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Hi Rotax Owners,

I am here to bad-mouth a business because they have not done right by me. I sent off my carburetors to South Mississippi Light Aircraft for rebuild due to hitting 600 hours on the engine. SMLA is a Rotax iRMC, and Ronnie and Morris are both A&P and iRMT Heavy Maintenance, and Ronnie is also an RFSC instructor. One would think with those qualifications that they could be trusted to do the work well. This is, in fact, why I sent my carburetors there. They came highly recommended by some friends of mine.

When I sent the carbs off, I included a detailed work request letter, stating that there were service bulletins on the floats and to please evaluate the floats and the service bulletins as to whether replacement made sense. One concern was that the newest floats apparently haven't been completely trouble-free, or so I had heard. I also requested that the throttle shafts be replaced, as there was excessive wear and a relevant service bulletin on those from Vans.

I received a phone call within two weeks of sending the carburetors off that they were ready to go. I asked about the floats and the throttle shafts. It was clear that Ronnie had not really read the letter (maybe skimmed it at best), because he did not know why I was asking to have the shafts replaced, and it wasn't until I told him to go look at the shaft that he recognized there was actually damage to it. If he had read the document, this would have been obvious. He also argued that he wouldn't worry about the damage, despite three separate service bulletins from Vans involving this exact issue. I insisted that we replace the shafts. He said he wasn't sure how long that would take or what it would cost. I asked him to please just have a look and let me know. I get a call two hours later stating that the job is done. So somehow we have just gone from this being an un-heard-of issue to they had new shafts in stock? Odd.

A week later, I get the carbs back. I take them out of the box and immediately notice that one of the throttle plate valves is badly misaligned. One of the throttle shafts also has no lubrication at all, as it is supposed to, so the shaft on that carburetor did not rotate easily like the other one. At this point, my trust is blown and I won't have them work on my carbs again no matter what. So I decided to open the carbs up and have a look inside. I found multiple issues with their work.

See the photos:

1. Unusual wear pattern on the main carburetor pistons (both). This should have been alerted to me, as it is obvious something is wrong here. This wasn't the cause of a problem, but it was evidence of a problem I later found in my gearbox. These pistons also should be replaced IMO.

2. The housing also shows matching unusual wear, and this also should have been called out.

3. The Viton tip of the float needle is obviously not that of a brand new float needle. The sprung pin in the back was also jammed and had lost all springiness.

4. The diaphragm was bonded to the flange of the carburetor piston with a dried out substance. It had to be peeled off and obviously had not been replaced.

5. The idle jet was badly corroded and should have been replaced.

6 and up. The carburetor floats were visibly damaged and should have been replaced.

They are refusing a refund and are denying that they did this, even after I sent them pictures. They told me that the only way they will speak to me again is through their lawyer.

I guess I'm out $750 bucks. Don't let it happen to you, take your carbs and gearboxes somewhere else!

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LSRM-A
Rotax iRMT Service/Maintenance
RV-12 SLSA Owner

  • Re: PSA: South Mississippi Light Aircraft Refused Refund

    by » 4 weeks ago


     Really, a $750 problem and they want you to talk with their lawyer…?


  • Re: PSA: South Mississippi Light Aircraft Refused Refund

    by » 4 weeks ago


     

    Hello Eriselle,

    Thank you for sharing your experience, and we are sorry to hear about the issues you encountered with your carburetor rebuild. It's crucial for our community to voice concerns and share experiences to help others make informed decisions. However, we'd like to offer another perspective regarding South Mississippi Light Aircraft (SMLA).

    Ronnie and Morris at SMLA are well-regarded and respected in the Rotax community. In complex tasks such as carburetor overhaul/rebuilds, misunderstandings, and miscommunications can occasionally occur, and it seems that might have been the case here.

     

    From your description and the accompanying photos, there are a couple of points worth noting:

    • Carburetor Pistons and Housing Wear: The wear patterns described are common after extensive usage and might not necessarily indicate an immediate need for replacement. It appears SMLA might have assessed that the wear did not yet warrant replacement, potentially saving you the cost of new carbs (around $800 each). It's important to verify with them if this was their intention, to avoid premature and unnecessary replacements.

    • Float Needle and Diaphragm: The issues with the Viton tip of the float needle and the condition of the diaphragm are concerning. It's essential to clarify whether you requested a full overhaul (which includes replacing these parts) or merely a rebuild (which focuses on gaskets). If these components passed a pressure test, SMLA might have considered them still serviceable.

    • Idle Jet and Floats: The corrosion on the idle jet and the condition of the floats you mentioned do raise questions. While cleaning the jet is an alternative to replacement if the corrosion is superficial, damaged floats should be replaced. It sounds like there was some confusion around the replacement of the floats. Since you mentioned earlier concerns about the reliability of the newest floats, it's possible there was a miscommunication regarding your preferences for the float replacement. With that said, it would be unusual for them to overlook such visible damage, and it's worth discussing with SMLA why these parts were not replaced IF the damage was evident.

