Why does nobody talk about using borescopes on small piston engines?

I keep seeing guys pull jugs off to check cylinder walls on continentals and lycomings. I've been using a cheap $60 borescope from amazon for the last 2 years and it saves me at least 3 hours of labor per inspection. You can see scoring, carbon buildup, and valve condition without breaking the torque on the through bolts. People act like it's only for turbines but the tool works fine on a 0-320. Has anyone else tried this on a smaller engine or am I the only one doing it?

2 comments

2 Comments

david8211mo ago

Are you pulling the plug and actually getting a good look all the way down? I tried a cheap scope on a 0-320 a few years back and ended up chasing reflections off the oil film, couldnt tell if it was scoring or just a smear. The borescopes we used on turbines have a different lens setup and light angle, the cheap ones just dont give you the same confidence on a small cylinder. I'd rather spend the 3 hours and know for sure what I'm looking at than trust a 60 dollar picture that might hide a crack or a bad ring.

spencer_ross1mo agoMost Upvoted

Cheap scopes just lie to you.