CESSNA SKYLANE TURBO WITH RETRACT GEAR HAS ENG VIBRATION THEN TOTAL LOSS OF PWR. EMER LNDG ON HWY. NO DAMAGE; NO INJURY.

Narrative

I WAS FLYING A CESSNA TURBO SKYLINE; TR182; WITH RETRACTING LNDG GEAR OUT OF TUCSON INTL ARPT ON A VFR FLT TO SANTA FE; NEW MEXICO. WHILE CLBING TO 11500 FT AND AT 10500 FT THE ENG STARTED TO VIBRATE AND MAKE LOUD NOISE. I IMMEDIATELY DECLARED AN EMER TO THE TUCSON DEP CTLR WHO HAD JUST TERMINATED RADAR SVC WITH ME. THE CTLR GAVE ME A XPONDER CODE AND GOT ME IN RADAR CONTACT AS I TURNED BACK FOR TUCSON. WITHIN A MIN OR TWO THE ENG LOST ALL PWR AND THE CTLR ADVISED ME OF A PVT ARPT JUST E OF BENSON AND I TURNED TOWARD IT AT THAT TIME. I WENT THROUGH THE EMER CHKLIST; ESTABLISHED BEST GLIDE SPD AND STARTED LOOKING FOR A SUITABLE LNDG PLACE. AFTER GLIDING ABOUT 10 MINS IT WAS CLR THAT I WOULD NOT MAKE THE PVT ARPT AT BENSON. I SAW THAT THE HWY THAT GOES S OUT OF BENSON WAS CLR EXCEPT FOR 2 TRUCKS. I FLASHED THE LNDG LIGHT AND BOTH PICKUPS PULLED OFF THE ROAD TO LET ME LAND. I LOWERED THE LNDG GEAR AND FLAPS AND COMMITTED TO LNDG WHEN I SAW A PERSON ON A MOPED OR BICYCLE (HE DID NOT SEE ME). I LANDED THE ACFT ON THE HWY 300 FT BEHIND THE MOPED RIDER; HE STILL DID NOT SEE ME. I WAS ABLE TO USE FULL AILERON TO LIFT THE R WING AND I WAS ABLE TO 'SWERVE' AROUND THE MOPED RIDER WITHOUT ENDANGERING HIM. I MAINTAINED CTL; CAME TO A STOP AND MY WIFE (THE ONLY PAX) AND I EVACED THE ACFT. NO DAMAGE; NO INJURY TO PLT; PAX; ACFT; OR PEOPLE AND PROPERTY ON THE GND. A MECH FOUND THAT THE ENG FAILED BECAUSE THE CRANKSHAFT PROBABLY BROKE. ACFT IS A RENTAL OUT OF FBO AT LONGMONT; CO; ARPT. THE ACFT HAD FULL FUEL; FULL OIL AND PREFLTED PERFECT BEFORE DEP. AFTER THE FORCED LNDG IT STILL HAD 8 QUARTS OF OIL; AND ALL BUT THE FUEL USED FOR TKOF AND CLB. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THAT THE MECHS ARE JUST STARTING TO REPLACE THE ENG AND HE DOES NOT YET KNOW JUST WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THE ENG FAILURE. THE ENG IS A LYC540 6 CYLINDER TURBO MODEL. THIS IS NOT A FUEL INJECTED ENG BUT A CARB ENG AND ONE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER BOOST THE ENG. IT HAD ABOUT 1800 HRS ON IT AND ABOUT 400 HRS SINCE TOP IN WHICH RPTR BELIEVES ALL CYLINDERS WERE REPLACED. RPTR FIRST THOUGHT THE PROB MIGHT BE THE CAMSHAFT SINCE IT SITS ABOVE THE CRANKSHAFT IN THIS ENG. THE FBO WHERE IT WAS RENTED RECENTLY PURCHASED THE ACFT AND PLACED IT ON HIS LINE. HE DID A PRE BUY INSPECTION AND ALL CYLINDERS SEEMED GOOD. RPTR HAS HEARD THE LYCOMING 540 IS A FAIRLY BULLET PROOF ENG BUT SINCE THIS IS HIS SECOND CATASTROPHIC FAILURE WITH A LYCOMING ENG HE IS NO LONGER SO SURE.