My 2 cents worth, as an operator of and a strong believer in the Type 4. - All the literature (engine rebuild manuals, etc.) I could find on the subject states that the Type 4 is by far the best VW air cooled engine. Better than Type 1, 2, 3, and 4. No wonder: it is the most recent one, and it is the fruit of a redesign. - Therefore, it should be less failure-prone than the other VWs - Moreover, we tend to make our VW air cooled less reliable by increasing their power output one way or another. With the Type 4, you start with a block tha was designed for an output of 65hp; therefore, an increase up to, say, 80 to 100 hp is still fairly reasonable.
Conclusion: - The VW is not the best engine in the world, but it is still a very affordable and fairly proven solution; - If you have to choose a VW engine, choose a Type 4; you'll be on the safe side; - Have the block and the crankshaft tested, and you'll stand even better on that safe side; - Have the engine rebuilt and modified by people who know what they are doing, and you'll really be entrenched on that safe side; In any case, your Type4 will be as safe (or even safer) as a rebuilt Lycoming or a Continental... Even more if you give it a decent ignition system, to replace those Cavemen's magnetos. Serge Vidal KR2 ZS-WEC - Taildragger, VW powered (2.4 liter, dual electronic ignition) - Total aircraft time: 390h - Aircraft hangared at: Orleans, France - Pilot moaning in: Tunis, Tunisia E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Orma Robbins Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 13:22 To: Orma Robbins; KRnet Subject: Re: KR> type 4 Failures Hello again Netters. I just finished reading the Archives search for Crankshaft failures. I entered the dates present to 1990. There were 31 hits on the subject. There was a lot of discussion on failures, but not ONE posting by anyone with a failure that gave any details at all. This is significant. Some members make decisions based on the word of the net. I have flown my type 4 off and on now for over 19 years. My 66 mm crank looks as new. I am moving up to a stock 71 mm crank in what will be a completely different engine. If there are cranks failing I personally really want to know who and why. Tweedy and I are both getting older and would like to continue to do so without having experienced crank failure. So, this post is a call for any one with direct knowledge to sing out. Orma L. Robbins Southfield MI 19 Years flying KR-2 N110LR (Tweedy) http://www.aviation-mechanics.com _______________________________________ to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to [email protected] please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html
