If you’ve had your Lycoming engine recently overhauled or your -360, -390, -540 and -720 series four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines is one of the 5100 engines on the recent Lycoming Service Bulletin you had better start saving your pennies.

Lycoming’s latest Service Bulletin (SB 569) is ordering the mandatory retirement of 5100 crankshafts.  The Service Bulletin states “At the crankcase separation or at next overhaul, whichever occurs first, not to exceed three years from the date of this Service Bulletin; therefore affected crankshafts must be retired by February 21, 2009. This crankshaft retirement program requires the removal of the subject crankshafts when the crankcase is separated or at overhaul, whichever occurs first, not to exceed three calendar years from the date of this Service Bulletin, no later than February 21, 2009. This latest recall follows previous Lycoming recalls of nearly 400 crankshafts for -360 series engines last fall.  Total crankshaft recalls so far are 7500.