What TBO times are people getting on the 3300?

[Anthony Gray]

Just interested to see what TBO times Jabiru 3300 users are getting on their engines, do they make it to 2000 for overhaul, do they make it to 1000 for top end overhaul?

 

 

[mAgNeToDrOp]

From what I've been told you'd be lucky to get 700 hours before top end

 

 

[jetjr]

i got ~800 and decided to exchange for new reco' mainly to get new cooler heads. It would have gone much further but leakdowns on 2 cylinders were down near limits

 

Overhauls are relatively cheap and plenty have extra inspections or overhaul done early

 

Watch all 6 egt and cht

 

 

[Guernsey]

This is a very interesting post but if you are going to contribute, could you please advise when the engine was first purchased (there have been several mods possibly done since )

 

and what aircraft the engine was installed into as it would appear that some aircraft installations run cooler, the Morgan Sierra being an example.

 

Alan.

 

 

[alf jessup]

A mate of mine has had 2 top end rebuilds in 260 hrs (valve problems i think)

 

machine is about 18 months old (J230)

 

 

[Alan]

Engine #1039 - 35o hours to date. Good stable leak downs. Always cruised at 2900 rpm.

 

Funny how Jabiru attracts the "I've been told" comments when the request was addressed to users.

 

Alan

 

 

[Jaba-who]

Engine serial No about 1100 ( forget exact number). Mounted in a J430. Purchased in 2006 built at my home first flew late 2007. Now 350 hours. Always monitored all cylinders and numbers always good. So far so good.

 

I'd also like to know from posts (especially from those that didnt make full life) if all cylinders monitored and if both CHT and EGTs were monitored.

 

 

[biggles]

A mate of mine has had 2 top end rebuilds in 260 hrs (valve problems i think)machine is about 18 months old (J230)

Do you know what fuel he is running on Alf ?

 

Bob

 

 

[alf jessup]

100 % avgas mate unless some unleaded when up in the middle of australia

 

 

[Anthony Gray]

Great, thanks, I think Jabirus are great and I am still getting one, just trying to wade through the mass of negativity on the internet and trying to get some facts from owners and users.

 

 

[Planechaser]

Engine #1039 - 35o hours to date. Good stable leak downs. Always cruised at 2900 rpm.Funny how Jabiru attracts the "I've been told" comments when the request was addressed to users.

Alan

I am thinking it is because there are so many out there.

 

The same event can get reported multiple times because everyone knows someone with a Jab, they just can't remember the blokes name!!

 

I got the feeling that they were much less complicated and easier to work on that the Rotax,( and cheaper?) but the trade off was shock cooling/heating issues with valve gear and head bolts/gaskets.

 

IF this is the case, in my mind, TBO becomes not so much about service regiems(sp?) as how you treat the engine in flight. Much like our cars and motorbikes used to be.

 

My flight instructor( "Old" Jack Funnel, for those who knew him) was picky to the point of fanaticism about throttle and mixture control in flight.

 

He did not mind "poping the rivits" to demonstrate something to you, but I never saw him treat the engine with anything short of full respect and reverance in the 50 hrs I did with him.

 

Ham fisted with the aircraft he would forgive; ham fisted with the motor was something else entirly!!

 

Appologies Anthony for taking the topic elswhere.

 

 

[facthunter]

Jabiru have always stressed the need to keep the top end good. If you let it keep running once the pressures are getting down expect deterioration to occur, often fairly rapidly when it starts.

 

My expectations for the top end would not consider that it would go through to the full TBO. Each engine is operating differently, out there. That is why you do leakdown tests. I advocate pulling the engine through before each first flight of the day, and having a good idea what a "good" engine feels like.

 

Hardly any motor has the heads ( valves guides and seats) go the whole distance, in an aeroplane. Rotax 912's do but they are an exception. They sometimes have trouble with avgas, as the heads run a little cool to use that fuel.

 

If you have to open up your engine and do some headwork, then the success of that operation will depend on how well it is done. Attention should be given to good valve guide fit as oil drawn through worn guides will cause carbon build-up and detonation. You can get a bit of an idea of valve guide wear with just the tappet covers off, by moving the valve and checking the play with a dial gauge. Nev

 

 

[Vev]

Good advice Nev re doing a daily pull through as this really does tell you a lot about condition of the top end. One of the things I have learnt is to fly all Jab engines hard ... this keeps them cool and will give them the best chance of a long life top end.

