Continental engine overhaul cost: published prices for the O-200, O-470, IO-520 and IO-550
November 2, 2026 · Chris van Eijk
A Continental engine overhaul is the biggest single bill the owner of a Bonanza, a Cirrus or a Cessna 182 with a Continental saves up for, and most engine shops quote it by phone. We collected every Continental overhaul price we could find printed on a shop's own website on 1 November 2026, and set them next to the hours and years in Continental's own spec sheets.
Short answer: two US shops that publish a price ask $29,800 to $32,500 to overhaul an O-200, $47,550 to $53,500 for an O-470, $50,500 to $58,500 for an IO-520 and $52,700 to $61,500 for an IO-550; turbocharged TSIO-520s run from $56,000 to $68,100 at the one shop that prices their overhaul. Add removal and reinstallation, which none of these pages lists as included. Continental's spec sheets give most of these engines 1,700 to 2,200 hours or 12 years, whichever comes first, and some turbocharged TSIO-520s 1,400 or 1,600 hours, so an IO-550-N overhaul of $54,900 is $24.95 per flight hour at 200 hours a year, but $91.50 at 50 hours a year. Continental publishes no prices itself.
What does a Continental overhaul cost?
Three things decide the price. What you buy: your own engine overhauled by a shop, or a ready engine. Which engine: a turbocharged six-cylinder costs more than a four-cylinder O-200. What the shop finds: every published overhaul price assumes the expensive parts can be repaired.
What a Continental overhaul costs: published prices per engine
| Engine | Price | Source | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-200-A (N) | $29,800 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-200 series | $32,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| O-300-A, C, D (N) | $37,350 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-300 / C-145 series | $41,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| IO-240 series | $39,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| IO-360 series (N) | $47,150 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| IO-360 series | $62,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| L/TSIO-360 series | $51,600 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-470-J, K, L, R | $47,550 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-470-S, U | $48,100 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-470-B, M, G | $48,100 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| O-470 series | $53,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| IO-470 series | $49,200 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| IO-470 series | $58,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| IO-520, rear or front alternator | $50,500 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| IO-520 series | $58,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| TSIO-520-M, P, R, T, AF, CE | $56,000 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| TSIO-520-B, C, D, E, G, AE, VB | $58,200 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| TSIO-520-J, K, N, UB | $63,700 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| TSIO-520-L, LB, WB | $68,100 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| TSIO-520-NB | $76,062 | RAM Aircraft | built stock engine (available; overhauled crankcase, new crankshaft) |
| IO-550 series (except N) | $52,700 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| IO-550-N | $54,900 | Gann Aviation | shop overhaul of your engine |
| IO-550 series | $61,500 | Airworx Aviation | overhaul, starting price |
| IO-550-N | $66,950 | RAM Aircraft | built stock engine (sold; PMA-new crankcase) |
| IO-550-B | $71,444 | RAM Aircraft | built stock engine (sold; PMA-new crankcase, new crankshaft) |
| TSIO-550-K | $71,450 | RAM Aircraft | built stock engine (sold; PMA-new crankcase, nickel cylinders) |
Read what each price means, because these three shops publish three different things.
- Gann Aviation lists a price per engine that "includes starter, starter clutch, oil cooler, fuel system, magnetos, new harness and spark plugs". It is "contingent on repairable crankcase, crankshaft and cylinders". The page carries no date and says "Call for current pricing", so treat these as indications.
- Airworx Aviation gives "Starting at" prices effective September 1, 2026, "starting prices based upon a normally configured engine arriving as a complete, assembled core with major components in repairable condition". Its IO-360 price is above its IO-550 price; that is what the list says. Turbocharged engines are not on it: "Certain geared, turbocharged, specialty, and uncommon engine configurations require an individual quotation."
- RAM Aircraft in Waco sells engines it has built for stock, so its prices cover a different product, built with a stated mix of new and overhauled major parts. Of the listings we read, one was still available. The page does not say whether the price is an exchange or outright, or what happens with your old engine.
We could not read a factory price or a core charge. Continental's stock engine list says only "Prices are offered on an exchange basis. Applicable core charges will be invoiced separately", and sends buyers to a distributor. Its policy gives you 120 calendar days to return the old engine, which must arrive complete. We found no European shop that prints a Continental overhaul price.
What comes on top of the overhaul price?
Removal and reinstallation. Airworx lists "Aircraft removal or installation" as not included, along with the propeller, engine mount, hoses, baffles, exhaust system and shipping. The only published figures we found are Victor Aviation's estimates, effective February 2019, so more than seven years old: $7,771.01 for a Cessna 182 with an O-470-U, $9,270.73 for a Cirrus SR22 with an IO-550-N and $14,413.93 for a Columbia/Cessna 400 with a TSIO-550-C, including isolators and hoses.
A crankcase or crankshaft that fails. Airworx: "A crankcase that is condemned or beyond economically reasonable repair is not included in the standard overhaul price." Penn Yan says the same in other words: "Prices assume your crankshaft and crankcase are repairable. If not, repair or replacement will be quoted separately and based on availability."
