Engine Reliability?

[Adam]

Does anyone think any of the major engine company's (ECI, Lycoming, Superior) are better than another? Or is it about the engine builder, I know running engines more often keeps the engine in good shape and the rust out which helps makeTBO but why are some engines less prone to issues, and why did you choose the engine you did?

[Ironflight]

For every negative story about a brand/assembler, you'll hear a positive one.

In all the decades I have been operating Lycomings (and Continental), my experience is that it has more to do with a talented assembler and very good maintenance - take care of your engine and it will take care of you. Regular maintenance will catch little problems before they become big ones.

Oh...and a little luck helps when it comes to things like AD's and Service bulletins. Every manufacturer has had to issue embarrassing recalls and bulletins that made customers furious. Not much you can do about that but be lucky....

Paul

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by Adam

Does anyone think any of the major engine company's (ECI, Lycoming, Superior) are better than another? Or is it about the engine builder, I know running engines more often keeps the engine in good shape and the rust out which helps makeTBO but why are some engines less prone to issues, and why did you choose the engine you did?

Adam,

You are asking two distinct questions, the first will be impossible to answer objectively, the second is a topic unto itself.

It is the nature of those of us who populate this community to consider the choices we make for engines, avionics, etc, to represent the highest order of critical thinking. So whatever a particular builder chose for an engine was the "best". Unfortunately, that does not take into account the reliability of the opinionator or whether or not his needs matched yours.

As Paul stated, careful assembly and maintenance determine the lifespan of an engine, not the logos on the parts.

Your second questions needs to be more narrowly focused in order to yield useful info. You might do some poking with the forum search engine to find some of the hundreds of engine threads that have been discussed over the years. There is a lot of good info and after several hours of homework you will find......that your questions don't have simple answers.

[380mxc]

Adam,
Aviation Cunsumer March issue has an article dealing with this exact question.
Not all engines are created equal. Look at the small block Chevy

[terrykohler]

Gather up a few back issues of "Trade-A-Plane" and search thru the ads for used Pipers, for example. You'll see that in general, the 320 and
360 Lycomings run toward TBO with good compression. Take another look at say turbo charged 210's. I had a few of these over a 20 year period. They typically require a top overhaul around 600 to 800 hours. Things like proper care, regular use, preheating, etc. play a big part, but the engines that Vans has chosen for their aircraft are pretty bullet-proof.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by terrykohler

Gather up a few back issues of "Trade-A-Plane" and search thru the ads for used Pipers, for example. You'll see that in general, the 320 and
360 Lycomings run toward TBO with good compression. Take another look at say turbo charged 210's. I had a few of these over a 20 year period. They typically require a top overhaul around 600 to 800 hours. Things like proper care, regular use, preheating, etc. play a big part, but the engines that Vans has chosen for their aircraft are pretty bullet-proof.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP

I'm pretty sure the original poster was referring to the various vendors that supply engines for our RVs.

[akschu]

My engine builder refused to put anything but lycoming parts in for the rotating assembly because he had used another brand rod bolt in the past and had it come apart and destroy the engine.

He said they removed the other rod bolts and sent them off to be inspected by a metallurgist and found cracks in all of them even though the stretch was correct.

Was this enough for me to use lycoming gears/rod bolts? Yes, partly because this engine builder is very good (local guy here in Alaska) and I wanted to use him, but also because I had to trust his experience since that is why I hired him.

In the grand scheme of things this probably shouldn't mean much to you since many people fly clones to TBO. I guess this is like insurance, buy what you are comfortable with.

schu

[aerhed]

I've torn down and rebuilt quite a few. More Continentals than Lycomings by a dozen. I do have an opinion on various parts from various vendors, but I'd like to hear Mahlon or Jesse from CO chip in here about top end durability, etc. Guys who've seen wear on more Lycoming parts than I ever will. I think average durability and frequency of bad batches would be determiners.

[mahlon_r]

I have had good luck with parts form Lycoming, ECI and Superior. They have all had their issues with cylinders and all have had their share of AD's over the years. I think I have gotten the best support from ECI with a close second from Superior when things have gone array, in the past. It's not always if there is a problem that is an issue, it's how the problem is handled that counts a lot for me. Of course it would be best if there were never any problems but that just doesn't seem to be the case from any of the suppliers in question.
Good Luck,
Mahlon
"The opinions and information provided in this and all of my posts are hopefully helpful to you. Please use the information provided responsibly and at your own risk."

[Adam]

Thanks Mahlon, I just wonder what the week link is when there is a failure, builder, maintnice, parts or all the above? I guess I'm asking what is the best way to be proactive to ensure a reliable engine!