SonexBuilders.net

Hey Folks,

Looking for some crowd wisdom here. I'm thinking of buying a Sonex with 3300 Jabiru but...it has not run since 2007, which raises a lot of questions. I don't know what the engine number is yet, but would expect it to be an early hydraulic lifter engine (probably 2005/2006 model). Some questions arise:

1. I'll pull the plugs and put a borescope in to look for rust. What else would be good indicators of condition?
2. How far would you go in working on this engine before firing it up? Oil change obviously, but what else?

I was thinking it might be easiest (if not cheapest) to do all the ADs/ upgrades before firing it up, which would probably amount to most of an overhaul anyway.

Grateful to hear your thoughts,
Jon

I have recently restored a couple of Lycoming engines that had not run for many years. Needless to say, the oil had dried off everything. Before even turning the engine we completely filled the crankcase with oil. That way all the internal parts were covered with oil. We then trained the oil, refilled it to the correct amount, removed and cleaned the spark plugs (some of which were full from oil that leaked past the rings) and then started the engine. That was a couple of years ago, and both engines are still running well. As I recall, an O-320 took nearly 10 gallons. We used filtered recently drained aviation oil.

A Jabiru that has been sitting unused on an airplane for 10 years is likely full of corrosion, and possibility of that alone would justify a complete tear-down.

For more info suggest posting on the Jabiru - Camit forum after you have obtained the engine serial number.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/JabCamit/info

David A. Sonex TD, CAMit 3300.