What to expect Slick Magneto 500 hour

[BibleMonkey]

Slick magnetos, model no. 4301 , approaching 500 hours, ( Have to check log if 500 since new, or 500 since last inspection ) installed on Continental O 200 , flies 100 hours a year. Motor runs fine , no problems, 1400 smoh .

I would appreciate any comments on what can I expect would be most probably need to be done , (what wears out for sure, ) or minimally and max typical cost on slick 500 hour magneto inspection.

Hanger talk is opposing " Slicks aren't worth rebuilding, parts are so much, just buy new ones " or
Bendix are better to rebuild than buy new " or " Bendix has more ADs on them, so Slicks are better".

Any thoughts about magneto 500 hour also appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[iflyforpie]

You're looking at between $600-$1000 total for two mags. The difference is what passes and what doesn't--the extra costs being labour and parts. Usually the rotor, contact breakers, brushes, condenser, and impulse coupling spring wind up in the dumpster, but not always.

Hangar talk hasn't bought a couple of Slick mags at those prices. The old adage that Slicks are a throwaway mag is decades out of date. I don't see any significant difference between the two in terms of maintaining them.

[LousyFisherman]

We just paid $1000 for the 4301 mags on a 1967 O-200 with 780 hours on them since install
Engine runs better, a little more power, a little "snappier"
Would have been $600 but for the distributer block and gear

HTH
LF

[crazy_aviator]

Be careful to state inspection as compared to overhaul. Some shops will follow Slick SB s to the letter and may throw perfectly good parts in the waste bin

[tyndall]

I would appreciate any comments on what can I expect would be most probably need to be done , (what wears out for sure, ) or minimally and max typical cost on slick 500 hour magneto inspection.

Slick parts are stupidly expensive. Champion does that to force you to buy a new one from them vs. paying another shop for a repair. A 500 hour can be cheap, with only contacts and a brush needed. Unfortunately they make their coils with a tab that is paper thin and usually gets worn beyond limits from the brush well before engine tbo. I've seen the tab worn beyond limits after only 250 hours. The price of a coil puts the repair cost close to buying new. The gears wear as well and it depends on the person inspecting if the electrode will pass. Capacitors are another stupidly expensive part. Usually the capacitor is ok but the wire is frayed or broken due to idiots removing the cover and yanking on the wire.

I do them in less than two hours. Not a whole lot to do following the manual. The contacts are a good idea to change, even if they don't look to bad. The brush gets replaced because of an AD, and it's cheaper to replace than verify conformity of the old part. So $250-300/mag if no extra parts.

Hanger talk is opposing " Slicks aren't worth rebuilding, parts are so much, just buy new ones " or
Bendix are better to rebuild than buy new " or " Bendix has more ADs on them, so Slicks are better".

Slicks aren't worth rebuilding. Parts + labor > buying new. Bendix parts are relatively cheap, better made, and the mags give a better zap than the Slicks. I personally won't fly behind a Slick. When you see how cheaply they are made and their poor quality control, It's Bendix or stay on the ground. After seeing the gears in an accessory case get stripped out from a brand new Slick that failed after ten minutes, I'll pass. These are the same guys that make harnesses and forget to thread the plug ends. The AD's on a Bendix should have been complied with about twenty years ago, so people can't say they are AD intensive.

Best of luck, and get an estimate before committing to a repair.

[BibleMonkey]

Thanks guys, very useful info. What a great place to get constructive info this forum is.

I will name some of my spring calves after you now:

iflyforpie

LousyFisherman

crazy_aviator

tyndall

The other 64 calves don't have any names...well,... because after all they are just cows (;

[crazy_aviator]

Okay, MOOOOOOVing on to the next topic

[LousyFisherman]

Thanks guys, very useful info. What a great place to get constructive info this forum is. I will name some of my spring calves after you now:
iflyforpie
LousyFisherman
crazy_aviator
tyndall

I don't think tyndall is a suitable name. All the other calves have "cool" names so they will laugh and make fun of him/her

The other 64 calves don't have any names...well,... because after all they are just cows

You're not a pilot, you're a rancher, a real one

LF

[Colonel Sanders]

Slicks aren't worth rebuilding. Parts + labor > buying new

Yup. As an owner, you're foolish to send your Slick mags
off to an AMO for servicing. For about the same money,
you can get new mags, new harnesses and new plugs,
after you get the core charge back.

Free advice, which hopefully won't enrage any screeching
avionics techs: before I send a mag core back, I take the
points, condenser, distributor block and coil out and put it
a labelled ziploc on the healing shelf.

