Shyyyte

[Oscar]

If the mystery engine supplier was the same CXXxt I know, if the boss says it will be 'as new', it will be, and they'll do it absolutely by the book.

 

The engine guys at CXXxt can pull an engine apart in around 20 minutes - and that's when the party starts..

 

They'll inspect it minutely and make decisions regarding exactly what has to be done - e.g. if the bearings show any sign of premature wear, the crankshaft welsh plugs will be removed and the shaft - IF it measures up in the measuring shop ok, will be cleaned and re-plugged. If the thing shows signs of overheating / seizure, it'll be scrapped.

 

The crankcase halves will be scrupulously cleaned (which can be done with CXXxt engines ok because of the case joining sealant used - it's not economic to do that with Jabiru cases, it can take a day at least - I know this to be fact from first-hand experience...) and then tensioned down and re-measured. The rods will be cleaned and measured. The heads will be stripped, cleaned, and measured.

 

If there's ANY signs of bearings having spalled, all the bushings: cam, rockers, will be driven out and replaced. The valve guides will be measured and unless pristine, will be replaced. I suspect that the through bolts and studs will be replaced as a matter of course, without even having the opportunity of being measured to see if they are actually OK - though they probably WILL be measured later as part of the data-gathering that CXXxt is doing on the operational experience of its engines.

 

At a minimum, the bores will be re-honed and new rings installed. ALL bearing shells, thrust washers, and oil seals will be replaced.

 

How do I know this? Well, if you've spent time at CXXxt, you'll find out that there is a mix of people on 'the team' that gets the engines out the door. The Boss, who we will call 'witness I.B.', will insist on it and will watch it through like a mother hen. He can't resist getting down onto the production floor...

 

Then, there's the guy in charge of the assembly shop, who we will simply call 'Ted' for short. 'Ted' rarely says much more than 'Yes' or 'No', and if Ted measures things up, or inspects them and he's not 100% happy, he says 'No' - and there's no bloody argument, they're in the bin. There is no argument against a 'No' from 'Ted': it's not a negotiating position, it's a simple statement of the current and future state of the universe in respect of that part/s which were deemed to be 'No'. You'd have more chance of talking a dragon out of eating a virgin than convincing 'Ted' that 'No' could encompass 'Maybe.'

 

Finally, there will be the guys in the assembly shop. You might think that they're little more than the wet-nurses at the end of the production chain, but if something isn't 'right', they know it. Example: even though they were not actually 'assembling' our rebuild, just watching over my co-owner and me fumble our way through and advising/showing/teaching us on how to do it to get it right, they happened to pick up on the fact that we were using a new front oil seal supplied by Jabiru and that it needs to be installed at a different distance to a standard front seal (long story, relating to Jabiru component changes). Quick check: remove the newly-installed oil seal and re-install it using the appropriate mandrel. That's information that simply isn't available to any engine re-builder outside of Jabiru and CXXxt - though someone like Keith Rule has probably sussed it out.

 

Actually re-building an existing engine is a more comprehensive task than building a new engine from scratch using components off the production machines - because it is an anomaly in the production line.

 

'Witness I.B.' would - I am sure - use every bit of information from the problems that engine encountered in his development programme. Your mate has been the unlucky beneficiary of crap parts, not of his engine's manufacturer responsibility - but his engine manufacturer seems to be happy to pay for the information it will get by supplying free work by way of assistance.

 

 

[Russ]

Geeeezus ......me iPad battery went flat reading that brief report. Well done.

 

The business in question here, beginning with C, surely deserves our support.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

I find that simply unlucky as China is the world's largest user of roof top solar water heaters, even to the point of bizzare in some cities when you see them crowded on the roofs of apartment buildings. Looking out my window I would say every second home has one in my affluent area. Mine is 9 years old and no problems at all other than an ECU replaced after a lightning strike. It was $300 fully installed back then, I guess about double that now.What was wrong with your tank?

the tank had a very small pinhole leak in the weld between the stainless steel inner liner and the threaded outlet, and the tank insulation was in the end waterlogged which then killed its ability to insulate.. as well as my water bill...high enough to berate the kids for indulgently long showers, which as you can imagine went over well, but not high enough to have that light bulb moment..... Ultimately it was the excessive electricity charges for heating that tweaked me to it in the end.... I also found a galvanized adapter between a stainless steel threaded tank outlet and the brass connected to copper pipe...Needless to say the gal steel wasn't coping well with the dissimilar metals corrosion thing occurring.... Don't know whether to blame the Australian importer, the Chinese OEM or the plumber...the kit came with everything needed but......

