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Kit Lycoming Clone engines?

mattsrv7

Well Known Member
If I recall correctly, both Superior and ECI used to offer kit engines that could be purchased at a reasonable discount versus a new assembled engine.

Are there any places out there that still offer them? I haven't been able to find any in searches.
 
I did and ECi kit engine back in 2011 and haven't had and issue in 600 hours.

Don't be afraid of a Lyclone. ECi and Superior engines are made with PMA'ed parts that meet the same standards as Lycoming.
 
Are there any places out there that still offer them? I haven't been able to find any in searches.

If I remember correctly - and I may not - those original "kits" used some Lycoming parts. I think what happened is Lycoming raised the price on those parts, making those kit engines uneconomical.
 
I helped a friend assemble a Superior kit earlier this year. He bought it through Barrett, and we did have to wait a few times for replacements of incorrect parts. (Not Barrett’s fault at all - they bent over backwards to make things work out.)

The market changes rapidly, so not sure if the kit is available now.
 
I did the ECI kit years back, and after all of the AD?s on their parts and parts failing, I?m sticking with Lycoming.
How does one check ADs on an experimental engine or a certified engine that was rebuilt with experimental components (thus making it experimental)???
 
My eci components were certified components, but the engine did not have a serial number. I let someone fly my plane, they had a prop strike, insurance company mandated a tear down inspection. Connecting rods had ADs that did not allow them to be reinstalled once removed, all 4 cylinders had ADs and scoring, two pistons had chunks missing. ECI was bought out by another company, so I had no recourse on a 200 hour engine. None of the damage was prop strike related. Penn Yan did the tear down and ran AD checks and inspections on every component. In the end it cost me 10k for the cost of the new components, and my insurance company paid all the labor, so at the end of the day I got a new lycoming (mostly) engine. Penn Yan did a wonderful job on new engine... it was a blessing in disguise.
 
Penn Yan did...AD checks...on every component.

Can anybody educate me on how to do a search like this? Bottoms-up by piece part number rather than top down by engine model and serial number?? Is this really even possible / practical? Does anybody else do this routinely / at annual?

Not questioning you Mike but I have always wondered if there was a reasonable way to do this as I would like to for my engine which has several Lycoming clone components from both Superior and ECI. Obviously these aftermarket components would not show up in an AD search on a Lycoming engine - I don't think(?) so how would I know if there was a problem with one - other than monitoring sites like this?
 
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