AE300Austro AE300 and Continental CD diesels

Parts most often named Exhaust Pipe (34) · Clamp (2) · Heat Shield (1)

EXHAUST HEAT SHIELD IS LOOSE ON THE EXHAUST PIPE AND THE WELDS HAVE FAILED. AD 2018-10-10 REQUIRES THE HEAT SHIELD TO BE TIGHT AND WELDED TO THE PIPE. THE ISSUE IS THE HEAT SHIELD IS CRIMPED ON THE PIPE AND THEN WELDED TO IT AND IT'S NOT WORKING. THIS PIPE FAILED WITH ONLY 23.5 TTSN

AD2018-10-10 DATED JUNE 12 2018 REQUIRES THE HEAT SHIELD TO BE TIGHT ON AND WELDED TO THE EXHAUST PIPE. THE HEAT SHIELD SPOT WELDS FAILED AND VERY LOOSE ON THE EXHAUST PIPE THE AD IS SUGGESTING THE PIPE SHOULD LAST AT LEAST 1500 HOURS BUT FAILED AT 62.8

AD2018-10-10 DATED JUNE 12 2018 REQUIRES THE HEATSHIELD TO BE TIGHT ON AND SPOT WELDED IN TWO PLACES TO THE EXHAUST PIPE.THE PROBLEM IS THE HEATSHIELD SPOT WELDS FAILED AND THE HEATSHIELD IS VERY LOOSE ON THE EXHAUST PIPE THE AD MAKES IT SOUND LIKE THE EXHAUST PIPE ASSY SHOULD LAST AT LEAST 1500 HOURS BUT THIS ONE FAILED AT 31.5

Parts most often named Actuator (7) · Controller (5) · Turbocharger (4) · Wastegate Valve (1)

LH POWER ERRATIC AT FULL THROTTLE. INSPECTED AND FOUND LH TURBO WASTE GATE CONTROLLER NOT HOLDING PRESSURE. REMOVED AND REPLACED LH WASTE GATE CONTROLLER WITH NEW RUN UP AND FLIGHT CHECK SATISFACTORY. TESTED OLD ACTUATOR ON GROUND AND FOUND ACTUATOR STICKING AND ERRATIC. P/N E4A-41-120-000

ON TAKE OFF. DUAL ECU FAILURE NOTED ON PDF. PILOT LANDED SAFELY. MX INSPECTED AND FOUND WASTEGATE ACTUATOR INOP. REPLACED ACTUATOR, GROUND RUN AND DATA DOWNLOAD GOOD. NO ISSUES ON NEXT FLIGHTS. I AM NOTING THIS TO MAKE THE FAA AWARE THAT THIS SAME ISSUE HAS OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OF OUR DA40NGS. THE ACTUATORS DO NOT APPEAR TO LAST LONGER THAN 100-300 TACH HOURS. WOULD LIKE TO SEE A BETTER PART RELEASED TO RESOLVED THESE ONGOING ISSUES.

ON TAKEOFF, DUAL ECU FAILURES NOTED ON PDF. ABORTED TAKEOFF. MX INSPECTED AND FOUND WASTEGATE ACTUATOR INOP. REPLACED ACTUATOR, GROUND RUN, AND DATA DOWNLOAD GOOD PER MECHANIC. NO ISSUE ON ALL SUBSEQUENT FLIGHTS. THIS SAME ISSUE HAS BEEN REPORTED REGARDING MULTIPLE OTHER DA40NGS. SEE SDR: 2020FA0000205.

Parts most often named Piston (10) · Bolt (1) · Rod Bolt (1) · Flywheel (1)

WHILE COMPLYING WITH AD2024-19-10 / MSB-E4-043 (RTBORESCOPE INSPECTION), THE #2 PISTON ON THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS FOUND CRACKED. THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED.

