Always had a soft spot for the MixMaster

[trey kule]

337s, particularly the newer models are not anymore maintenance problems than any other twin with similar systems and age. It helps to have an AME who is familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the type.
But, there is some pilot required techniques for treating them properly, that , if not adhered to can cause some expensive work. A really thorough checkout from someone who is familiar with the type is important. And by familiar I mean not just someone who has flown them. Lots of ex 337 pilots who beat the machines up.

And many of those beat up machines appear on the market at seemingly great prices.

[Colonel]

You can do just about anything to a Lycoming - except let it sit.

However, a Continental will not accept a ham-fisted pilot. They
become one hundred hour engines.

There must be something wrong with me, because I love TCM
engines. When I fly them, they last decades and decades, long
past TBO. Why is that? This is a reasonable question, because
I seriously lack virtue to signal - so why do my engines last so long?

Doesn't make any sense, does it? Virtue is the most important
characteristic of a person, isn't it?

Pop Quiz: It's winter. Cold. After takeoff, what do you do with the
throttle of a fuel-injected TCM - and why?

No virtue is required to answer that question, btw.

[Scudrunner]

Alright we never got the answer.

I think ill do an update on my experience owning the Mixmaster on here soon

[Colonel]

Wow, that's patience. Four years!

Ok, watch what happens when you pull the throttle back an inch after takeoff in a TCM IO-360. The MP doesn't move hardly at all, but the fuel flow drops substantially. Is that what you want during a winter takeoff in Canada, when the density altitude is far below sea level and your mixture is lean and your exhaust valves are already glowing red-hot?

When I take off a TCM IO-360 I don't touch the throttle. After I am clear the obstacles, I wind the prop back from 2800 RPM to 2500 RPM for the neighbors. Climb up to cruise altitude with WOT. Depending on your airframe lean the mixture as you climb, watching the CHT's. You might not want to lean the back engine as much as the front in a 337? I level off in cruise, the throttle stays all the way in, RPM back to 2400 or 2300 as you prefer. See the engine performance charts, and read what Continental has to say about the dangers of low RPM cruise and damage to crankshaft counterweights.

In both Lycomings and Continentals, I try to keep all CHT's below 400F in the climb. They last longer that way. And for god's sake, lean the mixture in cruise and descent to keep the CHT's above 300F to keep the tetraethyl lead evacuating as a gas, instead of depositing on the exhaust valve guides and stems.

And leaning on the ground is not optional. If you have to sit and wait on the ground, after the engine is warm, idle 1100 RPM with the mixture leaned to reduce deposits.

[Scudrunner]

Excellent explanation! Thank you

[Colonel]

Any time. I worship at the Church of The Internal Combustion Engine™ where our litany is

"Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow"

Keep the metal happy. Keep the metal clean. Change the soft stuff every once in a while.

And, if you can't fly every day, 10% Camguard and a Battery Tender Jr.

I save a lot of money by trying to avoid metal-on-metal wear. Corrosion-X and silicon lube. Cheap. You have retractable gear, right? Every year, when it's up on jacks, partially retract it to unlock/unload the gear. This gives you a chance to get grease into every fitting. If it doesn't take grease, replace the zerk. I have a ground-down socket for that. Spend a day cleaning every nook and cranny of your gear and gearwheels. Change every cheesy microswitch and make sure the connectors and wires are in perfect shape. I really, really hate landing without three green. Who cares what the top of the airplane looks like - I want the underside to be spotless.