The South African chap was/is Neil Andrews. I was going to send my engine to him back in May for shock load check but I was told by others at that time that he had just gone into administration. However, I see that the web site is still up:
I did hear that Neil had gone to work elsewhere so maybe the company is still running but with a different man at the helm.
I don't disagree, but I would not think that after any particular period of non-use the cylinder bores are likely to corrode ahead of any other bits.
In fact corrosion below the pistons is not really affecting anything - until it gets so bad it weakens the cylinder.
What will happen with non-use is camshaft corrosion, which trashes the cam followers, etc.
So it does seem an unusual reason to not choose Lyco cylinders.
I have never said that it is the fault of the cylinder, however, with short days and bad weather during the winter you just don't know when you fly again so the aircraft can be parked for weeks without moving. As Sod Law goes, when there is a nice day you are at work and when you have the time to fly it is rubbish day.
What was the name of that company?
The area below the piston's reach was corroded while the area that saw piston movment had very small size pitting due to lack of action and oilrunning of the metal.
I think that is just a sign of the engine sitting around for some months, at some stage. You should not get corroded cylinder surfaces if you fly say every 1 or 2 weeks.
It's not a fault of the cylinder - unless one believes they should be made of some different material altogether.
Have they closed down?
Yes.
I did not want Lyco. Cyl. due to rust issues
Not heard of those - has anyone?
When the engine was o/h for the first time the cyl. were Lyco. These cyl. are made of Steel while the barrel is nitrated. The area below the piston's reach was corroded while the area that saw piston movment had very small size pitting due to lack of action and oilrunning of the metal.
Unfortunately the one that was run by the South African guy has gone belly up. It seems that providing the best service doesn't guarantee you success.
I meant this company. Have they closed down?
I did not want Lyco. Cyl. due to rust issues
Not heard of those - has anyone?
I disagree. DHL, FedEx are not shipping companies, they are couriers and they will use their aircraft to deliver your engine to the o/h shop within 3-4 days. A shipping company will use whatever airline is available and will deliver within 7 days. I used Menzies and the cost was about £1000 both ways.
There are other differences; for example the "couriers" generally have well sorted procedures for getting stuff through Customs, and quickly. A shipper is quite capable of getting a pallet stuck in Customs and it will just sit there until you sort it out. Been there, done that, many times, including with an engine. They email/fax the "incomplete" paperwork to you and forget the shipment until you sort it out. I am sure there are ones that are ok, but the time to find out is not when it's your engine.
There are good reasons why the courier firms have cornered the market for packages, despite their totally outrageous ripoff rates which are often higher than it would cost to send a young student on an airline flight with the parcel as checked baggage 
Unfortunately the one that was run by the South African guy has gone belly up. It seems that providing the best service doesn't guarantee you success.
Achima
What was the exact reason and in which way have they modified their procedures to ensure that this can never happen again?
The first time the camshaft had bad metal (what ever it means) or in my opinion did not have the correct heat treatment. If I am correct it was an ECI part. The second time the tooth that came off had an internal flaw, the photo that was sent to me showed a dark dot in the centre and from there you could see how the built up, this gear was not replaced during the o/h. As for procedures I can’t answer.
I bet they would ask you to remove the posting if they happen to find it.
I am not sure, after all they have treated me in a correct manner, did the work and covered all cost including shipping (I paid something towards it the first time) which was not their responsibility. I would recommend them to any person who is looking for a good shop. I know a guy who owns 5 aircraft, he removes the engine and send them over just asking for the bill, this guy goes down into the smallest detail and when not happy you will know about it.
Peter
I don't know if this engine is a Lyco or Conti but why not use original manufacturer's parts?
Engine is IO540 260hp. I did not want Lyco. Cyl. due to rust issues. My choice was ECI’s Chrom/Nickel (I think they are called Cermnickel), as for the rest I did not have an input, however, don’t forget that at the time ECI did have a good name and there were no AD’s against their products.
In its 2740hrs, what was the usage history of that engine? Corrosion generally means sitting around for months. If that was the case, it is 100% definitely not good to run the engine for so long. It is OK to run "on condition" engines that are frequently run (e.g. every week) and there is loads of data to support that. But "hangar queens" suffer across the board. I don't suppose you (Ben) flew the whole 2740hrs yourself because apart from a very few private owners that is a huge amount of flying.
The o/h that I carried was the second o/h. Out of the 2740 hours I flew about 450-500h in 3 years, before me the aircraft lived in the C.I for 5 years and prior to that was used as an air-taxi in the US.
The problem is freight. It is still about £500 today (250kg) but that is a "monkey shipping firm". A decent courier like DHL would charge about £3000 (these prices are each way). I would still pay it but can understand why most won't.
I disagree. DHL, FedEx are not shipping companies, they are couriers and they will use their aircraft to deliver your engine to the o/h shop within 3-4 days. A shipping company will use whatever airline is available and will deliver within 7 days. I used Menzies and the cost was about £1000 both ways.
Achima
There are good overhaul shops in Europe and it is a lot about craftsmanship anyway.
When I O/H it was between 4 shops, CSE that did not inspire me, Superior who were new to the market, Eisenberg in Southend and another one which I forgot their name. Zephyr had (and still has) a very good name and the $/£ was 1.75 which made the US very attractive.
As I said, if I was in the US I would have no problem using them again, however, since than two new shops were opened in the UK which meets the standard that I would demand, one is McLaren and the other (lost the details) is run by a South African guy.
