# SAIB NE-16-13: Powerplant - Prohibited use of sealant - Type: Special airworthiness information bulletin (advisory, not mandatory) - Status: Current - Revision: 0 - Issued: March 8, 2016 - Products: Continental Motors C90-12F, C90-12FH, C90-12FJ, C90-12FP, C90-14F, C90-14FH, C90-14FJ, C90-16F, C90-8F, C90-8FJ, IO-360-A, IO-360-AB and 345 more - Product type: Engine - PDF: https://openairdocs.org/files/sha256/9f/23/9f238b48686d6455174c794288468740c87b17700f3b81e15cc61613a999dded - FAA DRS: https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/ECEE9FBA41B6348786257F70006C66C7.0001 - DRS record last changed: March 8, 2016 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/saib/NE-16-13 ## Text FAA Aviation Safety **SPECIAL AIRWORTHINESS** INFORMATION BULLETIN SUBJ: Powerplant - Prohibited use of sealant. SAIB: NE-16-13 Date: March 8, 2016 This is information only. Recommendations aren’t mandatory. Introduction This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) alerts registered owners, operators, maintenance personnel, and certificated repair facilities of all airplanes equipped with Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI) engines (some models operating with AVGAS) of the available service instructions for proper installation procedures and approved materials for joining engine case halves and installing cylinders. Note: Continental Titan brand engines or Continental (Jet –A) Diesel engines may have different requirements for sealants. At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive action under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39. Background This SAIB is prompted by multiple reports of engine failure related to the improper and unauthorized use of certain sealants during engine case half assembly and/or cylinder installation. These sealants may be commonly referred to as room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV), RTV sealant, RTV adhesive, or gasket maker. These sealants are not approved for installations on CMI engines listed in the service documents referenced below. It is vital that you refer to the manufacturer and modelspecific maintenance and overhaul manuals and service instructions for approved materials and procedures. Proper cylinder deck stud and through-bolt pre-load is critical during the assembly of an engine. Direct measurement of bolt pre-load is not possible during installation. However, it can be assumed to be correct through accurate torque measurement of installation nuts or bolt heads, but only if proper assembly procedures and approved materials are used. The use of approved lubricants and procedures is absolutely essential to achieve proper bolt pre-load. If certain sealants are used between the case halves or under the cylinder decks during the assembly process, the coating layer can create a “soft joint” and allow relative movement of the faying surfaces. Within a few operating hours, the sealant will creep and the joined components may loosen and fret. Eventually, the main crankshaft bearings may migrate or rotate and loss of proper bolt pre-load may occur. In addition, extruded sealant on the engine interior can detach, migrate into the oil passages, and block oil flow. Once any of these conditions occur, catastrophic engine damage can result. Applying any unapproved sealant (RTV, gasket maker, etc.) to the crankcase cylinder deck, cylinder deck chamfer, cylinder mounting flange, cylinder base O-ring, cylinder fastener threads, or crankcase main bearing bosses is not an approved procedure. Recommendations The FAA recommends that owners, operators, and maintenance personnel read and adhere to the contents of the following service publications when performing maintenance to these products: • Continental Motors Aircraft Engine Service Bulletin No. SB96-7D, Revision D, dated August 11, 2015 • Continental Motors Aircraft Engine Service Information Letter No. SIL-99-2C, Revision C, dated September 16, 2014 The FAA also recommends that owners, operators, and certificated repair stations refer to applicable Instructions for Continued Airworthiness for approved materials and methods. For Further Information Contact Scott Hopper, Aerospace Engineer, Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office, 1701 Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337; phone: 404 474-5535; fax: 404 474-5606; email: scott.hopper@faa.gov. For Related Service Information Contact Continental Motors, Inc. Factory Service, 2039 South Broad Street, Mobile, AL 36615; phone: 800-326-0089. ## Registered aircraft it may concern (OpenAirDocs) Registry models matched by make and model, the same way as ADs, most registered aircraft first. - [Continental O-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-series): 12,779 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series): 9,486 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series): 8,790 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series): 7,967 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series): 6,622 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C85 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series): 4,671 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental I0-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series): 4,499 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-series): 4,064 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-550 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-series): 3,077 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-550-K](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-k): 2,799 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-550-N](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-n): 2,772 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C90 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-series): 2,149 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series): 1,907 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-series): 1,885 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C145 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series): 1,828 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental A&C75 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series): 1,504 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental E185 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e185-series): 1,108 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental E225 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e225-series): 979 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental GO-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-go-300-series): 808 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-550-C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-c): 480 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-360-ES](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-360-es): 401 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental GTSIO-520-C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-gtsio-520-c): 387 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-550 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-series): 382 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-550-B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-b): 373 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental O-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-200-series): 329 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C125 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c125-series): 322 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental O-200A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-200a): 295 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-470-series): 225 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-240-B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-240-b): 212 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental O-200-D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-200-d): 210 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-550-C](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-c): 199 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental GTSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-gtsio-520-series): 178 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental A-65-8](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-65-8): 137 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-346 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-346-series): 131 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-550-G](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-g): 129 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-550-G](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-550-g): 115 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-240 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-240-series): 111 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental O-470R](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470r): 107 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental 0-200-A](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-a): 96 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-520-D](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-d): 95 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C85-12F](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-12f): 90 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C85-12](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-12): 82 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental IO-520-F](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-f): 80 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSI0-470-B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsi0-470-b): 75 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-520-M](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-m): 60 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental O-470-U](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-o-470-u): 56 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental C90-12F](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-12f): 54 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Continental TSIO-520-NB](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-520-nb): 52 registered aircraft (engine model) - [Lycoming IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-520-series): 49 registered aircraft (engine model) - [TCM Cont TSIO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/tcm-cont-tsio-520-series): 49 registered aircraft (engine model) All 384: https://openairdocs.org/saib/NE-16-13/models.md --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.