My experience with Jabiru the factory and Jabiru the engine is mixed.
The factory do not want to know you if you purchase second hand, and even less so if their engine is not installed in one of their Tupperware airframes. I emailed them with details of engine serial number, to ask if they had any records of its modification status when it left the factory, and to ask whether it had the 1000 hour TBO or the later, higher TBO. Not even a simple reply to say they had no knowledge of where it went after it got shipped out in a box, but based on serial number it would be a 1000 hour TBO.
The engine, a 2200 serial number 65 is one of their first of that series. So far, so good. The only issues have been a badly cracked muffler due to poor welding and some ignition faults which I fixed by replacing both rotors, both distributor caps and all the HT leads. It is owner maintained on the basis of if it ain't broke I don't fix it. The usual regular oil and spark plug changes and and a good look around for leaks and cracks and monitoring of compressions and tappet clearances is all. I imagine that swinging a wrench on through bolts etc would do more to break them than never touching them.
If this was the automotive industry, with 10,000 units on the road, the authorities would require a general recall to have the safety issues rectified at factory expense. But, hey, this is aviation and it's easier for the authority in this case to simply shut the factory. For those of us stuck with the product, if we can't have empty skies, solo skies are the next best thing.
Last edited by Mach E Avelli; 14th Nov 2014 at 20:51.