RE: Tower Hobbies engine problems
Tower has an excellent customer service reputation, if they did not, they would not be the largest entity out there in this business like they are.
I can understand the concerns with having to send the engine in, however it is the only way they can investigate the engine and resolve the problem.
If everyone said "hey I need a new piston and liner" and they rushed it out, they would not be in business very long.
I have never tried a Tower motor, I have read some good things and bad things, most of the bad was about Bad o-rings causing air leaks, I may have read that they resolved those issues.
I do own several OS .46 engines and one Thuder Tiger .60, I have not flown the .60 yet but the OS engines are great reliable engines in my opinion. As for the break in I always follow the instructions in the manual.
Some are saying that 4-stroking the engine on break-in does not allow it to get up to temperature and thus will damage the piston and sleeve. I am not saying that this is not true or anything of the sort, my point is that we turn over these engines while trying to start them while the engine is cold. This would lead me to think that each time I start my engine that I am reducing the life a little, or scratching off the liner of the sleeve a bit. What about the times when the engine wont start and we are constantly turning the motor over making adjustments and such. Being cold the engine certainly is not up to running temperature and the sleeve certainly is not expanding.
I wonder if heating up the engine prior to starting would make a difference, especially for break in.
Dbow