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Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
05-19-2006, 10:40 PM
#176
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
Lady Flyer, I am uninformed about the modifications to the oiling system that you refer to, can you offer some details? The Saito .72 which was the first to fail, had the breather directly under the timing gear-camshaft area. I hope that is not what you are referring to because it did not help in my case, even though the bottom of the airplane was covered with oil after every flight session. The camshaft and tappets,(lifters), were also worn to the junk stage.
I am not trying to start a crusade against Saito or Horizon Hobbies, but I believe if you put a 3 year guarantee on a product, with NO disclaimers anywhere on the box or the instructions, then you had better stand by your word if you want my business.
Best regards from old bird.
Lady Flyer, I am uninformed about the modifications to the oiling system that you refer to, can you offer some details? The Saito .72 which was the first to fail, had the breather directly under the timing gear-camshaft area. I hope that is not what you are referring to because it did not help in my case, even though the bottom of the airplane was covered with oil after every flight session. The camshaft and tappets,(lifters), were also worn to the junk stage.
I am not trying to start a crusade against Saito or Horizon Hobbies, but I believe if you put a 3 year guarantee on a product, with NO disclaimers anywhere on the box or the instructions, then you had better stand by your word if you want my business.
Best regards from old bird.
05-19-2006, 11:12 PM
#177
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
[[quote]quote]ORIGINAL: old bird
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Well we will soon know the truth, my son-in-laws engine is at Horizon right now, we'll see what they say if it is indeed the bearings that are bad
I'll post a follow up on what they find and if they cover it
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Well we will soon know the truth, my son-in-laws engine is at Horizon right now, we'll see what they say if it is indeed the bearings that are bad
I'll post a follow up on what they find and if they cover it
05-20-2006, 01:05 PM
#178
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
That wasn't directed at anyone in particular. Just highlighting that a lot of this whole debate is rather moot. ^^
ORIGINAL: old bird
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
Lady Flyer, I am uninformed about the modifications to the oiling system that you refer to, can you offer some details? The Saito .72 which was the first to fail, had the breather directly under the timing gear-camshaft area. I hope that is not what you are referring to because it did not help in my case, even though the bottom of the airplane was covered with oil after every flight session. The camshaft and tappets,(lifters), were also worn to the junk stage.
I am not trying to start a crusade against Saito or Horizon Hobbies, but I believe if you put a 3 year guarantee on a product, with NO disclaimers anywhere on the box or the instructions, then you had better stand by your word if you want my business.
Best regards from old bird.
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
Lady Flyer, I am uninformed about the modifications to the oiling system that you refer to, can you offer some details? The Saito .72 which was the first to fail, had the breather directly under the timing gear-camshaft area. I hope that is not what you are referring to because it did not help in my case, even though the bottom of the airplane was covered with oil after every flight session. The camshaft and tappets,(lifters), were also worn to the junk stage.
I am not trying to start a crusade against Saito or Horizon Hobbies, but I believe if you put a 3 year guarantee on a product, with NO disclaimers anywhere on the box or the instructions, then you had better stand by your word if you want my business.
Best regards from old bird.
05-21-2006, 11:21 AM
#179
RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
RVM Date 5/19/2006 9:01:27 PM
"From what I've seen all of the opinions here are anecdotal... make of that what you will. "
Anecdotal? Not all of us have presented singular, anecdotal responses.Of course anecdotes add up to show trends. Trends make reputations and the timing gear-bearing failure among Saitos shows an undeniable trend. After years of experience in the retail hobby field you get a good picture of which engines display certain failures at a higher frequency than comparable engines from other manufacturers.
In fact rust is only one of the problems . As already pointed out the larger of the displacement engines built on a given crankcase size tend to require far more frequent bearing replacements. Not a little more frequent FAR more so. This is NORMAL it is part of the trade off that is to be accepted when you buy an engine for its light weight to displacemnt characteristics. It does not make Saito a bad engine. For years Saito insisted that you should NOT use Castor in your Saito fuel. They have changed thier minds on that. For years the case vent was in the rear cover on all the singles. Now they are moving them to a far more effective position.
Saito is a fine engine and Horizon has backed them well . The owner still needs to hold up his/her end of the deal and take reasonable care to purge the case and displace the moisture with oil. I have an 8 year old Saito 56 that gets hour upon hour use during the summer as a loaner/trainer. It hangs up in an unheated garage all winter. Still on the original bearings!
In general if you want durability, favor the smaller displacements within the case size.
Need to get all of the power go for the bigger ones....or a YS.
"From what I've seen all of the opinions here are anecdotal... make of that what you will. "
Anecdotal? Not all of us have presented singular, anecdotal responses.Of course anecdotes add up to show trends. Trends make reputations and the timing gear-bearing failure among Saitos shows an undeniable trend. After years of experience in the retail hobby field you get a good picture of which engines display certain failures at a higher frequency than comparable engines from other manufacturers.
