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582 thoughts

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Posted

I'm looking at a 7 yrs old 582 blue head with less than 25 hrs. on it.  Bad news it has been sitting on a powered parachute for the last 6 or so years without being run.  It was stored in a dry  heated shop.  If you read the Rotax forum they make it sound like it will blow up within 5 hrs. and should be rebuilt with a new crank $$ etc. which really makes it seem like it has very little value.  I'd appreciate some thoughts from folks who have some real world experience with the 582's.  Is it worth fooling with or am I better off to keep looking.

Thanks 

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Just a guess on my part of course, but most likely it's not completely junk, or even close to that.  I would have it tore down, inspected, and have new seals put in when it's reassembled, however.  I have a local shop that has done quite a few engines for me, and I don't have to send it out to a Rotax repair shop.  That makes for a much smaller bill, and I have confidence that the engine is in good shape when I'm flying it.  Worrying that it's about to blow up does tend to take a lot of the fun out of a flight, at least for me.  JImChuk 

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If it was kept inside a heated building I would not have problem with it as it isn't likely that it got a bunch of condensation and corrosion in it.  I just got my 582 on the kitfox I rebuilt running again. Not sure exactly how long the 582 gray head sat but it was at least 7 or 8 years. Has 200 TT on it. Sat in an unheated shed in northern Illinois so much worse than you describe.  It has been running fine for about 10 flight hours now. What I had to do on this one was replace the end crankshaft seals as it would leak from them.  For any unknown 2- stroke I would do the following:

Do a pressure test of the engine. This involves removing and plugging the exhaust, removing and plugging the carbs, Plugging the pulse port, and then using a low pressure gauge, pressurize the engine to about 5 or 6 psi. It should not leak more that about 1 psi in 5 minutes. If it does there is a leak that needs to be fixed. 

Mine leaked at the end crank seals so I had to split the case and replace the seals.  While it was apart, I decarboned the pistons, checked the crank and bearings, and put it back together. It really depends on how handy you are if this is within your abilities.  I have been messing with engines of all types about 45 years so wasn't concerned.  I also had a snowmobile that had a Rotax 580 in it (1993 Ski-doo grand touring 2-up). The sled engine is pretty much identical to the airplane 582 with a few minor exceptions. That sled engine had 7,000 miles on it and was 20 years old when I sold it and was still running strong.  

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Posted

Here are my thoughts taken from a previous thread with an interesting twist. The thread was started by Lorax on Oct 1st, 2021 if you want to look it up.

Me:

Probably going to get hammered for saying this, but if you have a chance to get an unused grey head for a good deal grab it! Assuming it has been kept inside and not left out in the weather, I would replace the carb boots and any external rubber and put it on the plane and run it. Break it in properly on the ground (just in case). Normally I have done the break in procedure in the air over the airstrip I fly out of (just in case) because it is much easier to perform in the air than on the ground. But you don't know anything about the engine.

Make absolutely sure since it is a grey head with rubber seals that you either buy pre-mix dexcool or mix up your own with DISTILLED water and those rubber seals will never give you a problem. If the engine runs and works great as-is, fly it and gain confidence until you trust it and then fly the shit out of it. When you decide it is time for an overhaul send it to lockwood or another reputable shop and have them put a ceramic seal in place of the rubber if you want.

You might want to get a couple of the carb "short kits" or whatever they are called (the rebuild kits that only contain gaskets) and if the carbs give you any problem during startup and break in, rebuild the carbs.

Make sure you plumb the oil reservoir in properly, fill it with oil properly using the bleed screw, and watch for any drop in oil as you break in and run the engine for the first several hours. If all is good you should be money!

Like I said I may get hammered for saying this but I see no reason to do a time only rebuild of one of these engines if it is "new" and been kept in decent indoor conditions since purchased.

 

Jim Chuck:

Couple of years ago, I picked up a Kitfox 3 project that had never been finished.  It had a never run 582 gray head with it.  I have a shop nearby me where I have taken probably at least a dozen two stroke engines to over the years, they have a good mechanic.  He pulled the engine apart, and didn't find anything wrong except for this.  When the engines are assembled in the factory, they use an assembly grease to protect against corrosion and initial lubrication on start up.  That grease was close to 30 years old, and was all dried out.  He washed it all out and the bearings were fine but he figured there would have been problems if I had just run the engine without the teardown.  Of course new seals were installed on the reassembly.  That engine had a C gearbox, and I took that off myself.  The front bearing didn't run smooth, and I figured it was maybe corroded.  I sent the gearbox off to Steve Beaty at Airscrew performance to change out the front bearing and it was the same as the engine.  No problem with the bearing, but the assembly grease was all dry and caused the bearing to appear to be bad.  That is my experience with a never run rotax that was 30 years old.  Make what you will of it. :-)

 

Me:

I will acquiesce to Jim's experience with a new old "in the box) engine. My experience has always been with engines that have at least been previously run....but some not run for WELL over 10 years. I have always used the approach I described above and had great results. But those engines had been run previously, so any grease applied during assembly would have been diluted and gone. My experience is first hand including performing all disassembly, inspection, overhaul and re assembly activities myself (with the exception boring cylinders).

I have seen first had with my own eyes what the 582 looks like inside at all phases of time in use many times. If it had been previously run I would still recommend what I suggested above, but in light of discovering dried grease in an un-run engine, it is probably best to disassemble it first and clean up the dried grease.

Thanks for not letting me steer him in the wrong direction Jim.In the situation above the engine was “brand new” and I think Jim’s concerns were valid.

 

So....... If this engine is already sitting on and aircraft and has been flown, I still stand by what I posted above.  

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Posted

Gentlemen,

 

Thank you for your replies and experience .

 

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