addition, some 227 crankshafts not affiliated with a specific engine serial number are also affected. This is a group of engines distinct from the set of high-power, six-cylinder Lycomings that have been subject to a previous recall and Airworthiness Directive (AD) for crankshaft replacement. Time of compliance is listed as within the next 50 hours or six months and, as Part 91 operators know, a Mandatory Service Bulletin is not a defining rule as is an Airworthiness Directive. Ian Walsh, Lycoming president, says, "We've been watching the data since 2002 and have come to the conclusion that we need to expand the scope" to include other crankshafts.
...Same Problem, Broader Scope...
Lycoming said that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) would be issued by Friday with an AD to follow, making the new MSB truly mandatory for Part 91 operators. According to Lycoming president Ian Walsh, "We had enough incidences to finally decide that all cranks with the same 'heat code' manufactured by Interstate should be recalled." These crankshafts are found in a wide array of Lycoming six- and four-cylinder engines, even some low-power, 180-hp O-360 applications. Crankshafts for the high-power engines that were caught in the previous recall are not affected. Affected crankshafts have a serial number starting in V5379, although not all cranks in that series are covered under the MSB. (See Lycoming's Web site for the full text of the MSB and a listing of affected engines and crankshafts.) In the MSB, Lycoming lists somewhere near 1056 engines and 227 crankshafts by serial number, impacting O-540, IO-540, AEIO-540 and TIO-540 engines rated at 290 hp and lower; IO-540-P, -S, and -AA engines rated between 250 and 290 hp; IO-540 and AEIO-540 engine rated at 300 hp; and counterweighted O-360, IO-360, and TIO-360 engines rated at any horsepower. Also, Lycoming has called out a set of specific serial-number crankshafts that may have been sold as spares since March 1, 1999.
...Legal Battle Ongoing...
This MSB comes on the heels of Lycoming's loss of a lawsuit sought by Interstate Forging in Navasota, Texas, alleging that Lycoming had improperly specified vanadium to be added to the crank alloy. Lycoming claimed that Interstate had improperly manufactured the cranks and that the addition of vanadium was not at fault. The jury verdict awarded Interstate $96 million. Lycoming has appealed the decision. Marty Rose, an attorney who defended Interstate in Texas, offered comments on Lycoming's latest move. "Seems rather obvious that they learned a lesson from our jury verdict in Texas because the jury found the problem was the vanadium," he said. "And now they're pulling all the crankshafts that they had manufactured with vanadium added." Rose added, "The four-cylinder crankshafts are forged on a press not a hammer. So all the supposed nonsense about bad practices [from Interstate] doesn't apply to the four-cylinder cranks."
...Owners: What It Means
Lycoming claims to have all the cranks in hand, produced by new vendor Louisville Forge in Georgetown, K.Y., to replace the affected parts without an interruption of normal programs. If your engine has an affected crankshaft, Lycoming will replace the crank at no cost and, "when authorized by Lycoming," will reimburse owners for the removal and replacement labor according to Lycoming's current Removal and Installation Labor Allowance Guidebook (SSP-875). The contentious crankshaft issue first surfaced in early 2002 when Lycoming recalled some 400 crankshafts used in TIO- and LTIO-540 engines. By late 2003, after a fifth crash attributed to crank failure, Lycoming broadened the recall to include some 1800 airplanes total; the recall program was concluded in 2003. It was believed at the time that only the high-horsepower versions were at risk.
