Hey all,
I had an overhaul done by Jewell Aviation in Kennett, MO (not to be confused with the other Jewell) that had workmanship problems leading to premature failure. Paint on the cylinder flange underneath the mounting bolts caused premature failure of the studs and the cylinder to almost depart the case. In addition there was heavy fretting found on the case after only 87 hours on the tach. They were unwilling to take any responsibility for this, despite serious workmanship issues.

See my thread on Mooneyspace here for more information: https://mooneyspace.com/topic/48578-the ... off-again/

The engine has been rebuilt since, but I am looking for more information on them and to learn if others have had similar experiences.

Are they still in business?
Who else has had premature engine failure due to workmanship issues from Jewell?

We had a client who bought an airplane that subsequently found out the case was cracked in three places. The shop who also happened to be the broker that sold the airplane, agreed to replace the case with the new case. But my client was on the hook for the rest of the supposed “overhaul”. It got sent to Jewell in Kennett, Missouri and the selling dealer/broker paid for the case, but this guy had to pay a whole bunch of extra money for what was an overhaul. “New case” became “overhauled case from CSI” which is a second tier case shop. Interestingly, they wanted several thousand dollars more for Lycoming DLC lifters and new camshaft. And when I looked up the price of the parts, about 300$ more than superior stuff, they got really nasty with him and said they don’t negotiate their markups, and if he brought it up one more time they’re gonna ship him a box of parts And tell him to piss off. After it was overhauled and done, it came back to Maryland. He brings it to me because it has a large oil leak from the bottom of the engine and the other shop in town wanted to charge about $1500 just to find the oil leak with no guarantee they would find it and no Promise of fixing it either. We narrowed it down to a leak coming from the prop governor oil line bolt hole in the case, which is a blind hole. Consulting Lycoming they said replace the case because you can’t have oil coming out of a blind hole, especially when pouring out like this. Jewel said to squirt glue in the hole and put a bolt in it and it’s fine, And then the client tangled with Sam Jewell, and he said that if they brought it out there to Missouri, he would squirt glue in the hole and a bolt. That was the limit of his warranty. I told him I could not annual the plane, knowing that it had a leak from the case. And then we all parted ways. But others on the Mooneyspace reported him running a bottle brush hone down the cylinder and calling it overhauled. Anyway complete garbage. If you want them to work on your lawnmower, I would be hesitant to recommend that as well.

Actual reply from jewell
“If that is the only leak, which can happen regarding the holes. It can be just a tiny pin hole inside there, it is a very easy fix. Remove the oil from the hole first by wiping and then with either a spray of brake cleaner or another solvent, but a small dab of Permatex Ultra Grey Silicone in the hole and another small quantity on the end of a 1 inch course threaded 5/16bolt and install the bolt with a flap washer and a lock washer and that will stop the leak. There is nothing you need to put inside the actual crankcase itself. This may seem like a duct tape method of repair, but with those crankcases the pinhole leaks through bracket mounting bolt holes, that is the best way to fix the problem. If a bolt hole has a little leak, you simply install a bolt in there. I really think that your mechanic should give that a try, it will save you a lot of trouble. This is not a situation that anyone would recommend removing and disassembling the engine, because its such an easy fix.”

I have heard of your case before. Sorry to hear.

Brent, I saw your PM, but the site isn't allowing me to reply saying I don't have permissions to send PMs. Maybe I don't have enough posts yet? I usually post on MooneySpace.

My Mooney mechanic, SWTA, uses Jewell (of Kennett, MO) by default.

I had to send my engine to them to be split twice in 3 years. The first time, my case cracked. Not unheard of IO-360 doing that. I agreed to a Superior case. The price breakdown was: under $1k for the case, $3k for labour, $7k for mandatory Lycoming parts. Okay lol. The second time, less than 2 years later my camshaft developed spalling. Same story, same mandatory Lycoming parts and $15k total when the shipping and the camshaft are included.

A month ago, my oil leak became noticeable. SWTA traced it to the screws of a rocker cover backing out. This can happen if they overtorqued as well as undertorqued. At least threads weren't stripped. Guess who was the last to touch the cover.

Overall, I suppose it could be worse, although $15k is a good amount of money for me. I wish they noticed that camshaft was on a borrowed time when they split the engine the first time around.

Thank you for sharing on here and Mooneyspace