 

Anyway that wasn't the purpose of my post, rather it was to alert people to be aware of where in a storage tank for a split solar system the top up element is located. If its near the bottom you will top up to have full capacity of the tank available, if its middle then top up only gets you 1/2 the capacity, if, as the Chinese one was, its closer to 1/3 from the top then overcast days can be miserable from a hot water perspective, yet great from an electricity usage perspective......Me, Id prefer it to be at the bottom of the tank and run 50 to 100% more vacuum tubes....When its really sh!tty weather no amount of tubes will do the job, but when its 50:50 double will do it, If I only need topping up with the electric element occasionally then I don't mind heating the full tank......

 

Hope that makes sense

 

Andy

 

Andy

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Yes, thanks Andy.

 

 

[Russ]

I must have run over a black cat...or something. Brand new 10 ply tyres fitted recently. All's good...........pulled me jab out of the hanger today ( tried to ) flat tyre...........you must be joking i think.

 

Pull wheel off, split the rims...........bugger me, tube was pinched between the 2 rim halfs..........so there you go. More careful next time.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Did you put a bit of air in the tube before fitting the two rim halves?

 

 

[Russ]

maybe not enough ???

 

Off topic......but.......aquaintance tells me he fills his jab oil to the top mark, and that's where it stays for the next 25hrs. Mine.....25hrs i add about 400ml, and that's with the oil leval maintained quite low on the stick................strange ????

 

 

[turboplanner]

Not necessarily depending on the design vs actual angle, design vs actual length and design vs actual seating.

 

 

[jetjr]

Depends how much dipstick pushed through cap

 

Also linked to blow by and crank case pressures

 

Keep track of how much ends up in catch can. 20-40ml per hr is pretty normal

 

 

[motzartmerv]

maybe not enough ???Off topic......but.......aquaintance tells me he fills his jab oil to the top mark, and that's where it stays for the next 25hrs. Mine.....25hrs i add about 400ml, and that's with the oil leval maintained quite low on the stick................strange ????

That would be a rare Jab indeed.

 

 

[Marty_d]

...dragon out of eating a virgin...

Bloody dyslexia, I got that one completely wrong at first look.

 

Engine builder/suppler begins with "C"...ends with "T"

Unfortunate name for any business.

 

 

[Russ]

400ml was a tad wrong, closer to 300ml topups over 25hrs. Catchcan generally 25% full after 25hrs. Fill oil higher, it just get's pushed out, hence keep it low.

 

worries me running low oil on those long legs tho.

 

 

[Guest GraemeM]

400ml was a tad wrong, closer to 300ml topups over 25hrs. Catchcan generally 25% full after 25hrs. Fill oil higher, it just get's pushed out, hence keep it low.worries me running low oil on those long legs tho.

Russ, long legs??? not the Russ I know.

 

 

[Russ]

ok....so i'm vertically challenged. ( me mum always told me, great things come in small packages )........so there.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

I must have run over a black cat...or something. Brand new 10 ply tyres fitted recently. All's good...........pulled me jab out of the hanger today ( tried to ) flat tyre...........you must be joking i think.Pull wheel off, split the rims...........bugger me, tube was pinched between the 2 rim halfs..........so there you go. More careful next time.

Every owner will do this once......after they then run around to find a replacement tube...usually at a time when all the places that sell them are closed....they know how to avoid in the future.......

 

What you failed to mention Russ was that splitting the hub halves when you have 10 ply tyres fitted is a simple job taking no more than 10 minutes.......of profuse swearing.......between the literally hours it can take if the bead has grabbed hard and you are away from home and don't have a handy mallet......etc. you certainly live and learn with Jabs

 

Andy

 

 

[Russ]

I'm hearing you brother.....i'm hearing you...