Handy to have those parts around - you never know when
you need them in a hurry. Heck, a friend of mine flies around
with spare points, condenser and a buzz box

PS Just be careful when you are backing out the condensor,
because the wire at the end needs to turn. Let it.

[iflyforpie]

I don't know..... the last bill I got for two Slicks off our 172 was $670 with tax. The first-run Red Label Bendix ones off our 206 were nearly $1200. Ford/Chevy.

[DonutHole]

http://eaglexl-58.com/SlickMagOverhaulManual.pdf

for your reading pleasure.

I personally prefer the slick mags because they are so user friendly in terms of internal and engine timing. THe bendix ones can be a bit tricky with the scale and such.

[Colonel Sanders]

the last bill I got for two Slicks off our 172 was $670 with tax

Hold on a second ... you got two Slick mags
rebuilt for $670, shipping and taxes in?!

I can't get one slick mag serviced for that
price, here in Ontario.

EDIT -- just looked at the Spruce parts list
for the 6300 Slick:

points $93
condenser $132
coil $322
block/rotor $361

subtotal $908

that's before any other parts or labour or
shipping or taxes.

I'm calling BS on $670 for two slick mags.

[iflyforpie]

Unless I'm mistaken, the thread is titled '500 hour inspection'. $670 for two Slick mags. The $1200 was for a first run 500 hour inspection of two Red Label Bendix mags.

Maybe the reason why people are having so much trouble with Slicks is that they are telling them to overhaul them instead of inspect them.

I've seen the same thing with people overhauling or replacing jugs instead of getting a $300 valve job, or overhauling instead of inspecting a fixed pitch prop.

[ruddersup?]

Had the 500 hr S.B. done on a pair of 6310 yesterday at a cost of $450 ea. Costly but we needed it now. Had them done while I waited.

[Colonel Sanders]

they are telling them to overhaul them instead of inspect them

Hold on a second. Owners haven't a clue - they don't
know the difference. They just send the mags into the
AMO to be "fixed", and they come back with the parts
that had to be changed and a huge bill.

I know an owner, sent his Slick mags for service into an
AMO, each one cost over $1000 to "repair". Madness.
He could have bought new for that! It gets worse - the
mags weren't his problem - a sticking valve was! I'm
not saying the mags didn't need to be serviced, but it
was all pretty sad.

A long time ago, I thought the Slick 500hr "service" was
points and condenser - we used to call that a "tuneup"
on cars, when I was a kid - but it seems that every time
your Slick mag is touched, you have to make a careful
decision whether to repair or new, because the parts are
so frikken expensive - and no one knows how many very
expensive parts it's going to take, to make it airworthy
again.

An example of this is older spark plugs that have developed
high resistance - the super-expensive fine-wire plugs are
notorious for this. When this happens, the spark finds a
path of less resistance to ground, which can result in arcing
inside the magneto, and damaging the very expensive
distributor block - even melting teeth off it.

[tyndall]

I personally prefer the slick mags because they are so user friendly in terms of internal and engine timing. THe bendix ones can be a bit tricky with the scale and such.

At least with the scale you can set a Bendix to less then .5°. Using the Slick tool you'd be lucky to get it within 2-3° internally. I've frequently see the results of the user friendliness of the pin used for external timing. The installers are none too happy when they move the prop and hear the little snap of the gear and block breaking.

There's also the argument of being able to overhaul a known component vs. having to buy new and hoping you got one that's manufactured properly.

[Strega]

FYI if you are a bit clever,, you can make scale for the slicks, and set the e-gap to within +- .5 degrees... IMHO though the points have enough thermal expansion/change to worry about being this precise anyway..

I wish we could get out of the stone ages with ignitions and do like the homebuilt guys do.. Electronic, direct crank sensor fired.


S

[DonutHole]

I personally prefer the slick mags because they are so user friendly in terms of internal and engine timing. THe bendix ones can be a bit tricky with the scale and such.

At least with the scale you can set a Bendix to less then .5°. Using the Slick tool you'd be lucky to get it within 2-3° internally. I've frequently see the results of the user friendliness of the pin used for external timing. The installers are none too happy when they move the prop and hear the little snap of the gear and block breaking.

There's also the argument of being able to overhaul a known component vs. having to buy new and hoping you got one that's manufactured properly.

I've got a giant green piece of flagging tape on my pin

[iflyforpie]

Not to mention that if you buy the doohickey from Aircraft Spruce which makes timing a Bendix mag to the engine as easy as a Slick... you will still destroy plastic gears if someone moves the prop...

[crazy_aviator]

Quoting myself ,,

Be careful to state inspection as compared to overhaul. Some shops will follow Slick SB s to the letter and may throw perfectly good parts in the waste bin