Blew $300 on a cheap borescope that couldn't see jack inside a cylinder

I bought a no-name borescope off Amazon last spring to inspect some cylinder walls on a Lycoming. The picture was so blurry I couldn't tell carbon from a crack. Ended up having to borrow a buddy's Snap-on unit, which worked perfectly first try. Don't waste your cash on those cheap ones - just rent a good scope from the tool truck if you need it once.

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.cole2d ago

My buddy bought one of those cheap scopes and spent three hours thinking he found a crack in his block. Turns out it was just a smudge on the camera lens the whole time.

fiona5021d ago

Oh man, that's brutal but I can totally see that happening. I actually read somewhere that a lot of those cheap borescopes have really bad lens coatings or just get scratched super easy, making it look like you've got cracks everywhere. @wright.cole, your buddy probably spent half that time just cleaning the lens thinking he had a oil streak too. Glad it was just a smudge and not a real block issue, that would have been a nightmare to fix.