Boots or no boots?

[Mark Hislop]

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If it is truly plumbed for De-Ice, then at some point in time, the boots were removed. Assuming the entire system is fine, getting them put back on is about $14K.
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It is my understanding that some 337's came from the factory with "partial plumbing." It is relatively simple to add boots to these airplanes as long as you are willing to write the check. On 337's without partial plumbing, it is a pretty big deal, and probably cost prohibitive.
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My aircraft has factory "partial Plumbing. It came with a hot prop, ice light, heated pitot tube, windshield hot plate, and a blank hole where the "de-ice" switch should go. I think it also has a tube mounted down the boom, but no tubing I can find in the wings.

What it doesn't have, and what you would need to complete the icing package, are new vacuum pumps (larger than those currently on the aircraft), a timing valve, boots for the wings and horizontal stab, and probably more plumbing.

Cessna used to have a Service Kit that included all of these parts. They don't have it any more. When I bought my aircraft in 1996, I tried to find all the the parts from independant sources. I managed (barely) to find them all, but the cost at that time was over $30,000. My heart won't take the strain of imagining what the cost would be now.

Mark