Cessna 172 Service Manual (1996 & On) 172R and 172S Skyhawk SP (P/N 172RMM15)

• Applies to Cessna 172R Skyhawk, S/N 17280001 and on, and 172S Skyhawk SP, S/N 172S8001 and on; the manual expressly excludes Model 172 aircraft built before 1996.
• Organizes traditional, Progressive Care, and PhaseCard inspection programs, component time limits, and unscheduled checks after hard/overweight landings, overspeed, extreme turbulence or maneuvers, abnormal towing loads, lightning strikes, and foreign-object damage.
• Details Lycoming IO-360-L2A engine removal/installation and troubleshooting, RSA fuel-injection servicing and flow tests, Slick 4371 magneto timing, engine-control rigging, exhaust leak inspection, and fixed-pitch propeller/spinner service.
• Provides flight-control cable inspection and rigging, aileron/rudder/elevator/flap removal and adjustment, trim-actuator disassembly and inspection, wing and stabilizer removal, and wet-wing fuel-bay sealing and leak testing.
• Covers main- and nose-gear repair work, including wheel alignment, shimmy-damper and shock-strut service, wheel inspection and balancing, master-cylinder work, brake bleeding, and parking-brake adjustment.
• Distinguishes conventional-instrument and Garmin G1000 configurations across electrical power, engine indication, communications, navigation, pitot/static, vacuum, and avionics cooling, with KAP 140 servo inspection and adjustment procedures.

Exact Configuration Coverage

This 961-page PDF contains the Cessna Model 172 Series 1996 & On Maintenance Manual, manual number 172RMM15, Revision 15, dated July 1, 2007. It is written to assist maintenance personnel and is best suited to A&P mechanics and repair shops that can apply serial-effectivity notes, Cessna service information, and the listed supplier publications.

Both the 172R and 172S use the Lycoming IO-360-L2A, but the manual preserves the configuration split: standard 172R aircraft are rated at 160 hp and use the McCauley 1C235/LFA7570 propeller, while the 172S uses the 180-hp setup and 1A170E/JHA7660 propeller. The 172S data also applies to 172R aircraft incorporating modification kit MK172-72-01. Procedures further separate conventional avionics from G1000 installations and, where required, divide work by serial range or software version.

Inspection and Repair Depth

Chapter 5 combines inspection-time-limit tables, component replacement and overhaul references, and Progressive Care checklists organized as four primary operations with additional numbered inspections through Operation 25; the table expressly marks some entries as not currently used. It ties annual/100-hour inspection scope to 14 CFR Part 43, Appendix D, and points to Part 91 requirements for items such as the ELT and pitot/static system. The unscheduled section maps inspection areas after specific events instead of offering only a generic post-incident checklist. It covers structures and systems affected by hard or overweight landings, excessive airspeed, severe turbulence or maneuvers, high side loads during towing, lightning/static discharge, and FOD.

Repair coverage reaches well beyond routine servicing. The manual addresses alternator and battery fault isolation; power-junction-box and overvoltage testing; fuel-quantity calibration for G1000 software variants; pitot/static leakage tests; AHRS and magnetometer checkout; vacuum-manifold and regulator tests; control-surface rigging; fuel-injection troubleshooting; and engine static-run diagnosis. Tool lists identify equipment such as the Cessna 0580001-1 fuel-quantity test box, SE716 inclinometer, and Lamar TE04 MCU test set with LI-0021 instructions. General reference data includes fastener and hose torque tables, fluid and replenishment data, inspection limits, cable-tension charts, electrical test values, and adjustment specifications.

Schematics, Service Figures, and Repair Cautions

Useful graphics include the Fuel System Schematic, Fuel Injection System Schematic, Flap System Schematic, the three-configuration Pitot/Static System Schematic, Over-Voltage Protection Circuit Test with External Batteries, and Autopilot Servo Inspection views. Installation drawings and exploded-style service figures support the landing gear, brakes, controls, doors, wings, engine, propeller, and avionics racks.

The cautions are component-specific. Compressed air must not be directed through pitot or static lines toward the instruments because it can damage them. The KX-155A and KX-165A NAV/COM radios must not be interchanged; the manual warns that doing so can damage the radio.

Important Scope Limits

Revision 15 reflects the maintenance data issued through July 1, 2007; later revisions, service information, and regulatory changes are not part of this PDF.

This is not a combined wiring, parts, and structural-repair set. Full aircraft wiring data is in the separate Model 172 Wiring Diagram Manual, parts identification is in the Illustrated Parts Catalog, and repairs beyond the structural scope here require the 1996-and-on Single Engine Structural Repair Manual. Internal engine overhaul, complete magneto or propeller overhaul, and certain G1000 diagnostics rely on Lycoming, Unison/Slick, McCauley, Garmin, and other supplier publications. STC installations are not covered by Cessna's inspection criteria in this manual.

Flight-control, fuel, brake, propeller, engine, and electrical repair work affects airworthiness and should be performed or approved by appropriately certificated personnel using current revisions, service bulletins, and applicable regulatory data.