For the guys that have asked, here is the o-ring in a JetCat starter. If you need to clean it, douse a swap in 99% isopropyl and clean the interface between the o-ring and the compressor nut!

Hope that helps,

Thanks Matt.....you get good enough with that mirror , then you can give my job a try........lol....

Regards,

Steve J Harpole DDS

Is the O-ring changeable in the field and if so is this something that can be done most builders??...if so what are the steps for doing so and for starters, what are the symtoms or sounds that one would expect if the o-ring has failed.....Thanks for the picture....

Making this one a sticky for easy access.

Sorry I missed this!

I have never changed an oring at the field. In fact I have never changed one at all!

The starter cone (assembly) has to be removed in order to get to the oring, and that is much more difficult to do at the field than changing the oring.

Most of the time, if the starter is making funny sounds, the oring is either dirty, or somehow the starter is misaligned. Since it is usually the former, you just clean it with isoporpyl.

Hope that helps, and again sorry for the delay, I missed the sticky!

Regards,

Here is my tutorial on replacing a P60 Oring.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_30...tm.htm#3048465

Dave Rigotti

Hi,

I just had some feedback that there is a general "issue" with Jetcats about the plastic piece bearing the bendix starter motor (bipode in plastic) in the way that after some time (approx 10 hours of duty) that piece gets *weak* enough so that the bendix starter gets misaligned and starts / shutown becomes a problem. Generally people first think it would be a O-ring problem and then change the O-ring but the real issue is about misalignement more than anything else. As I personnaly never heard anything like that (I own 3 jetcats so I'm not a jetcat basher) i wonder if anybody over here ever heard that theory ?

If proved correct, what is the current plan to solve the problem ? Change the bipode in plastic and put a new one ? Is there a definitive solution in the pipeline like a reinforced plastic bipode or even a metallic one ?

Thanks
Sk

Yes this is an old thread.
But I am a jet newbie and it was a big help to me.

Having done this once now, I would not bother to do it at the field.

When the O-Ring goes it is not a sudden thing, it is a gradual deterioration that can be taken care of at your convenience.
I noticed the deterioration over a period of 6 or 7 starts before it got bad enough to be considered hard starting.

The symptoms that I noticed were that the starter motor was unable to spin the turbine up to the idle rpm.
There was a high pitched whine of the starter motor but not the sound of the turbine being spun up and a failed start.

Is there anyway we can correct a misaligned of the starteunit ourselves?

I noticed that on my P80 the purple anodised nut has some marks on it(blank metal visible) caused by the metalpart in which the oring resides.
I think this is caused by a(suddenly?)misaligned starterunit.

The engine has approx 3:30 hrs on it. I yet have to check if the oring has worn out but I doubt it.

Hello Martin,

It is hard to tell if the unit needs replacing without seeing it. You might want to take the cowl off and check the security of the screws holding the starter mount to the front of the turbine.

You will void your warranty of you do this so it is your choice. Call Max at JetCat in Germany, he is very helpful or if you are in a pinch I encourage you to contact Bob Wilcox directly.

Call him at:

805-226-8700

Email at:

[email protected]



Regards,

Matt

Hi Matt,

I´ll first have a look at the oring. If I can´t get the alignment right I´ll give Max a call.
About voiding warranty, in this topic there was stated that replacing the oring and thus removing the starterunit wouldn´t void warranty.

Thanks for your help.

Martin

Hi Martin,

Sorry I was referring to removing the front cover. I am not sure if they can tell if you did or not, just don't mention my name!

My O-ring lasted over 150 flights. That is on a P60. And then someone pointed out the fact that if you align the turbine so that the plastic brackets holding the starter are at the 12 and 6 O’clock position then the starter doesn’t droop. I never saw that in the instructions, but after they told me it made a lot of sense. When it is installed the other way the weight of the starter does draw the plastic brackets a little out of alignment.

OK, The newest starter that was installed on my P70 by Jetcat uses a different Oring than the spare 6mm ID x 3mm thick I had on hand.
Anyone know what size the new one is?

Yes my starter did droop from its own weight causing the oring to wear out fast.

i just sent my p70 in for a starter and new compressor wheel. how was yours when you got it back. i heard they do fantastic work there.. just curious.. thanks pat