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Permalink Reply by John Austin on June 30, 2018 at 7:56am

Hi Larry!

As I recall, not too long ago I read somewhere that Jabiru NA (now Arion Aircraft) was just starting to get deliveries of 4th Generation engines. Builders are notorious for ordering their engines way too early and it just sits there awaiting completion of the airframe! Ha!

Therefore, I suspect there are few, if any, actually flying in Zenith aircraft at the moment.  However, maybe someone bought one for a swap-out with their earlier generation 3300 and in that case, could be flying it relatively quickly.  Although my 3300 is at about 550 hrs and running great, I'm interested to see how the new engine's field experience turns out.  Hopefully we'll get some reports soon!

John

N750A

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Permalink Reply by Karl Kleimenhagen on July 18, 2018 at 6:37pm

I haven't much to offer. A friend here has just repowered his Sonex with the latest 3300. He reports the engine is smoother than his VW turbo, and it performs very nicely. He prefers the Sonex carb and replaced the Bing with one at installation. Amazingly, he finds the CHT and EGT are nearly flat across the board, a situation I've read is not common with the Bing. With about 10 hr on his, he's a very happy owner so far.

I recently flew a RANS S-19 with an older 3300 in it. I didn't feel it was any smoother than a 912S in an S-20 I flew months before, but they are much different airframes.

   Karl

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on July 29, 2018 at 7:53am

Amazingly, he finds the CHT and EGT are nearly flat across the board, a situation I've read is not common with the Bing.

I put a Sonex/AeroConversion "AeroInjector" carb on my 3rd Generation/"late hydraulic lifter" 3300 and had the same experience: my CHT/EGT's are much better balanced than with the Bing (saves a lot of weight, too!). Although it was immediately better, I did, however, do some tweaking and tuning and improved the balance even more, but I like doing that sort of thing!

I recently flew a RANS S-19 with an older 3300 in it. I didn't feel it was any smoother than a 912S in an S-20 I flew months before, but they are much different airframes.

I did a Dyna-Vibe engine/prop balance on my 3300/Sensenich CF GA prop/STOL 750.  I was talking to the Dyna-Vibe rep at AirVenture last week - the goal is to obtain at least .07 ips balance.  Mine balanced to .03 ips!  He said, "You can't do any better than that!"  It's smooth!

John

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Permalink Reply by Larry Griffin on June 30, 2018 at 4:27pm

Hey John

I was just wondering what people think about the Gen 4 who owns them. I HAD a gen 2 with 259 hrs when I sold my 750 Stol to the wind and had very minor problems, but it never let me down. Jabiru engines keeps running until it runs out of fuel or oil.....magneto power.

Went to Mexico last weekend to check out their Cruzer, considering a Gen 4 because the Ul350is is WAY TOO dependent with electronics for the engine...but that's just me.

Thanks
Larry

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on June 30, 2018 at 4:43pm

I'm not sure what the precise definition of the generations are ... I guess mine is "3rd Generation" because it is a "late hydraulic lifter" engine with external oil lines deleted that allowed for more cylinder fin area for better cooling.  As far as I know, about the only major improvements after my engine prior to the "4th Generation" was the addition of a roller cam and recessed pockets in the pistons to avoid a valve striking the piston if it stuck.  The engine itself has been very reliable for 550 hrs, but I've had to replace a couple of VDO oil pressure sensors (I'm going to try one of the solid-state sensors next time - supposedly they never wear out!) and a couple of starter Bendix clutches.  The last starter clutch was a genuine Honda part (the original and second were copies of the Honda design) and  so far it has worked longer than the previous two - fingers crossed!

I agree that I'm dubious of aircraft engines that are electrically dependent for the CPU's and fuel injection.  With mags, at least you know that once you get the engine started, it's going to keep running as long as there is fuel in the tanks!

John

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Permalink Reply by Larry Griffin on July 30, 2018 at 6:01am

FYI

Jabiru Engine Generation chart by Serial #

Attachments:

• Screenshot_2017-08-02-04-34-43.png, 394 KB

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on July 30, 2018 at 8:04am

Thanks for the information, Larry!  That's the first time I've seen an actual definition of the "generations."  My serial # is 2427, so it appears I actually have a later Generation 2 engine rather than a Generation 3.  Funny thing, though, the Gen 2 includes all hydraulic lifter engines up to the roller cam Gen 3 engines.  It's well known that the early hydraulic lifter engines had some reliability problems that resolved with the later hydraulic lifter engine like I have.  Also, later in the Gen 2 series, the external oil lines were deleted and replaced with hollow push rods for oil circulation.  Deletion of the external oil lines allowed for further increasing the cylinder head fin area which enhances cooling.

With all the changes within Gen 2, looks like it should be sub-divided into Gen 2-A and Gen 2-B (or at least "early" and "late" Gen 2) so when discussing these engines, one is not comparing apples-and-oranges!

Thanks again,

John

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Permalink Reply by Mark Ertz on February 19, 2024 at 10:28am

I own Gen 4. Had Gen 3. 

Cruise 2750 rpm @ 130+ mph & 5 mph.

Run Egts @1300s & Cht circa 230.

Use a cruise prop. Static 2650rpm/climb out 2750@110/cruise 2650-2850.

Never been warmer than 265 cut in climb, generally never above 250 in climb.

The Gen 4 has more power than the Gen 3 with same prop.

Put a Rotex TBI40 on. Bing sucks...

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on February 19, 2024 at 10:52am

Thanks for the info, Mark.  I've got a Gen 4 scheduled to arrive next month.  I plan to keep my Sonex/AeroConversions "AeroInjector" TBI carb as I had good results with it on my late Gen 2 and prefer having a manual mixture control.  Nick at Arion said the carb switch would not void my warranty as long as there wasn't a warranty claim due to improper mixture control.  Since I'm very experienced with the manual mixture on my previous engine, I don't think that will be a problem!

John

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