Took apart a Continental IO-520 and found a shop rag stuffed in the intake

I was helping a buddy at his hangar in Wichita last Saturday, we were tearing down an engine that was running rough. Pulled the intake pipe and inside was a blue cotton rag, completely blocking one cylinder. The previous owner must have dropped it during a repair and just buttoned everything up. Has anyone else found something weird inside an engine that made you question the last guy's sanity?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_alice10d ago

You mentioned "the previous owner must have dropped it" but I see it a little different. I bet it was put there on purpose by someone who knew exactly what they were doing. People don't just accidentally lose a rag deep inside an intake pipe without noticing, especially on a Continental engine where everything is pretty visible. I've worked on enough engines to know that sometimes a guy leaves a rag to plug something up while working and then forgets, but more often than not it's a lazy shortcut to keep dirt out during storage. It's still stupid and dangerous, but the guy probably knew it was in there and figured he'd pull it later. Don't give him too much credit for being a clumsy idiot when he might just be a careless professional.

patp7910d ago

Yeah I found a socket once wedged in an exhaust riser on a Lycoming. Guy swore he didn't leave it there but I'd bet money it was his. At least you found a rag before fire started, could've been way worse.