Approx. 9,600 Cylinders Made Since 11/2007 Affected

Teledyne Continental Motors announced Thursday a voluntary recall on certain piston cylinders produced and shipped since November 2007, after owners reported cylinder head cracking found during regular maintenance inspections.

The recall affects cylinders for a number of engine types, including IO-520, TSIO-520, IO-550, and O-470 and IO-470 motors. These engines are found in aircraft including the Bellanca Super Viking; Beech Bonanzas, Barons and Debonairs; Cessna 180, 185, 188, 205, 206, 207, 210, 310, 402 and 414; and Aero Commander 200 and 500 series aircraft. Meyers 200 and certain Navion owners may also be affected, as shown on the chart above.

All 36 cylinders found with this defect were on high-time engines, with over 400 hours of use in the past 15 months. TCM estimates approximately 9,600 cylinders -- sold in both new and rebuilt engines, as well as on the aftermarket as part of top-end overhaul kits -- are subject to the recall announcement.

None of the cylinder cracks led to inflight problems, TCM spokesman Mac Little said. The defect was caused by a specific casting tool used by a vendor to TCM, that cast slightly deeper-than-spec vent castings in the cylinder heads.

A mandatory service bulletin has been issued to address the defect. Little stressed all needed repairs will fall under TCM's warranty coverage, with parts-cost coverage extended for higher-time owners. In other words, affected customers will not need to pay for parts or labor for any of the repairs.

TCM has extended its customer care hotline hours, to handle the expected volume of calls. The company plans to give owners of higher-time cylinders priority for repairs, and Little stressed pilots may still continue flying their affected aircraft under the parameters of the MSB.

The company has talked with the FAA about the possibility of an Airworthiness Directive, though for the moment TCM believes all affected cylinders can be pulled from the market within the next 12 months under the voluntary recall.

Little said the recall represents a roughly $18 million hit for the company. He would not comment when asked whether TCM intended to go after the vendor for that bill.

FMI: www.tcmlink.com/cylinders