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Does anyone have an extra set of new cylinder kits for the 2180 AeroVee that you are willing to sell? Sonnex, and other suppliers, are currently backordered and are not sure they will have them in stock. If you have a new set you are willing to sell, I can replace them as soon as Sonnex gets them in stock? Sonnex said late July was the last date they heard for receiving the cylinders. I really want to get my Onex flying before then.

Try Appletree Automotive. I had a heck of a time finding the cylinders also. Kerry said the ones they sell are the Mahle 98-1993-b. I got mine from Dunebuggy warehouse. I took their last one. Appletree says they have 4 sets in stock. I hope this helps.

https://www.appletreeauto.com/92-x-82-p ... ns-2180cc/

That part number translates to stroker 92mm ("B" piston pin height, for strokers), with true forged pistons.

You can try and see if John at Aircooled.net has any of them, or use his AA P&Cs with true forged pistons.

Both Mahle and AA cylinders CAN come with cast pistons. I'll leave the discussion of cast vs forged pistons for airplane applications alone for now.

Cast v's Forged:

https://lcengineering.com/cast-vs-forged-pistons/

and

https://auto.jepistons.com/blog/forged- ... difference

Learn something every day.

Have you tried.... V-Dubstore.com

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I found cylinders and they will be at my house next week. I found them at CIP1.com. They had them in stock with free shipping. Thanks for your help.

Good to see a very satisfied user of the Aerovee engine. 500 hours and no problems, Wow. I have always had a good relationship with Kerry and love the engine - mostly. I installed sn 391 about 12 years ago. Loved it but started to have problems with rough running. Found cracks between the valve seats (apparently not uncommon, but no problem). However, I also found a big chunk missing from one of the cracks. Time for heads no. 2. They arrived with damaged fins but satisfactory. Checked the valve seating with petrol and leaks galore. Took the heads to a racing engine friend whose company also builds race cars. Found the valve seats buried about 1/8 inch in the head. Ported and polished the area for a smooth transition for the mixture, ground the valves. 80/80 on leak down. Then found that the rocker adjusters were out by at least 1/8 inch from normal due to the valve seating problem. This caused the adjusters to hit the valve covers and wouldn't let the valves close fully. Got a local engineer to dimple the cover. Not comfortable with this arrangement and heads no. 3 were ordered. They arrived and more engineering problems. One head was warped and one barrel/cylinder seat was not parallel with the other seat. Re-engineered and installed this head. No more problems for 1 hour. Then the #3 valve seat popped out and jammed the valve. Zero confidence with the heads and out went those heads and re-installed heads no. 2! They ran pretty well and got 3500rpm instead of the usual 3200 full throttle. CHT 300F, EGT 1400F, Oil temp 185F, Pressure 40psi, Cruise 80mph at 3000rpm on my Skyranger Swift, plugs really good- light tan. After about another 3 hours running, the engine began to deteriorate. Leak down test showed 76/60/44/40 after getting 80/80 3 weeks prior. Still not happy with the problems I have had with the heads - 3 EMPI's. Also, all bordered on a minimum of 70 on Rockwell testing. Ordered a set of MOFOCO heads which, I understand were OEM for Aerovee in the early days. Impressed that they are American heads made in the same foundry as the heads for Harley-Davidson. More costly but a lot less than the cost of fixing up the EMPI's. Also modified with better cooling. They should arrive here in New Zealand in late July or August. Spending the time fixing little bits on the aircraft and flying a Tecnam in crystal clear cold winter days. . So far, 4 set of heads and 4 props with the Prince P Tip being the best. Gained 150fpm and 10 extra mph. Smooth. Thanks Lon
Regards to all, stay safe and masked up. Wayne

EMPI heads beat the no-names my AeroVee came with.
But the EMPI's are not perfect either.
Roy Henning at MOFCO is happy to work with you to provide the MOFOC heads set up for an AeroVee.

Just emailed with him about my forthcoming purchase as I'm at 430 hours and was 78/78/78/78 - 20 hours ago. But as I get closer to 500 I'm getting ready to top the whole engine using MOFCO heads this time. Lead time on MOFCO heads is 4 weeks.

Hi Graeme, just wanted to ask a couple of questions. First, when you checked compressions, did you do it with engine hot or cold? Secondly, with 430 hours on it, and those compressions, why are you planning to do a top overhaul/replacement? aA there other issues of interest? As a reference, just finished my condition inspection this week, my compressions were 66/80 to 76/80, cold, on original MOFOCO heads, which I did a three angle valve job at 9 or 10 hrs tt due to mis adjusting mixtures. Just curious!
fly safe, and thanks for your input!
Joe

sonex1084 wrote:Try Appletree Automotive. I had a heck of a time finding the cylinders also. Kerry said the ones they sell are the Mahle 98-1993-b. I got mine from Dunebuggy warehouse. I took their last one. Appletree says they have 4 sets in stock. I hope this helps.

https://www.appletreeauto.com/92-x-82-p ... ns-2180cc/

Alright, we will try Appletree as well. We'll work on the 2180 next. Hope we can get a cylinder kit by then.