In fact rust is only one of the problems . As already pointed out the larger of the displacement engines built on a given crankcase size tend to require far more frequent bearing replacements. Not a little more frequent FAR more so. This is NORMAL it is part of the trade off that is to be accepted when you buy an engine for its light weight to displacemnt characteristics. It does not make Saito a bad engine. For years Saito insisted that you should NOT use Castor in your Saito fuel. They have changed thier minds on that. For years the case vent was in the rear cover on all the singles. Now they are moving them to a far more effective position.
Saito is a fine engine and Horizon has backed them well . The owner still needs to hold up his/her end of the deal and take reasonable care to purge the case and displace the moisture with oil. I have an 8 year old Saito 56 that gets hour upon hour use during the summer as a loaner/trainer. It hangs up in an unheated garage all winter. Still on the original bearings!
In general if you want durability, favor the smaller displacements within the case size.
Need to get all of the power go for the bigger ones....or a YS.
07-11-2006, 03:25 PM
#180
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
Hi all,
another anecdote, I've got one of the first FA-65s that came into the UK 20+ years old, it gets thrashed around every time I'm up on the field. I never use after run oil and run it on 5% "Mo-Glo" fuel (15% synth - 2% castor - 83% methanol) I've never changed anything other than the plug - once! My FA-50 is just as good!
Dave :^)
Anyone wanting to give away their "terrible Saitos" can send them my way! I'll even pay carriage!
another anecdote, I've got one of the first FA-65s that came into the UK 20+ years old, it gets thrashed around every time I'm up on the field. I never use after run oil and run it on 5% "Mo-Glo" fuel (15% synth - 2% castor - 83% methanol) I've never changed anything other than the plug - once! My FA-50 is just as good!
Dave :^)
Anyone wanting to give away their "terrible Saitos" can send them my way! I'll even pay carriage!
07-26-2006, 03:19 PM
#181
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
looks like a lot of saito fans here. I have just received a new 150 and am having a hard time figuring out what to put it in.
can anyone give me suggestions. i am looking for aerobatics (not 3d). please let me know what this engine will pull
with some good power. thanks
rich o.
conneaut, ohio
can anyone give me suggestions. i am looking for aerobatics (not 3d). please let me know what this engine will pull
with some good power. thanks
rich o.
conneaut, ohio
08-05-2006, 02:51 AM
#182
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
It is not just Saitos that have bearing problems, all 4 strokes do. It's very important to run out all the fuel and add after run oil when you're done flying for the day. I know it's hard to get oil into the crankcase in some airplanes so, when the bearings go bad replace them with stainless steel bearings from www.bocabearing.com. I did this in my Saito 100 and have had no problems since. BTW castor oil will give you carbon build-up on the exhaust valve.
08-05-2006, 12:41 PM
#183
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
It seems like rusty bearings are more common in some parts of the world depending on the humidity in your area. Me and my friends never run our engines dry and never use any after run oil or ATF. Engines are Saitos, OS, Rossi, Irvine, MVVS, Super tiger..........
These engines are 1-13 years old and we never needed to replace a bearing because of rust. We do use a 50/50 castor/syntetic oil package in our fuels and 10-20% nitro.
These engines are 1-13 years old and we never needed to replace a bearing because of rust. We do use a 50/50 castor/syntetic oil package in our fuels and 10-20% nitro.
08-05-2006, 12:54 PM
#184
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
I think I got lucky.... 
Sent in my Saito to Horizon's Service Center since it was blowing exhaust from the intake, had a few issues last time I ran it. I haven't run it since I got it back (only 2 days), but the service center said he saw no sign of blowby, readjusted the valve spacing from .003 to .004 or the otherway around (I just don't know at the moment), and said the bearings were rough... New bearings are stiffer than before, something must have gone wrong that I didn't notice. I'll post later on how it runs after servicing. When the 3 year warranty goes belly-up I'll get some boca bearings.
http://www.bocabearings.com/
Sent in my Saito to Horizon's Service Center since it was blowing exhaust from the intake, had a few issues last time I ran it. I haven't run it since I got it back (only 2 days), but the service center said he saw no sign of blowby, readjusted the valve spacing from .003 to .004 or the otherway around (I just don't know at the moment), and said the bearings were rough... New bearings are stiffer than before, something must have gone wrong that I didn't notice. I'll post later on how it runs after servicing. When the 3 year warranty goes belly-up I'll get some boca bearings.http://www.bocabearings.com/
08-12-2006, 06:40 PM
#186
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
I think running the engine dry at the end of the day is more important with 2 strokes where fuel remains in the crankcase.
Ernie
Ernie
08-12-2006, 07:47 PM
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
[quote]ORIGINAL: skiman762
[
quote]ORIGINAL: old bird
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Well we will soon know the truth, my son-in-laws engine is at Horizon right now, we'll see what they say if it is indeed the bearings that are bad
I'll post a follow up on what they find and if they cover it
RVM, Yes, all of the above is anecdotal, but the FACT that on two occasions I have been told by a representative from Horizon Hobbies that the Saito 3- year guarantee does NOT cover bearings, is indeed FACT. I presented this FACT here so everyone interested could be informed of the non-existent guarantee.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Well we will soon know the truth, my son-in-laws engine is at Horizon right now, we'll see what they say if it is indeed the bearings that are bad
I'll post a follow up on what they find and if they cover it
so he is trying some after market ones the bearing house said the part numbers on the ones Saito use are rated for 17000 rpm the new ones are good to 30000
also his cam looks all hammered not sure what the deal is maybe it's just a lemon but it doesn't seem like he is the only one having these problems
08-12-2006, 08:03 PM
#188
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
>>> his cam looks all hammered not sure what the deal is >>>
Make sure there is some castor in the fuel to protect the cam.
