Want to hear from lifter spalling victims

[Roger Long]

I am looking into the possibility that a large number of substandard quality
valve lifters were introduced into the supply pipeline in the late 90's. If
you have experienced lifter spalling at mid TBO or before, I would like to
talk to you. I am particularly interested in cases where there are no
obvious causes such as long periods of down time, lack of preheating in cold
weather, etc. Please reply directly and not by post.
--
Roger Long

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:21:41 GMT, "Roger Long"
m> wrote:

>I am looking into the possibility that a large number of substandard quality
>valve lifters were introduced into the supply pipeline in the late 90's. If
>you have experienced lifter spalling at mid TBO or before, I would like to
>talk to you. I am particularly interested in cases where there are no
>obvious causes such as long periods of down time, lack of preheating in cold
>weather, etc. Please reply directly and not by post.

If you're referring to Brand "L", I'd recommend add high cruise
CHT/oil temp as an "obvious cause".

TC

[Roger Long]

It effects more than one engine brand.

The engine model with the worst reputation for being a lifter eater has low
CHT's, excellent oil flow to the heads, and a large oil cooler.

--
Roger Long

[Dan Thomas]

> On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:21:41 GMT, "Roger Long"
> m> wrote:
>
> >I am looking into the possibility that a large number of substandard quality
> >valve lifters were introduced into the supply pipeline in the late 90's. If
> >you have experienced lifter spalling at mid TBO or before, I would like to
> >talk to you. I am particularly interested in cases where there are no
> >obvious causes such as long periods of down time, lack of preheating in cold
> >weather, etc. Please reply directly and not by post.


Oils. Ask about oils. Some oils have been known to damage cams and
lifters, especially in brand L engines. That's why the maker wants you
to use an oil with the special additive in it.

Dan

[Mark Mallory]

Roger Long wrote:
> It effects more than one engine brand.
>
> The engine model with the worst reputation for being a lifter eater has low
> CHT's, excellent oil flow to the heads, and a large oil cooler.

Here's an article that describes one possible cause of spalling in Lycoming engines:

http://www.prime-mover.com/Engines/Marvel/suicide.html

....and a list of related articles:

http://www.prime-mover.com/Engines/Marvel/index.html

There's lots of other good engine-related stuff at this site.

Mark/C182L

[Jay Honeck]

> I am looking into the possibility that a large number of substandard
quality
> valve lifters were introduced into the supply pipeline in the late 90's.

I think the problem pre-dates the '90s, Roger.

When we were looking at Skyhawks in '97 - '98, I took one in for a pre-buy
inspection. My mechanic at the time found metal in the filter, and we, of
course, rejected the plane. He went on to say that he could not recommend
purchasing any 172 with the O-320 H2AD (I think that's the designation?)
engine because of the known lifter spalling problem.

Many will tell you that this problem has been resolved, but when you've got
$18K on the line, is it really worth taking the chance?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"