John,

I use ether a lot for starting some of the specialized engines I work with. We have to be careful about how often the stuff is used during a single start up process. If it's needed more than once with a cold engine there isn't any residual oil left in a cylinder to lubricate anything. I've absolutely seen significant and severe increases in wear in engines using ether starts. The reeds take it the shorts too and experience wear and damage they rarely experience if ether is not used for starting. I do a lot of ether starts, as do others, so we've been able to note the impact of the stuff over a lot of engines.