Engine rebuild costs

On Nov 8, 9:29*am, Craig wrote:
On Nov 8, 6:04*am, JJ Sinclair wrote:

... but does

ANYONE any longer answer a question rather than giving a reference?
Someone give the guy a figure please! *even if its a long shot rough

In the recent ASH-26 engine recall, it cost about $2800.00 to remove,
crate, ship, disassemble engine, replace crank, re-assemble, re-crate,
ship, install and test run the engine.
JJ

What were the reasons for the ASH-26 engine recall?

Thanks,
Craig


First - The reason for a recall of some of the AE50R engines was a
faulty dowel pin weld and is well documented on Schelicher's web site.
Anybody interested can read the service bulletin there.

The $2,800 cost that JJ mentioned is likely to give a serious
underestimate of costs of a significant service/rebuild on an AR50R
engine as used in the ASH-26E and I don't think is that relevant to
the question that was asked.

That $2,800 cost quoted was for work several owners (including me) had
done at the same time (and I'm not even going to bother going to check
what my actual cost was). That cost covered the removal of an engine,
removal of accessories from the core, constructing a custom crate,
airfreight shipping from the West Coast of the USA to Austro Engines
in Austria, return airfreight shipping, reassembling the engine core
and accessories, test running the complete engine in a test stand,
reinstalling the engine in the glider, etc.

Several owners in the Western USA banded together to do this and get
it to happen as quickly as possible working though Williams Soaring
who have a lot of expertise on the ASH-26E. Eastern Sailplane did
something similar for affected owners in the eastern part of the USA.
Overall I felt we got great support from Williams Soaring, Eastern
Sailplane and Schleicher.

The cost quoted did not include the replacement parts, engine core
teardown and reassembly or test running at Austro Engines (the engine
manufacturer). So it really gives little relevant information about
the cost of a serious engine rebuild/replacement.

Since I know which glider JJ is referring to the price mentioned was
for a glider no longer in warranty from Schleicher - those owners
(including me) picked up the periperal costs I mentioned above but
Austro still paid for the engine parts and core engine work. For
gliders in warranty Schleicher covered more or all of the costs.

Again I see these as largely irrelevant costs that don't really
answerer the original question, except if anything I'd point out with
a realtively maintenance heavy (compared to a conventional glider)
motorglider you really want a community of other users either locally
or online, to share experiences with, access to knowledgeable service
facilities and vendors (glider and engine) who are responsive, still
in business and likely to remain in business. I've participated in
both the ASH-26E and DG-80x/Solo users groups and both are invaluable
sources of information.

Costs of an AE50R major rebuild/replacement will vary widely depending
on what damage and exactly how much of the accessories and ancillary
systems need to be replaced in any rebuild. I would guess a
replacement engine is somewhere around $20k - but will vary widely
depending on exactly what needs to be replaced. But I am just
guessing. And I think there are probably more interesting questions
about buying/owning a motorglider (unless you are buying a motorglider
and know/really suspect the engine is dead - in which case go work up
a real quote with a service center).

I recommend reading the self launch glider guide Eric put together and
mentioned in this threat and finding owners of motorgliders similar to
the types you are interested in and going spending time talking to
them about the benefits/disadvantages of owning a motorglider and the
peculiarities of their particular type. I've noticed so many
misconceptions and misunderstandings about motorgliders that nothing
beats finding a friendly owner who is willing to spend a few hours
talking with you.


Darryl