Is this a good deal?

[rizzz]

Hi all,

I came across this engine on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/jabiru-3300- ... 1#viTabs_0

Selling in here Australia for $4250 AU (= $3280 US).
Obviously the engine has a lot of hours on it (880) so would require a complete overhaul I’d say.
I don’t know anything about Jabiru engines so I have no clue if this would be a good deal or not.

The idea I’m playing with is:
whilst I have fun flying my VW powered aircraft over the coming years, I could slowly rebuild this engine purchasing parts here and there as I find good deals on em.
Then eventually get to a point where the engine is in an “as new” condition so I can upgrade my Sonex.

Doable? Good idea?

[fastj22]

It could be. Also consider the other things to reengineer your plane, like a new mount, prop, spinner and probably a cowl.

There's a local jab 3300 on barnstorms here in the U.S. That had a prop strike for $4000 U.S.. I briefly toyed with purchasing it as a parts motor as we have 4 flying jab3300s at our airport.

[tonyr]

Hi Rizz,

Depends on the serial number and what vintage the engine is... the head bolts look to be early.
Some of the earliest engines you cannot get parts for, others like early hydraulics don't have a good history.
The serial number vs engine change are in the back of the overhaul manual.
http://jabiru.net.au/service/manuals

edit: Peter Anson has just overhauled his 3300 which looks to be similar vintage to yours, drop him a line

Cheers
Tony

[rizzz]

...
Some of the earliest engines you cannot get parts for
...

Hmm, that could be the reason he's selling it instead of overhauling.
Note in the he indicates he bought a new Jabiru engine for this plane...

I've asked for the serial/vintage.

[rizzz]

Just got a reply.
serial number is 113, year of manufacture 1999.

Now I'll have to see what that means in terms of overhaul options...

[Corby202]

The rebuilt 2200 engine I have just purchased off Jabiru was originally built in 98. Looks like the only original part is the block. This has the new type of heads. So I am guessing any engine can be upgraded at a price.

[DCASonex]

A 3300 engine, serial number 113 is early, The one thing it has going for it is that it is a solid lifter engine, and those have best history for reliability. Lot of potential issues with older Jabiru engines. The Australian CASA, rough equivalent to our NTSB has placed operating restrictions on Jabiru engines. 880 hours presumably trouble free is good start, but why is seller getting a new one? Price might be okay if willing to do some work and upgrading. Your engine choice might also be influenced by where you fly, open flat country with lots of emergency landing options, or mountains and forests (where I fly) where best reliability is priceless.

Specifics for your serial number can be found in overhaul manual JEM-00017 page 199, which can be down loaded from Jabiru website. Support from Jabiru factory has been poor, but fairly good from Jabiru USA. Would strongly recommend attending a Jabiru USA workshop if you get a Jabiru engine.

Suggest post your question on the Jabiru Yahoo forum to get more info from knowledgeable folks, might even find a Aussie that is familiar with that engine. I think parts for that vintage are still available from CAMit Aero Engines. CAMit was the Computer Aided Machine shop that originally made parts for Jabiru and helped develop it and co-owns the IP rights, but is now a competitor. since losing business due in large part to Jabiru 's lack of support and questionable "improvements".

A well running 3300 in a Sonex is a blast to fly.

David A. Sonex TD #1327, Originally with Jabiru 3300 #1915, now with CAMit 3300 # 0004, Bing carb.

[peter anson]

Hi Michael, the engine is just 3 earlier than mine (A116). I think TBO on the early engines is 1000 hours. If you can do the work yourself I think it is very good value. I had a prop strike early this year and decided I needed to learn all about the engine. I had no problem buying parts. I did a complete strip of the engine. It's not bad to work on so long as you are prepared to buy a few extra tools. A compact engine has some pretty tight spaces. I found four things wrong, none related to the prop strike:
1. One of the big end bearings was badly worn. I think this might be caused by my early ground running when I seriously overheated the engine. Other bearings were OK but I ended up fitting all new bearings.
2. The crank grind was not wonderful so I polished all the journals using P1200 grit paper in a "nutcracker" while turning the crank in a lathe.
3. Most of the exhausts were leaking slightly at the heads. Jab have since changed the design from flange and gasket to a 45 tapered seat and no gasket. I upgraded to the new exhaust which required minor machining of the heads and fitting a modified #3 inlet manifold to clear the new exhaust. This part might be hard to get.
4. One of the distributor posts, which forms the bearing for the distributor shaft had some scoring. It looked like some rubbish had gone through it. The shaft was OK so I just replaced the post.
I also did some upgrades: doweled the flywheel, new through-bolts and nuts. I fitted new bolts, O-rings and gaskets just about everywhere. Total cost was about $3000 including the new exhaust system which I think was about $800-900. Valves all seemed to be sealing OK so didn't do anything to the top end. People seem to think that the early thick-fin heads are not adequate, but my engine runs cool in the air - requires vigilance on the ground though.

Peter
Sonex 894