I was just at George's to borrow a gib key puller and got a chance to look at the PS 6/1 he and Joel have built to thier specs. I was very impressed with the quality, the cleanliness of the inside of the engine, and the tight fit of the cam gear train. I couln't feel any backlash (unlike my Ashwamegh 25/2). George told me that they have a PS 24/2 comming soon, and it will be a direct replacement for the Ashwamegh they used to sell. If it equals the quality of the Power Solutions 6/1 I was looking at, it should be a real winner. By the way, I don't believe the Ashwamegh really puts out 25, but I got a 15 Kw head just in case........
About my 25/2: It was not cleaned well before assembly, and has many painted in sand pockets. They looked like casting flaws when I first looked at them. They were painted over, and resisted some pretty determined prodding with a screwdriver, So I thought the engine was clean enough. I washed it out and put new oil and several magnets in it. I opened it up to replace the dubious idler gear at 7.5 hours run time. The oil was quite dirty, so after I drained it and mopped out the sump, I really started whacking at a rough spot in the casting by the center main bearing. When it eventually broke out, I had over a tablespoon full of sand and what someone else on this forum refered to as Bentonite, a kind of hardened clay like dirt. Then I got out the inspection mirror and the small digital camera and found small (and some not so small) deposits in corners and webs all through the crankcase. Well, I started taking it all apart, and soon we can share the experience of cleaning, ballancing etc. a 25/2.
Scott E
