Warranty Coverage Ends December 31st

Teledyne Continental Motors (TCM) tells ANN the Cylinder Recall MSB09-1B will be complete effective December 31, 2009, meaning full warranty coverage on the cylinders under this recall will end on that date.  TCM says there is still time to qualify for warranty coverage, but owners must notify TCM before December 31, 2009 in order to receive full warranty coverage.

TCM says one hundred percent of cylinders under this recall have been produced and 90% have been replaced to date.  If those affected do not call TCM before 12/31/09 for scheduling of new cylinders, they will lose their warranty.  As long as they are scheduled, TCM will support and pay for cylinder replacement through February 28, 2010.

On February 12 of this year, TCM issued a voluntary recall on certain piston cylinders produced and shipped since November 2007, after owners reported cylinder head cracking found during regular maintenance inspections. That MSB affected cylinders on certain 470, 520 and 550 series engine models; they later expanded that recall to cylinders manufactured since August 2006. 

The MSB stated, "TCM has determined that the EQ3 cylinder head casting tool used in the manufacturing process created an area of reduced thickness that may result in a crack after prolonged operation. This crack manifests itself in the area between the upper sparkplug bore and the fuel injector/primer nozzle bore.

"The cracked cylinders returned to date have occurred on engines from high use fleet operations with occurrence times ranging from approximately 430 to 1,300 total hours. Replacement cylinders conforming to proven production history will be provided."

FMI: www.teledyne.com