Hey gang.  I bought an FP35 on the auction site, it looked okay in the pictures, had some oil stains onit, but otherwise fine.  It showed up yesterday, and I opened the box in the post office parking lot.  This thing has never been mounted, and is all nice and clean, the piston looks new, it's a bit stiff turning, though the throttle lever is stuck.  Anyway, I sent good feedback to the seller.  When I got home last night, I started playing with it, and noticed slop at TDC, hmm, not good.  Then I noticed the crank is bent.   So I pulled the backplate, and what do I find, but a crank that is all gunked up with years of burned on oil, and evidence of moisture damage.  It appears that someone stuck an old, bent crank in a previously un-used engine.

I got this engine cheap enough that if I can get a new crank, it's probably worth it to hang onto it instead of hassling with returning it.  Are parts readily available for the FP35?

Thank in advance!

Jeff

Thanks Curtis,

I found the information on the O.S. site, and see that the crank is available from Tower, so I should be good to go.

Yeah, it didn't make sense to me either!  I tore the engine down last night and found that all the pieces are original, and it's never been run.  The gunk I saw in the case was just a lot of rust and old oil.  Other than being bent, the crank is perfect.  the rod has some staining on it, but the bushings are fine.  The only other piece that needs replacing is the wrist pin, which had some nasty grooves corroded into it.

I've bought lots of engines on ebay and other sites and at swaps. All in all I've come out ahead. Probably way ahead. That's a judgment call, strictly, nothing scientific. Weird stuff is going to happen. Part of the experience. I've bought engines of pristine appearance, clean as a whistle, not a mark on them anywhere. Bad compression. Poor runner. As tho someone had mismatched a piston and liner. On the other hand I've a $20 LA46 with grooves cut 90 degrees to the mounting holes. Fantastic compression. Runs like a bear. Some folks are skilled in the voodoo arts. Crock potting, washing engines in a dishwasher, who know what the mind of man... At a swap watch out for the three in one oil smell. Check out the rep of the seller. Give him or her the fish eye. Naw. None of that works. Buying on Net or at swaps is a recreational activity. Ultimately. Even the smart old heads get taken now and then. Recently I've come around to buying engines new from reputable dealers. Why. Why. Must be old age. Also, I'm getting a hair more serious about competition. My sorry level of competition, that is...

The LA 46 CL engine new in a box from Tower or another reputable dealer is, all in all, a very reasonable purchase. Definitely stunt friendly. Will fly any plane an FP40/35 will fly. Weight about the same. It's a direct bolt in. Even the exhaust is in the same place. Head shape is somewhat different. That's it.

Famous Ebay engine description......"super strong compression with buttery smooth bearings"............ha, anything packed with marine grease feels good.............eBay is such a crap shoot, you just never know.

looks like you got a crank for it though........

This one was a total crap shoot.  The description just said "don't know much about it, what you see is what you get".  It actually looked much better in hand than the pictures indicated.

One problem is that engines may be damaged, even if they have never been run. Poor storage can lead to corrosion, not visible until an engine is disassembled. Bad compression, for instance, especially in a steel liner/cast iron piston engine, can be caused by this corrosion. Some engines I have purchased seem to have been effected that way. Corrosion of the crank can effects bushings, ball or roller bearings, do not fair well at all, if an engine is improperly cleaned and inadequately oiled. AAC, ABC, ABN engines can be damaged by turning the engine, if it is not oiled, or lubed with fuel, or if it is flipped over cold especially when new. A common issue. Since the pinch of a well fitted P/L can create excessive friction when cold. If the pinch is worn away by cold flipping, or even turning the crank over when cold, the engine performance is likely to suffer. These engines need to be run at operating temperature for break-in. Also the excessive friction of cold flipping etc. a new engine can damage connecting rod bearings. More than one engine I've purchased had the tell tale click as the piston neared top dead center. Indicating connecting rod bearing play. A few of these engines appeared to have never been run. I suspect a previous owner did not understand the potential problems of cold flipping a new engine.

Recently I've purchased more than a few engines that in one way or another did not measure up to the advertising statement. Are they usable engines. Most are. But their performance has been compromised. Which is why, when looking for an engine to power a competition plane, I've come to the conclusion that new is best.