Bought a $300 borescope for a Cessna 172 inspection and it paid for itself in one job

Had a rough-running engine on a customer's 172 last month and the usual checks weren't showing anything. I grabbed a Teslong borescope I'd bought and found a cracked valve guide in cylinder #3 that you couldn't see otherwise... saved the customer from a full teardown and got the plane back in the air in two days. Anyone have a go-to borescope brand they trust for piston singles?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyk102mo ago

Used to think borescopes were just extra gear for the big shops. Figured if you couldn't see it with a flashlight and mirror, it probably wasn't there. Your story about the valve guide is exactly why I changed my mind. I had a similar thing with a sticky lifter that left no other clues. My cheap one found it, saved us from pulling the whole jug. Now I keep it in my main bag.

maxb462mo ago

That "extra gear for the big shops" line is exactly what I thought before mine found a mouse nest in a tailcone.

michael5191mo ago

Picked up that habit from working on old motorcycles. Started thinking you could fix anything with a screwdriver and a feeler gauge. But every time I cheaped out on a specialty tool, I ended up spending twice as much time and money fixing what I broke trying to work around it. It's like plumbing actually - that little $10 pipe wrench has saved me from three flooded basements over the years. Sometimes the extra gear just pays for itself in saved headaches.