SIGNIFICANT OIL LOSS AND LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE ON TAKEOFF. FADEC SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY SHUT DOWN ENGINE DUE TO OIL PRESSURE LOSS. PILOT LANDED SAFELY ON RUNWAY AND TAXIED OFF OF ACTIVE RUNWAY WITHOUT ISSUES. UPON VISUAL INSPECTION, FOUND THERE TO BE A 2 IN DIAMETER HOLE BLOWN IN THE THE CRANKCASE NEAR THE PISTON ARM OF CYLINDER 3. FURTHER INSPECTION HAS NOT BEEN DONE, BUT BELIEVE THE HOLE TO BE CAUSED BY A JOURNAL BEARING BOLT SHEARING.

ECU A AND B FAIL DURING INITIAL CLIMB, AND SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER. DURING SUBSEQUENT BORESCOPE INSPECTION FOUND A HOLE IN THE #3 PISTON. PREVIOUS BORESCOPE INSPECTION WAS PERFORMED @ 787.4 ETSN.

Parts most often named Engine (5) · Damper (3) · Gearbox (2) · Crankcase (1)

LEFT ENGINE OIL LEAK ON TAKEOFF WITH WHITE SMOKE, CREW FEATHERED AND LANDED. DURING INSPECTION, A HOLE WAS FOUND IN THE CRANKCASE, AND ANOTHER LOCATION SHOWED A FRACTURED CASE. THE ENGINE WAS DISASSEMBLED, AND A CRANKSHAFT BOLT E4A-10-100-202 WAS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED. THE HEAD OF THE BOLT HAD MIGRATED THROUGH THE LOWER POWER SECTION, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE CASE AND INTERNAL ENGINE ITEMS. THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED.

DURING TROUBLESHOOTING FOR LOW POWER OUTPUT, THE TORSIONAL VIBRATION DAMPER WAS FOUND DAMAGED, WITH SEVERAL BROKEN PIECES MISSING FROM IT. IT WAS ALLOWING SLIPPAGE WHILE DRIVING THE PROPELLER.

PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WAS ENGINE ROUGHNESS AND VIBRATIONS DURING TAKEOFF, NOTICED MOST AROUND 700 FEET AGL. THEY ALSO REPORTED PROP OVERSPEED.

Parts most often named Governor (10) · Flywheel (1)

DURING ECU SELF-TEST, AN ERROR MESSAGE APPEARED SHOWING TIME OUT. INSPECTION REVEALED A MALFUNCTIONING GOVERNOR. IT WAS REPLACED AND OPERATION CHECK WAS NORMAL.

DURING A ROUTINE ANNUAL INSPECTION, THE MASS FLYWHEEL (TVD) UNIT WAS INSPECTED AS REQUIRED AT 600 TIS. THE INSPECTION REQUIRES A MEASUREMENT OF THE RIVETS IN THE CENTER ASSEMBLY. THEY WERE WORN BEYOND LIMITS AND THE FLYWHEEL WAS REPLACED WITH A NEW UNIT.

IP STATED THAT THEY ATTEMPTED TO ADJUST THE THROTTLE MULTIPLE TIMES FOLLOWING TAKEOFF WITH LITTLE TO NO RESPONSE IN PROP SPEED. INSPECTED PROPELLER GOVERNOR CONDITION AND FOUND TO BE MECHANICALLY JAMMED AT MAX SETTING. INSTALLED OVERHAULED GOVERNOR P/N: P-877-16.

Parts most often named Baffle (9)

Parts most often named Cylinder Head (4) · Piston (2) · Crankcase (1) · Shield (1)

DURING TAKE OFF THE LEFT ENGINE FAILED AND WAS SHUT DOWN AND FEATHERED. OIL WAS SEEN STREAMING FROM THE COWLING. A BORE SCOPE INSPECTION REVEALED THE #1 PISTON FAILED.

ENGINE POWER & RPM LOSS IN FLIGHT. FUMES COMING THROUGH AIR VENT. EMERGENCY LANDING INTO KHFY. FOUND #1 PISTON CRACKED. TERMINATING ACTION FOR AD2024-05-01 WAS TAKEN ON 2/8/2024 AT 722.1 ETT. AD 2024-05-01"FUEL INJECTOR CHANGE" WAS COMPLIED WITH ON 3/10/202 AT 722.1 ETT. NO OTHER ADS WERE DUE.