Cylinders. Gann's price assumes your cylinders can be repaired. Airworx includes a new cylinder package "where specified in the customer's quotation". Ask which you are getting, because the warranty can differ: Aircraft Engine Specialists gives "2 Year / 2000-Hour" with factory-new cylinders and "6 Months / 250-Hour" with overhauled ones. We found no published dollar difference.
Service bulletins. Gann warns that "Compliance with some service bulletins may incur additional charges." Shops differ here, so ask.
How many hours and years: Continental's TBO
Continental's engine-series spec sheets of March 2026 give each model a time between overhauls (TBO) in hours, plus 12 years. Most engines in the table run 1,700 to 2,200 hours.
Time between overhauls, from Continental's spec sheets
| Engine | Hours | Or years |
|---|---|---|
| O-200-A | 2,000 h | 12 |
| O-200-D | 2,200 h | 12 |
| IO-240-B | 2,200 h | 12 |
| IO-360-CB, DB, GB, HB, JB | 1,700 h | 12 |
| IO-360-AF, ES, KB | 2,200 h | 12 |
| TSIO-360-EB, FB, KB, LB, MB, RB, SB | 2,000 h | 12 |
| O-470-R, S | 1,700 h | 12 |
| O-470-U | 2,200 h | 12 |
| IO-470-L, N, U, VO | 1,700 h | 12 |
| IO-520-A, BB, CB, D, E, F, J, L, MB | 1,900 h | 12 |
| TSIO-520-E | 1,400 h | 12 |
| TSIO-520-BB, C, EB, G, H, M, P, R, T | 1,600 h | 12 |
| TSIO-520-AF, CE, NB, UB, VB, WB | 1,800 h | 12 |
| IO-550-A, B, C, D, E, F, L | 1,900 h | 12 |
| IO-550-G, N, P, R | 2,200 h | 12 |
| TSIO-550-C, G, K, N | 2,200 h | 12 |
Two conditions move those hours. The serial number: Continental's Service Information Letter SIL98-9E, the last revision of that letter, gives most engines from serial number 1006000 200 hours more than older ones, and the spec sheets show that higher figure. An IO-550-N below that number has 2,000 hours, not 2,200. And frequent use: "If an engine consistently accumulates 40 or more hours per month since being placed in service, add 200 hours to recommended TBO."
Continental calls these figures "only estimates". It also says it does not provide a TBO for engines assembled with parts it did not supply, and RAM lists 1,700 hours for its own Bonanza engines, so ask a shop which figure applies to the engine it returns. Accessories count too: "Engine mounted components and accessories require overhaul at the same hourly and calendar intervals as the engine, unless otherwise specified by the component or accessory manufacturer." Which limits bind a particular engine, and under which rules it may run past them, is a question for its maintenance organisation. SIL98-9E dates from 2015 and Continental's index now lists it as superseded by its M-0 manual, so check the current document for your engine.
What to set aside per flight hour
Divide the overhaul by the hours until it falls due. For an IO-550-N overhauled by a shop for $54,900, that is $24.95 per flight hour when the aircraft flies 184 hours a year or more, because the 2,200 hours come first. Below that, the 12 years come first: at 100 hours a year the overhaul falls due after 1,200 hours and costs $45.75 per hour, and at 50 hours a year after 600 hours, $91.50 per hour. The reserve per year then stays the same, $4,575, however little the aircraft flies.
Engine reserve per flight hour, by hours flown a year
- the 12-year limit comes first
- 2,200 hours come first
| Hours a year | Hours until the overhaul is due | Reserve per flight hour | Reserve per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 h/yr | due after 300 h | $183.00 | $4,575 a year |
| 50 h/yr | due after 600 h | $91.50 | $4,575 a year |
| 100 h/yr | due after 1,200 h | $45.75 | $4,575 a year |
| 184 h/yr | due after 2,200 h | $24.95 | $4,592 a year |
| 200 h/yr | due after 2,200 h | $24.95 | $4,991 a year |
That is why a low-utilisation aircraft pays more for its engine per hour flown. Our aircraft ownership cost calculator switches the engine reserve from per hour to per year when the hours a year fall below the calendar limit. What it costs to own a Cirrus SR22 shows what that does for a Continental-engined aircraft, and Lycoming engine overhaul cost does the same for the other engine family.
Collecting the reserve in a club or partnership
A group that flies its engine to overhaul pays for it either from a fund or by a share of the hourly rate. In Pilot-Next the engine reserve can be a second hourly rate on the same aircraft, shown as its own line on the flight invoice; a member with a personal hourly rate is billed only that rate, so build the reserve into it. Every aircraft can have maintenance plans with an interval in flight hours, in calendar months or both, and each plan shows OK, Due Soon or Overdue against the aircraft's Tacho reading (its Hobbs if it has no Tacho) and today's date — see aircraft maintenance tracking. How co-owners share the bill is set out in the aircraft partnership agreement.
Sources
Read on 1 November 2026: Continental's spec sheets for the 200, 240, 360, 470, 520 and 550 series; SIL98-9E (a copy on a flight centre's site) and Continental's document index; Continental's stock engine list and core return policy; Gann Aviation; Airworx Aviation; RAM Aircraft and its Bonanza engines; Victor Aviation; Penn Yan Aero; Aircraft Engine Specialists.