Fox Service Policies?
09-18-2005, 12:08 AM
#1
Fox Service Policies?
I just picked up a Fox 3.2 for a decent price. It's got the C&H and a Peacekeeper muffler.
It feels a little bit worn--and it is used, so I was thinking about sending it back to the manufacturer for a "tune up" before I bolt it up and run it..
Can anyone comment on Fox' service policies? I'm sure someone has a horror story about how they screwed them over.
I'm more interested in what they will do for a used engine. Do they replace bearings? Rings? Seals?
Whats do they generally DO when a used--but still running engine comes back to the shop?
What do they charge for their service? 'course it depends on how extensive the "tune up" turns out to be--but wondering if they have an automatic "bench fee" just too look at it or what?
Thanks
It feels a little bit worn--and it is used, so I was thinking about sending it back to the manufacturer for a "tune up" before I bolt it up and run it..
Can anyone comment on Fox' service policies? I'm sure someone has a horror story about how they screwed them over.
I'm more interested in what they will do for a used engine. Do they replace bearings? Rings? Seals?
Whats do they generally DO when a used--but still running engine comes back to the shop?
What do they charge for their service? 'course it depends on how extensive the "tune up" turns out to be--but wondering if they have an automatic "bench fee" just too look at it or what?
Thanks
09-18-2005, 03:30 AM
#2
Senior Member
My Feedback: (1)
RE: Fox Service Policies?
Asith any of the manufacturers, the best method to determine their policies is to give them a call. Each and every customer usually has a different situation with dictates the service rendered. I think you will find they are reasonable to deal with if you provide full and accurate information.
09-18-2005, 11:08 PM
#4
RE: Fox Service Policies?
Thanks flyinrazorback. I'm gonna give them a call in the morning.
The engine is in pretty decent shape, no damage to speak of. It just feels a bit low on compression. I tore it down to get a look at the internals and everything looks good except that the cage around the bottom end rod bearing looks to have a little gauling on it. Could have been this way for years for all I know. The inside of the cylinder looks fine. No hot spots, gauling or other indications of overheating. It doesn't seam to have an unreasonable amount of carbon on the piston or in the combustion chamber. I can actually still see the little arrow on the top of the piston that indicates which way to point it when reassembling it. Plug looks a little bit darker than I'm used to seeing--probably from runing just a tiny bit too rich. But, that never hurt an engine, in my experience.
It's got a C&H ignition--so I don't know if thats an indication of it's age or not. I don't know a lot about Fox engines. They may have been running C&H for many many years--or could have only recently started using them on all their engines. I just don't know.
I've never bought/run a commercially made gasser with this much time on it before, so can't really say what they feel like after some useage. Every other gasser I've ever bought was NIB or only had a couple gallons run through it. I've done some chainsaw conversions that I'm pretty sure had a gazzillion hours on them--but they still had pretty darn tight compression. A friend of mine has a DA150 with a LOT of time on it. Hundreds and hundreds of gallons through it. He said it feels very low on compression, but when you fire it up and let it warm up for a couple minutes--it still pulls like a Belgian Drafthorse.
Fox may tell me to just fly it. Gonna find out tomorrow.
I don't have a test bench for an engine of this size. I'd like to bolt it up and start it. I hate to install it in a plane without knowing how it runs--so my best option is to send it in--considering that I know nothing of it's history.
This might be a good excuse to build a test mule for flying new and used engines that I have collected.
The engine is in pretty decent shape, no damage to speak of. It just feels a bit low on compression. I tore it down to get a look at the internals and everything looks good except that the cage around the bottom end rod bearing looks to have a little gauling on it. Could have been this way for years for all I know. The inside of the cylinder looks fine. No hot spots, gauling or other indications of overheating. It doesn't seam to have an unreasonable amount of carbon on the piston or in the combustion chamber. I can actually still see the little arrow on the top of the piston that indicates which way to point it when reassembling it. Plug looks a little bit darker than I'm used to seeing--probably from runing just a tiny bit too rich. But, that never hurt an engine, in my experience.
It's got a C&H ignition--so I don't know if thats an indication of it's age or not. I don't know a lot about Fox engines. They may have been running C&H for many many years--or could have only recently started using them on all their engines. I just don't know.
I've never bought/run a commercially made gasser with this much time on it before, so can't really say what they feel like after some useage. Every other gasser I've ever bought was NIB or only had a couple gallons run through it. I've done some chainsaw conversions that I'm pretty sure had a gazzillion hours on them--but they still had pretty darn tight compression. A friend of mine has a DA150 with a LOT of time on it. Hundreds and hundreds of gallons through it. He said it feels very low on compression, but when you fire it up and let it warm up for a couple minutes--it still pulls like a Belgian Drafthorse.
Fox may tell me to just fly it. Gonna find out tomorrow.
I don't have a test bench for an engine of this size. I'd like to bolt it up and start it. I hate to install it in a plane without knowing how it runs--so my best option is to send it in--considering that I know nothing of it's history.
This might be a good excuse to build a test mule for flying new and used engines that I have collected.
10-17-2005, 09:05 PM
#5
My Feedback: (9)
RE: Fox Service Policies?
I sent a 3.2 to Fox a couple of months ago and was very impressed with their service. They replaced all the bearings, re assembled and tested. They got it back to me in about a week for about $60 including return shipping. I thought that was very reasonable.
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