 

i'm going to try that aerosol emergency repair gook next time out yonder ( plugs hole, inflates tyre ) ......so the can says.

 

 

[SDQDI]

I'm hearing you brother.....i'm hearing you...i'm going to try that aerosol emergency repair gook next time out yonder ( plugs hole, inflates tyre ) ......so the can says.

I carry a can in my plane toolbox now, I've never tried it on anything bigger than a motor bike tyre but on them at least it works perfectly. Of course if you had to use it you would want to taxi around for a bit to let the stuff spread (of course if you can lift the wheel and spin that works too) but otherwise no hassles. Well and truly good enough to get you out of trouble.

 

Ps all this talk of pinching tubes helps me to appreciate more the benefit of my big bush wheels (ok mine aren't as big as some) putting them on is a piece of cake as they are just basically an oversized tube but the inside bit is rigid enough not to cause hassles when mounting them. Hmm I wonder if I've mentioned how good bush wheels are before?

 

 

[Russ]

Ps all this talk of pinching tubes helps me to appreciate more the benefit of my big bush wheels (ok mine aren't as big as some) putting them on is a piece of cake as they are just basically an oversized tube but the inside bit is rigid enough not to cause hassles when mounting them. Hmm I wonder if I've mentioned how good bush wheels are before?

May the lord punish you with headwinds, ............Grrrrrr:blush:

 

 

[Russ]

Dropped into Normanton mth or 2 ago, nice looong tar strip, fueled up, refueler guy notices i had a flat tyre.......bugger i says, we taxied in ok, no probs, must have just happined. He tells me he had compressor on board, bewdy pump her up pal, and i'm gone real quick.

 

2 plus hrs later, we land home grass strip............that's when the fun began.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

I tried the green goo and it was a disaster creating horrendous vibrations in my 230.....I had to replace the tubes that I had put it in....

 

10Ply tyres pretty much fixed the problems with 3 corner jacks (calthrope) in SA, Standard J supplied tyres were pretty much useless if you ventured unknowingly into a patch of prickles.....

 

Andy

 

 

[SDQDI]

I have the opposite trouble, I get worried if my wheels are NOT flat:yes: I currently run 8 psi but 6 is ok.

 

As for balance problems I don't get quick enough to be worried about that. I helped fill up a Aeropup with green goo and he didn't seem to have any balance problems but again maybe not as quick as a jab?

 

I do think the aerosol with the goo included is an awesome tool for anyone doing remote area flying, so what if you need to change your tubes when you get home (if balance is a problem) it will get you out of trouble and keep you flying

 

 

[Kiwi303]

The problem with those goo type sealants is the wheel must be continuously rotated until the liquid inside the tyre has fully solidified and evenly coated the entire inside. If you just pour it in and let it sit it will pool at the bottom of the tyre and form a lump which then means the tyre is unbalanced.

 

 

[jetjr]

Amount you add is critical, has to be some left liquid to work i think

 

I had a flat nosewheel upon landing at Griffith, had Rex right behind me too

 

 

[Russ]

.........

 

The problem with those goo type sealants is the wheel must be continuously rotated until the liquid inside the tyre has fully solidified and evenly coated the entire inside. If you just pour it in and let it sit it will pool at the bottom of the tyre and form a lump which then means the tyre is unbalanced.

stays liquid........has finely chopped ??? mixed into the goo. Going by the bottle guide, you definately get some horrible out of balance wheels. Maybe......1/2 the recommended dose could be the answer. ( i've tried the recommended dosage......then replaced tubes ) Now running 10 ply tyres

 

 

[Kiwi303]

finely chopped?

 

Sounds like different goo.

 

The stuff I know is thin, slippery, sort of pinkish and definitely just a fluid without added fibre. Almost the consistency and slip of KY lube.

 

I wouldn't use it with the missus tho, it is a room temperature vulcanising rubber similar to the RTV extrudable gasket tubes in SuperCheapAuto, You'd end up with a intimately personalised protective rubber...

 

It dries on the inside of the wheel, bonding to the inside of the carcase and effectively forms a single skin patch right around the tyre inside.

 

No use on sidewall holes, but just fine on thorns and smaller nails through the tread.