blown up 912 ??

[GASSITT@aol.com]

I just got a call from a customer that says he just bought a Rotax 912S engine from Lockwood and he bought it as a blown up engine $ 4000. and he knew it was blown up , two rods on the crankshaft are toast and the reason was climbout was too steep (PER LOCKWOOD) about 200 hrs TT , ITS BLOWN UP ! they tell the original owner that its not worth fixing , Well I have been working on Rotax engines now for 32 yrs and about ten of them with the 912 , and this one is beyond me , never heard of anything like this , The Rotax 912 doesn't have an oil pan its got a oil tank ,Its a dry sump engine , question , How friggen steep would you haft to climb to starve the engine for oil and for how long ?? I totally disagree with the diagnosis , Any thoughts ? ITS STILL BLOWN UP , Its not Lockwoods fault , they never worked on it , no one has , IT could have been caused by SUN SPOTS ?
GASSITT

[ClickClickBoom]

I just got a call from a customer that says he just bought a Rotax 912 engine from Lockwood and its blown up , two rods on the crankshaft are toast and the reason was climbout was too steep (PER LOCKWOOD) about 200 hrs , they say its not worth fixing , Well I have been working on Rotax engines now for 32 yrs and about ten of them with the 912 , and this one is beyond me , never heard of anything like this , The Rotax 912 doesn't have an oil pan its got a oil tank , question , How friggen steep would you haft to climb to starve the engine for oil and for how long ?? I totally disagree with the diagnosis , Any thoughts ?
Steve@ Airscrew Performance

More to this story than meets the page. Sounds like Lockwood doesn't want to fix the booboo.
Total time on cases, installation, ect. 200 hrs on an engine is just enough to guarantee break in, not much more.
Without many more details, not enough info to analyze accurately.
Rod toasting would suggest an oiling problem.

[rogerh12]

Engine mechanics have a general rule, "if it's going to let go after a engine rebuild, it will do it in the first 50 hours". I guess that means any mistakes in the rebuild will only last a few hours before those loose nuts start coming off the rod bolts. Anyway, 200 hours is a lot of time on a Rotax, the 582 only has a TBO of 300 hours, so any way you slice it, I suspect a breakage or part failure followed by oil pressure loss in the 912 was to blame.

That' my take on it, given very little information (though that's never stopped me from venturing an opinion before !!!)
Roger

[Av8r_Sed]

Steve,
Why do you join the forum today, make your first post and take Lockwood to task publicly? Is Lockwood a competitor and you're taking a shot? How about suggesting to your customer that they join the forum and ask the wise minds here for advice?

[DesertFox4]

Steve,
Why do you join the forum today, make your first post and take Lockwood to task publicly? Is Lockwood a competitor and you're taking a shot? How about suggesting to your customer that they join the forum and ask the wise minds here for advice?

I read and re-read the OP and am not quite sure why the attack.
No accusations were made toward Lockwood, a know reputable business, by the OP who was relaying what a customer said to him.

Anyways- was the engine brand new or a rebuild?
Was it on a Kitfox? I'll assume it was and if so , no I've never heard of too steep of a climb out yet in a Kitfox that would do in a healthy Rotax 912 but as stated there just isn't enough information to conclude much yet. There are other aircraft using the Rotax 912 engines that may climb out even steeper than our Kitfox's do and no I've not heard of those having difficulty keeping their engines together either.

Sorry for his troubles.

[Woodennickle]

Gee Av8r-Sed, hope you received a better welcome to the site when you joined. What crawled up your butt?

[Av8r_Sed]

Perhaps an overreaction, but what I read is the third party just bought a motor, it blew up and the vendor is blaming the third party (climbout too steep). Sounded more like a poke at the vendor than a search for information on the cause.

Steve, sorry if you're just trying to resolve the cause of the failure. I know that's what the forum members are all about.

[GASSITT@aol.com]

Well since AV8r sed can't read and someone ****ed on his parade I think I'll go fly and let him just wish he could ! BTW hard ass the post said it was BLOWN UP when it was bought from Lockwood , its nothing against Lockwood (they send me cranks to do) its just that they sold the BLOWN motor to another person and sold a new one to the climb out king . CHEERS GASSITT

[Paul Z]

One question did the owner prop it through until it burps, to pump the oil through the engine. Having taken the Rotax training, maintenance & repair classes, according to Rotax, the engines do not have brass bearings races, it is steel to steel rod to crank, and crank to case. They are ground to fit. The engine does not like to run dry. They told us that at least 50 to 100 times in the classes. Did the owner wait for the engine to get to temp before taking off? There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.

[szicree]

I guess I can't read either. My understanding of the original post was that the guy bought an engine from Lockwood, it blew up, and that they were basically telling him "tough luck".

Additionally, I'm floored by how quickly the O.P. has ratcheted up the attitude.