Cam pitting help

[Clark J McKenna]

Hello,  I am new to ABS.  My father had a Bonanza when I was younger and I have always wanted one.  He passed years ago.  Yesterday my A&P did a prebuy on a J35 and found pitting on the cam and told me it is a "deal breaker".  The owner of the plane sent me the email below last night.  All advice it appreciated.


"Good to meet you as well...!  As you continue your flying career you will gain knowledge on aircraft engines and be able to make your own determination on conditions of the engine and rightly so for you will not have an A&P at your side.  After all, you are the one that will be responsible for the engine condition to assure saferty on each flight.  Knowing your engine and aircraft is No. 1 to assure safety to you, your aircraft and passengers. But I am certain you already know that. 
 
I was very disappointed with and certainly not prepared to discuss lifter condition with your A&P... Nor was I aware of any problems associated with the lifters to offer an intelligent response.  I can however, assure you that I am always vigilant to keep up with any signs of problems with all my aircraft/engines and will have AeroEngines inspect the cams and lifters of as soon as possible.
 
I would like to share some information regarding acceptable lifter/cam condition for Continental Engines for your future use by suggesting you look at the Teledyne Bulletin SID 05-1.  I pulled this up after returning home yesterday due to my concern prompted by your mechanic.  In reviewing this bulletin I came to the conclusion that my J-35 engine is in acceptable limits.  There were no lines of fissues as shown in the bulletin...only a few specks outside the contact area where the lifters ride which is NORMAL....  enough said!
 
I have been very open, honest and fair. This should have been evident from my placing tabs in the logbooks in areas of importance...
 
I have over 4,500 hours experience and can assure you that the engine is in good condition.You will find that you have missed out on owning a great aircraft!
 
Be careful of experts... If your dad could have been with you yesterday you would have taken it home...

[Charles Mirman]

Welsome to the ABS.
In my humble opinion you did everything correctly.
You had a good pre-buy inspection done.
An issue was found.
Apparently the owner wasn't aware of the issue and by his e-mail does not consider it an issue once discovered.
His perogative.
As a result however your A & P advised against buying the airplane.
Your A & P was the one who looked at the cam and lifters.
You are paying him for his unbiased expertise.
You decided not to purchase the airlane based on that expertise.
Your perogative, good decision in my humble opinion!.
I assume the airplane was returned to the owner in the exact same condition it was prior to the pre-buy inspection and the owner was reimbursed for any cost he may have undertaken in making the airplane available for the inspection.
Personally I would consider the source of the e-mail and ignore it. The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between a pre-flight versus a pre-buy inspection and has apparently rejected the concern of an A & P based on the authors reading of a service bulletin without further inspection or verification.
There are plenty of other airplanes out there.

[Joseph Griffin]

I  PURCHASED A  NICE F33A BECAUSE SOME A&P DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT . NO CAM IS GOING TO LOOK NEW AFTER 1000 HRS OF USE .  400 HOURS LATER MY ENG STILL RUNS FINE . I GOT A $30000 DISCOUNT  THANKS TO A PREVIOUS PRE BUY INSPECTION