XXX,
heres two of the reasons Jabiru gave me for the J160 heads failing, the other was to accuse me of running an additive. I quote Sue woods the business manager:-
"The word from the engine section regarding the heads is that there is evidence of overheating of the exhaust port areas probably from leaking exhaust pipes. This overheating has resulted in the valve seats dislodging and valve stem damage. They suggest the installation of EGT monitoring as an early warning for leaking exhaust pipes. Also carburettor jetting can be checked against the EGT measurements on the Mogas, Avgas and mixture of Avgas and Mogas. The cracks in the heads may have been caused by the overheating though they don’t appear to have contributed to the engine failure. For any more information speak to Mark in the engine section."
XXX, point of note a full brief of equipment fitted and conditions at the time was sent, they missed the fact that it had the desired sensors, also if you read the report into my other engine, the 3300 you will note that Jabiru state that the seats will start to fall out at 250c. also they found that one head had an exhaust leak at the flange, gripping at straws if you think that effected all heads... So I politely pointed out the inconsistency in their conclusion and got this:-
"Hi Chad
The engine section has examined the heads and the piston and cannot see any manufacturing defect that has caused this damage therefore we will help as far as providing the 2nd hand heads as quoted. If you want to send us the EMS data file we would be interested to see the EGT measurements against what fuel was in use. "
I have considered driving the 7 hours to get the EMS file for them, but I can guarantee it will show that they have been kept within limits! further all Jabiru would say if I tried to use that as evidence is that its a non calibrated instrument.
Sue has informed me that they will not be returning my heads, only after I requested them back for a third party to inspect and report on, she quoted her requirement to hold them in quarantine for one year so CASA can inspect. I provided her with this from the section head of defect investigation at CASA:
Hi Chad,
This email formally notifies you that under Civil Aviation Regulation 52B(3) that your Jabiru cylinder heads are not required to be kept in a state which allows CASA to investigate the defect.
Still refuses to return my property.