A Tuesday that made me question every oil filter I've ever installed

Had a King Air come in with a chip detector light on Tuesday. Pulled the filter and found aluminum dust, so we started the tear down expecting a bearing. Turned out the previous shop put the wrong torque on the prop governor line fitting, it backed off, dropped pressure, and starved the bearing. Whole ordeal took 9 hours and a $3,800 gearbox that was actually fine. How often do you guys see damage caused by a simple torque slip instead of a real failure?

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1 Comment

betty_palmer18d ago

Fair point, but I see it a little different. That torque slip is exactly a real failure, just one step before the bearing let go. The gearbox might be fine, but the process that led to that 9 hour day failed, and that's what counts.