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Well done on the return and landing. The joy of two engines!
I am not an A&P, but like all here, I like to fly safely without having the remortgage the house and that is the basis of the following.
You should have a long discussion with your A&P and review the state of the engine. How old (years), how many hours, has it been overhauled before and who did the overhaul with what parts.
If it was a fairly new engine with relatively few hours, say half time, I would pull the cylinder and thus have good access to look over the interior of the engine, cam shaft etc. If the interior inspection and a good look at the other jugs showed nothing, I would be tempted to order up a replacement cylinder and go with that. That is certainly the simplest and least expensive option and allows you to start to save for the next expense. Your A&P can advise.
The heads on these engines do separate, but there are often tell tale signs. There have been a couple of articles about this type of failure and what to look for, but I don't have any references to hand. A web search might help. That said, it may have been in Light Plane Maint. If you know someone who has all the old issues, it might be worth while taking a look.
If the jugs were not replaced at the last overhaul and it was done a long time ago then you are looking at a different picture. What is its general health, oil consumption etc. Is it a light case? You will face a crank replacement on O/H if it is not a VAR crank. Once again your A&P is a good source of advice. TCM seems still to give you full credit on both light cases and non VAR cranks when you go reman.
I think one of Mike Bush's "Savy Aviator" articles covered a lot of the issues and I think it has also been written up in Light Plane Maint.
I have faced a similar decision twice now, fortunately without the engine failure in flight. The first time on another plane, the engine looked good and we replaced the jug and flew on. It was a pretty solid IO470.
The second time on my 337, I bite the bullet and got a factory reman although my A&P started with the "let's O/H it" view.
On the 337, it's a turbo so the heads are more highly stressed anyway meaning 6 new jugs. It was also well past mid time with log enteries, but not the detailed paperwork from the previous O/H. It also had a non VAR crank requiring replacement and original case. The accessories were all getting on as well.
I did the sums and got to the point where the factory reman unit was not that much more expensive than the O/H. When I ordered the factory reman I figured it would increase the value and I liked the warranty cover. I also intend to keep the plane for a while so can take the longer view. There was also the issue of time as the reman is a much faster way to go.
I just don't tell my wife the costs of anything plane related. I figure the detailed costs will just confuse the issue and create demands for jewlery, new cars etc. I am trying to convince her that it keeps me off the streets and sane, but I am having some difficulty with that part.
I guess it also depends on about 50 or 100 other factors as well.
There are several folks selling TCM remans. with Trade a Plane being a good source of information and contacts.
Best of luck with your thinking.
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