COOLANT FLUID WAS SEEN AFTER FLIGHT, BY THE CREW. TROUBLESHOOTING AND TEST INDICATED A CYLINDER HEAD LEAK OF SOME KIND. THE HEAD WAS REPLACED WITH A NEW PART AND SUBSEQUENT GROUND TESTS AND FUNCTIONAL CHECK FLIGHT RESULTED IN NO MORE FLUID LOSS.

Parts most often named Pump (7) · Gear (1)

THE RIGHT ENGINE FAILED TO START. WHEN STARTED, WITH THE FUEL PUMP ON, THE ENGINE RAN BRIEFLY. UPON TURNING THE FUEL PUMP OFF, THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. A SUBSEQUENT START ATTEMPT WITH THE FUEL PUMP ON RESULTED IN AN ENGINE START ACCOMPANIED BY AN R ECU A FAILURE MESSAGE. CHECKLIST PROCEDURES WERE PERFORMED, WITH NO CHANGE NOTED. THE CHECKLIST WAS REPEATED; THE ENGINE SUBSEQUENTLY SHUT DOWN. THE LOW-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP WAS DEFECTIVE

ENGINE QUIT ON CLIMB OUT. SAFE RETURN TO AIRFIELD. FOUND TEETH MISSING ON HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP AND CAMSHAFT. REPLACED THE ENGINE AND FUEL PUMP.

DURING FLIGHT THE CREW OBSERVED AN ECU INDICATION AND THE POWER WOULD NOT ADVANCE BEYOND 80%. THE LT. HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP WAS CHANGE AND RESOLVED THE PROBLEM.

Parts most often named Governor (2) · Valve (2) · Accumulator (1) · Propeller (1)

PROPELLER UNFEATHER VALVE FAILURE. ENGINE SHUT DOWN DURING NORMAL TRAINING. ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART BECAUSE PROPELLER WOULD NOT UNFEATHER. BROUGHT AIRCRAFT BACK TO HOME BASE SINGLE ENGINE LANDING.

THE LT ENGINE BEGAN TO SURGE ON NIGHT CROSS-COUNTRY TRAINING FLIGHT. AFTER CHECKING THE ENGINE, MFG WAS CONTACTED AND SAID THEY HAVE HAD SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS SAME THING HAPPENING. THERE IS ARCING BETWEEN THE MALE PINS ON THE VALVE AND THE FEMALE CONNECTION ON THE HARNESS, CAUSING A CHANGE IN RESISTANCE THAT CAUSES THE VALVE TO DUMP THE PRESSURE IN THE PROP. THE PROP GOES TO FEATHER. THE PROPORTIONAL PRESSURE REDUCING VALVE WAS REMOVED AND A NEW ONE INSTALLED. ENGINE WAS RUN-UP AND CHECKED, OK. (K)

Parts most often named Ecu (4) · Fadec (2)

LT ENGINE ECU A AND B FAILURE ON TAKEOFF. AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO FIELD. COMPUTER CODES IDENTIFIED A BOOST PRESSURE ISSUE.

(CAN) LEFT ENGINE DUAL ECU FAIL ON BASE LEG. ENGINE SHUTDOWN IN FLIGHT. SMOKE IN COCKPIT NEAR THE LOWER PAX FLOOR. LEFT ECU A UNRESPONSIVE WHEN INTERROGATED BY THE WIZARD SOFTWARE. LEFT ECU B DATA INDICATES A POSSIBLE STICKY GOVERNOR AND A SUDDEN DROP OF OIL PRESSURE AND LEVEL PRIOR TO SHUTDOWN. RIGHT ECU NOT RECORDING SINCE 3/5/19. APPROX 500 HOURS. ENGINE LOG, EVENT RECORDER, AND FAULT CODES COULD NOT BE DOWNLOADED THROUGH THE SOFTWARE.