Overheating problems on six cylinder Jabiru engines?
 

Re Jabiru 230D; Have had to replace an exhaust valve at 210 hours and I am considering fitting Rotec water cooled heads and their carburetor(with mixture control). Unfortunately because of my health, CASA in their wisdom, has seen fit to 'not allow' me to fly a safer aircraft, . So am interested to hear anyone's experiences with overheating problems on their six cylinder Jab's, and their solutions.

Hmmm... CASA allows those with documented disqualifying health problems to fly Light Sport aircraft?!?

That wasn't the question "Intruder". But since you raise it CASA also allowed one of the great Airmen of the past century" Bob Hoover" to continue to practice his profession when FAA thought he was past his prime. OSH asked a simple question he should be allowed to read some informed replies,not a post from the Hip by yourself which adds little to the value of the thread.

Thread title changed. Previous title "Osh" was irrelevant.

In that case, I'm in a little strife here :E

I can help you with your overheating problems Osh.

PM me and let's chat.

I also know people who are running the accessories that you are considering fitting. If you are running a factory built aircraft you will be unable to fit those. There are other more simple and far less expensive ways to sort your installation.

There is a lot of noise out there at the moment about this very issue and the answer is blowing in the wind :ok:

Squawk, how are going to solve it? Remove all vegetation & buildings from paddocks :E:E:E

Couldn't help yourself, could ya Jack ....:E

Yeah yeah I get your point, very funny ha ha

It's just basics really.

First step is finding out what is actually happening, measuring / monitoring etc. Next step is to remove / rectify the cause of the problem and that can only really be three main things, fuel, air or operator (often harder to remove the latter).

As for the 'fix' there are quite a few, not rocket science, it's just a matter of knowing what's causing the grief.

Finally, working out how much damage you have already done is the hardest part. Is it just "one exhaust valve" or worse......?

None of this is complex but to monitor properly and fine-tune, somewhere around the $1500 - $2000 mark.

Agree, fit 6 channel monitoring EMS and find out what you have first
Get someone to help play with mixtures and jet sizes
Same for Air cooling deflectors

Lots of trial and error but without it your headed for a expensive stop somewhere

Osh, perhaps you could write to the regulatory body and remind them of their duty of care, by forcing you to fly in a certain RAA aircraft you probably have a lower level of safety than being turned loose in an aircraft a few hundred kilos heavier that you are comfortable in.

Yep, flyscratcher, that would be just what aviation needs, more legalese and knee-jerk legislation to keep more people on the ground.:ugh:

The safety argument doesn't stack up I'm afraid. There is nothing stopping the OP from flying behind a Rotax engine.

It's not compulsory to fly a Jabiru, you know :). If the OP's circumstances are such that he's restricted to RAA options, there are plenty of alternatives out there, including Rotax powered ones. I'm no fan of CASA but to blame them for his choice is ridiculous.

The real scandal is that, as we've noted many times in these forums, it's next to impossible for Joe Average to get useful comparative stats on RAA airframe and engine failure rates and causes. I don't know why CASA or anyone else thinks it's acceptable to have the figures restricted to RAA and available only to members with enough tenacity to find them.

What I can say is that, based on the spreadsheet I've been populating from the published incident reports in the RAA mag, the OP has every reason to be nervous.

Yep, flyscratcher, that would be just what aviation needs, more legalese and knee-jerk legislation to keep more people on the ground.

Spintex, if you read what I posted you would see that there is no mention of "legalese and knee jerk legislation". What I said was that even with his medical condition he would be safer in aircraft that he is comfortable in ie certified aircraft up to 1500kg, than lighter aircraft, ie RAA aircraft with demonstrably less reliability. I assume that he came from a GA background that perhaps there was some duty of care in keeping him flying in what he was comfortable in.

OSH, before you rush out and spend a fortune on liquid cooled heads and other complex fixes, try contacting builders who have installed the six in tightly cowled aircraft such as the Sonex.
Many of the Sonex builders in the USA favour the six cylinder Jabiru over the few other options because it really turns the aircraft into a great little gadget. But they all seem to do without the standard Jabiru cooling plenum, instead either using baffles marketed by the kit supplier, or making their own. Some ditch the standard Bing carby as well in favour of other options spruiked by Sonex.
My Sonex only runs the four cylinder Jabiru, so I won't muddy the waters with comments on that installation other than to say so far, so good.