 

Keep pumping that fuel through and they will remain fat dumb and happy little engines.

 

Cheers

 

Jack

 

 

[jcruffle]

Engine #1039 - 35o hours to date. Good stable leak downs. Always cruised at 2900 rpm.Funny how Jabiru attracts the "I've been told" comments when the request was addressed to users.

Alan

Allan, are you running on Agas or Mogas? Glad to see you are happy with things so far. John

 

 

[Alan]

Allan, are you running on Agas or Mogas? Glad to see you are happy with things so far.John

John

 

Avgas for 99% of the time. I have topped up with 40 litres of BP Ultimate on three occassions just to ensure a no diversion home run with reserve. 2900 rpm gives me 21 L/hr and nice cool EGTs.

 

Alan

 

 

[Planechaser]

JohnAvgas for 99% of the time. I have topped up with 40 litres of BP Ultimate on three occassions just to ensure a no diversion home run with reserve. 2900 rpm gives me 21 L/hr and nice cool EGTs.

 

Alan

Good choice on the fuel Alan.

 

Most of the dirt bike fellas that I talk to say steer clear of Shell 98( Vortex?) as it is the worst, and BP Ultimate is the best. All the rest are in between.

 

Motorbikes seem to be the best judge of fuel quality, I guess because of the power to weight ratio. If the fuel is bad, you really know about it!

 

 

[M61A1]

Good choice on the fuel Alan.Most of the dirt bike fellas that I talk to say steer clear of Shell 98( Vortex?) as it is the worst, and BP Ultimate is the best. All the rest are in between.

Motorbikes seem to be the best judge of fuel quality, I guess because of the power to weight ratio. If the fuel is bad, you really know about it!

Where possible I've always run Caltex 98(vortex) in my bikes, the Shell V-power 98 runs great in the car as it has electronic engine management, but does not do well in my bikes. My bikes never seemd to run their best on BP (any kind), but that could just be my local supplier.

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

Great, thanks, I think Jabirus are great and I am still getting one, just trying to wade through the mass of negativity on the internet and trying to get some facts from owners and users.

I'm not a user, but an objective onlooker, I notice nobody has said "my aircraft reached TBO without any problems", but then again that would be a lot of flying in a few years.

 

 

[RKW]

The J17o, of which I'm a part owner, got to 1000 hours, without any trouble what so ever. At this point it was agreed to install a zero time factory recon engine as it is only a little more expensive than a top-end overhaul. It is used by the school so it gets a fair bit of use!

 

 

[ross holz]

One of the local flying schools J170 (not 3300 I know) got 1000 no worries before top end done recently. Mechanic said bore and pistons look like new. Only normal wear and tear on rockers etc. Compression all as good as new. Run on BP ultimate from day one (about 18 mths old from memory).

 

 

[kgwilson]

I'm not a user, but an objective onlooker, I notice nobody has said "my aircraft reached TBO without any problems", but then again that would be a lot of flying in a few years.

It is probably only schools that have been able to clock up enough hours to be objective about this. The local school here has 1 Jab 170 with just over 1000 hours and the other 700 hours. Both are well maintained as they should be and neither have had any problems to date.

 

 

[REastwood]

I have seen a quite a few Jabiru's come through here and the consensus is that the 4 cylinders do quite well because they run them between 2950 and 3000 RPM, as long as they don't break a through bolt they seem OK. The 6 cylinders on the other hand average about 260 hours before the heads & barrels have to come off, usually because of lead build-up (SA has the Green AVGAS) and uneven CHT and EGT - mainly on cylinders 2,3 & 4. Those that run on Unleaded seem to fare better but the uneven EGT's seem to get the valves way before 1000 hours. Flying Schools also fare worse mainly because of circuits, the engines do not like running below 2850. The solution it seems is to fuel inject the engine, balance the mixtures giving even EGT's and run on MOGAS and fiddle with the baffling to get even CHT's. I know of 5 230's now on fuel injection and they all appear to be going well.

 

 

[Guernsey]

I. I know of 5 230's now on fuel injection and they all appear to be going well.

Hi Richard,

 

Are they all using the same fuel injection system and if so which one.

 

Alan Marriette.

 

 

 

[REastwood]

Hi Alan,

 

They are all the same, the unit is by Simple Digital Systems, http://www.sdsefi.com/

 

Richard.

 

 

[jetjr]

Who is putting them together now?

 

Any idea of current cost?