Mag overhaul

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:37 am

What's the ballpark for mag overhaul cost on a C-145? (does this seem reasonable?):

Here are the charges for the Mag Overhaul.

$237.00 for Outside Labor on Overhaul
$456.19 for Parts on Overhaul
$ 19.64 for Shipping on Overhaul
$ 25.00 for 1/2 hour of Labor to Install Mag after Overhaul
_________

$737.83 Total

How much does a new one cost?!

Thanks

Tom Downey · Post by **Tom Downey** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:32 am

Unison upgrade kit is just over 1200 bucks after rebates..that's 2 mags, 2 harnesses and 12 unison plugs.

Do you have slick or bendix?

dacker · Post by **dacker** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 2:41 pm

I was facing the same thing on my engine rebuild recently. I had the Bendix mags... by the time they would have been rebuilt with all of the applicable ADs taken care of (recurring ADs at that!) I would have spent nearly as much as the Unison Slicks new. I opted for the Slicks. I only have 20 hours on them, so I can't make any claims, but with the ADs that are on the Bendix mags I don't think anyone can make claims on those either! I would look strongly at Tom's recommendation and throw money at the new Slick's instead of the old Bendix mags.
David

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:19 pm

True Slicks have no Ads. Yet.

The Bendix are more common and so are the parts in the field. Coming home from Petit Jean I had a coil wire break. Simple fix with plenty of parts from the local mechanic. Had I had slicks perhaps the coil wire wouldn't have broken but if it had I'd have been out of luck.

Remember you installation cost and cost to ship the new mags to you and returning the cores is added to that $1200. It's a tough decision but I might rebuild the Bendix.

Recently I had to make this decision with my 65hp Cub. Had Eismans that until this time worked like a swiss clock. Parts are getting scarce for those mags so I decided to upgrade to the Slicks. I found the best price at Mattituck in NY btw.

Any way as it turns out in that application the Slick mags aren't as hot as the Eismans and it is more difficult to hand prop the plane.

This of course wouldn't ordinarily be the case with the c-145.

tshort · Post by **tshort** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:34 pm

I'm in CO right now and not with the airplane. This is being paid for by the sellers as part of the prepurchase - fixing a bad mag found while checking the ADs (I assume it is a Bendix). I just wanted to know if it was in the ballpark before I send them the bill. I trust the shop I work with, I just have never had any mag work done and didn't know how expensive it was...

Thanks

cessna170bdriver · Post by **cessna170bdriver** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 4:23 pm

thsort,

Since you say that there are AD's that need to be addressed, I'm assuming they are Bendix mags. In 23 years of owning my 170 with Bendix mags, I've only had one mag failure. I just exchanged it for a rebuilt. That was about 10 years ago and the cost was about $450 exchange. Your rebuild is about $700 in 2005 dollars, so that would seem about right. Since the seller is paying, he's surely not going to opt for the $1200 upgrade (if you want to call it that) to Slicks.

Miles

Post by **GAHorn** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:01 pm

I used to be a fan of Slicks. But after a failure or two in the "field",... I like Bendix better now. Virtually any mechanic whose been around a few years is knowlegeable and has the parts to fix a Bendix.

3958v · Post by **3958v** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:06 pm

I just went through this but I had slicks with 1000hrs seemed like a no brainer to me $550 apiece bought new ones from the local FBO The old ones were starting to give me problems with starting so I replaced them. FBO recomended I replace them as a pair. Bill K

Kellym · Post by **Kellym** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 9:49 pm

gahorn wrote:I used to be a fan of Slicks. But after a failure or two in the "field",... I like Bendix better now. Virtually any mechanic whose been around a few years is knowlegeable and has the parts to fix a Bendix.

Good call. I had both on C170, only went to Slicks because the original Bendix were worn out, needing new coils, new impulse coupling etc and I didn't know at the time(20 years ago) that rebuilts were available for Bendix much cheaper than new Slicks. Good accessory shops will overhaul Bendix, including all SB and AD compliance for as little as $350.
You are right that more A&Ps are familiar with Bendix, and some believe they give hotter spark.

cessna170bdriver · Post by **cessna170bdriver** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:57 pm

Kellym wrote:Good accessory shops will overhaul Bendix, including all SB and AD compliance for as little as $350.

Kelly, can you steer me to one of those shops. Even if that is exchange, it's not too bad a deal, relatively speaking.

Miles

Kellym · Post by **Kellym** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:25 pm

cessna170bdriver wrote:
Kellym wrote:Good accessory shops will overhaul Bendix, including all SB and AD compliance for as little as $350.
Kelly, can you steer me to one of those shops. Even if that is exchange, it's not too bad a deal, relatively speaking.

Miles

I'll dig it out when I get home tonight.

Kellym · Post by **Kellym** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:23 am

cessna170bdriver wrote:
Kellym wrote:Good accessory shops will overhaul Bendix, including all SB and AD compliance for as little as $350.
Kelly, can you steer me to one of those shops. Even if that is exchange, it's not too bad a deal, relatively speaking.

Miles

I used Quality Aircraft Accesories Inc. Tulsa. Justin Hicks, owner, toll free 877-833-6948, in 2002,. I had them rebuild my Bendix S200. Don't know if price has changed. Chief offers ElectroSystems rebuilt Bendix for $420 plus core.

blueldr · Post by **blueldr** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 5:49 am

We have friends that have had really bad results with Bendix Mags overhauled by Kelly Aerospace. These also were procured thru "Chief".

lowNslow · Post by **lowNslow** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:13 am

I'm sold on the Slicks. They have been around a long while with few problems and I personally have not had a hiccup with these. Why spend $450+ to get a rebuild done by who knows who when you can get a factory fresh, brand new mag for $525. There upgrade kit is good deal at $1200 bucks if you need the whole shebang even with shipping, which you will most likely pay anyway with what ever you get.

Kellym · Post by **Kellym** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:46 pm

blueldr wrote:We have friends that have had really bad results with Bendix Mags overhauled by Kelly Aerospace. These also were procured thru "Chief".

i

I suppose that can happen, however I am pushing 600 hours one of the Electrosystems overhauls, while the other mag was overhauled by the source I posted and has over 300 hours on it, no problem with either one. Lets just say a high percentage of A&Ps prefer Bendix for a reason.