     

    In your situation, further dialogue with SMLA could be beneficial. Perhaps mediation or a direct conversation could help clarify the misunderstandings and resolve any technical concerns. Both service providers and customers need to collaborate towards solutions, as a satisfactory resolution can often be achieved through open communication.

    Please update the post if you end up solving the dispute. 

    Best Regards

    Rotax-Owner


  • Re: PSA: South Mississippi Light Aircraft Refused Refund

    by » 4 weeks ago


    Hi there Rotax Owner.

    The conversation has ended with me from their end. They have told me I will have to take legal action and they will not talk to me further. They have not been open in the slightest about any possibility that maybe they didn't do the right thing here. I even offered that maybe they accidentally got some parts mixed up, as opposed to this being incompetence or gross negligence, but they are not open at all whatsoever to any of that. They didn't state it explicitly, but the only answer they seem to be willing to accept is that I did something screwy here and that I'm trying to pull a fast one on them. This is not the case, and there is no more open communication to be had with them. The latest call ended with them hanging up on me because I was "wasting their time with this nonsense".

    The engine has 602 hours on it. I found excessive wear in the gearbox that essentially has rendered the dampening effect of the belleville washers to be inoperative. I believe that this was both caused by excessive low-rpm idling by the previous owner I bought this from, as well as the cause of the carburetor piston wear. I feel that SMLA had a responsibility to recognize and report this excessive wear in the carburetor. It was an indicator of a serious problem I hadn't found yet at the time. When I mentioned that I found this carb piston wear, Ronnie told me that he had not seen it and that he would have told me to replace the whole carburetor had he seen that. Well... the serial numbers match what I sent off... so he should have seen it. This is a reason I believe there must have been a mixup and they thought they did the work but maybe they did it to another carburetor rather than to mine. They clearly did something to it, because you could smell the parts cleaner.

    As to what service I requested, I specifically requested a "full overhaul". The sprung pin in the back the float needle was jammed and inoperative. even if it formed a good seal, it was unacceptable for this needle to be reused regardless. Ronnie and Morris both stated that they never reuse diaphragms. While this may be their policy and intention, it is very clear that this is not what played out with my carburetors.

    Cleaning the jet may have been acceptable, but reinstalling it as it was was absolutely not acceptable. There was no confusion about the floats, my letter to them was clear if he had read it. I asked for his opinion in the letter, stating that there are several service bulletins calling them out to be replaced. I was unsure of the quality of the latest iteration of the floats, so I didn't necessarily want to replace them if they were okay. But even Ronnie acknowledged that those pictures were unacceptable and he said he would never have put those back in the carb.

    The only explanation here is they screwed up, whether negligence or just a simple mix up. I'd assume the latter, but why they won't just accept they made a mistake I have no idea. I wouldn't have even started this public roasting if they just accepted they made a mistake. It's okay, it happens, nothing bad happened, I caught it before I got the carbs back on the plane. But they are done with me, absolutely refused to meet me on this at all. Ronnie and Morris both were suggestive that they think I'm attempting to pull a fast one on them. I'm not a liar, and this situation is super messed up. The way they are handling it is terrible and it's unacceptable.

    I asked for my money back. That's what I want because I did not get the services rendered that I paid for. It is clear that none of the parts they claimed to have installed were installed other than the throttle shafts, those they did install for sure. Incorrectly, mind you (lack of lubrication and misaligned throttle valve plates), but I know for sure they actually did that work. The invoice literally has a diaphragm on it as a line item, which obviously from the picture you can see they didn't actually install.

    They should refund me or I am going to be very very loud about how they have screwed me over. This is garbage. It's okay to make a mistake, just own up to it when you do.


    LSRM-A
    Rotax iRMT Service/Maintenance
    RV-12 SLSA Owner


  • Re: PSA: South Mississippi Light Aircraft Refused Refund

    by » 4 weeks ago


    Eriselle,

    A few months back you posted about the unusual wear on the carb pistons on your aircraft, and ended the post saying you replaced those parts and you were also taking the gearbox off for inspection.  Is this the same aircraft and carbs? 


  • Re: PSA: South Mississippi Light Aircraft Refused Refund

    by » 4 weeks ago


    Hey Jeff,

    Yes, this is the same aircraft and carbs. I wasn't ready to name and shame SMLA at that point because I was still in correspondence with them. But now that they have slammed the door in my face, here we are. This is my RV-12 weekend project, so progress is not extremely fast. At the time I made that post, I was under the impression the carbs were a source of vibration (poor synchronization perhaps), and I had been advised to expect possible wear in the gearbox due to this. After finding the dog gear cams worn into a corner, it is apparent that the gearbox was the primary source of the vibrations and that the carb piston wear was caused by that. I rebuilt the carbs myself after I got them back from SMLA, which is when the pictures in this thread were taken. I replaced the gearbox completely, as the cost of replacing the worn gears was about $4000, and a new gearbox was $5500. This got me the newer overload clutch design that has a longer service life between inspections when running 100LL, and the new housing design for improved oil handling.


    LSRM-A
    Rotax iRMT Service/Maintenance
    RV-12 SLSA Owner


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