Ernie
Make sure there is some castor in the fuel to protect the cam.
Ernie
08-13-2006, 07:15 PM
#189
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
Another $.02.. I own 7 saito's and never had a bearing failure in 8 years of flying saito's. Cool power 15%, but I do pull the fuel line after the last flight while the engine is running and burn the fuel out, and one other small point I put about 1/2 to 1 oz depending on size engine of Mobile 1 in the crankcase when the motor gets home.
Me too,, anyone who doesn't want theirs I will gladly pay postage to have it sent to me.. Great motors. Just treat em right. Jim
I might add that I have only had 1 deadstick on a saito and danged if the fuel tank wasn't empty
Me too,, anyone who doesn't want theirs I will gladly pay postage to have it sent to me.. Great motors. Just treat em right. Jim
I might add that I have only had 1 deadstick on a saito and danged if the fuel tank wasn't empty
12-07-2006, 08:31 PM
#193
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
ORIGINAL: jimcork1
SNIP
I might add that I have only had 1 deadstick on a saito and danged if the fuel tank wasn't empty
SNIP
I might add that I have only had 1 deadstick on a saito and danged if the fuel tank wasn't empty
Darn Saito........
12-07-2006, 09:39 PM
#194
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
The Saito engines are no better than any of the others. I prefer
the YS engines. Why pay all that money for the Saito?
Big Bopper
the YS engines. Why pay all that money for the Saito?
Big Bopper
12-08-2006, 09:11 AM
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
my saito dead sticks if i put anything on it bigger than a 13 prop for the 3d (82a) any buddy got any advise. i tried to save it with a onboard glow but stalled yesterday with a 14*6 on it 25% be cool feul. i dont get it. it sucks im about ready to throw the danm thing in the trash. i crashed my funtana because this engine and a giles id say its my tuning skills but ill tach it and my buddys been fling for 15yrs and he loves saito.
12-08-2006, 09:22 AM
#197
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
One or both needles are too lean, if the LS needle is too lean it makes the HS needle ineffective. I say this because Saitos will run quite reliably when set too rich. It should turn a 14x6 over 9,000 rpm.
12-08-2006, 08:03 PM
#198
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
ORIGINAL: blw
Big Bopper- you own YS engines and are complaining about Saito prices? Something doesn't add up there......
Big Bopper- you own YS engines and are complaining about Saito prices? Something doesn't add up there......
--------------
Go to Central Hobbies and check out their YS prices. The YS 1.40 Sport is nearly $100 less expensive than the same engine from Horizon Hobbies.
The Saito prices for equivalent displacements are way too close to YS prices to buy anything other than a YS, if you're needing high performance. If not, buy an OS or a Magnum and save a good deal with the same performance and reliability as Saito.
I'm thinking of selling off my Saitos and just sticking with YS, OS and Magnum. Saitos are good engines, but they are seriously butt-ugly.
El Limpio
12-08-2006, 09:08 PM
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RE: Saito is the best four stroke glow engine.
ORIGINAL: Ed Cregger
--------------
Go to Central Hobbies and check out their YS prices. The YS 1.40 Sport is nearly $100 less expensive than the same engine from Horizon Hobbies.
The Saito prices for equivalent displacements are way too close to YS prices to buy anything other than a YS, if you're needing high performance. If not, buy an OS or a Magnum and save a good deal with the same performance and reliability as Saito.
I'm thinking of selling off my Saitos and just sticking with YS, OS and Magnum. Saitos are good engines, but they are seriously butt-ugly.
El Limpio
ORIGINAL: blw
Big Bopper- you own YS engines and are complaining about Saito prices? Something doesn't add up there......
Big Bopper- you own YS engines and are complaining about Saito prices? Something doesn't add up there......
--------------
Go to Central Hobbies and check out their YS prices. The YS 1.40 Sport is nearly $100 less expensive than the same engine from Horizon Hobbies.
The Saito prices for equivalent displacements are way too close to YS prices to buy anything other than a YS, if you're needing high performance. If not, buy an OS or a Magnum and save a good deal with the same performance and reliability as Saito.
I'm thinking of selling off my Saitos and just sticking with YS, OS and Magnum. Saitos are good engines, but they are seriously butt-ugly.
El Limpio
Butt ugly ??!! I respectfully disagree - beauty is an individual thing & in the eye of the beholder. We certainly don't want a world full of clones. For me, the Saito with its individual & chromed rocker covers really set off a sweet looking engine
[8D]