Wayne,
It seems to me that the term damage history is often misinterpreted or misused.
Damage that occurs as a result of normal operation (as in the case of the stuck valve) should not be termed damage history as the engine was performing the function it was intended to perform. Replacing a cylinder actually is just a standard parts replacement, not repair. The term damage history should be reserved for those instances where damage occurs due to forces outside the scope of normal operation (such as ground-loops, bird-strikes, prop-strikes, etc..).
Pulley's freeze all the time but we don't term that as damage history. Rusted cables, clogged injectors, etc.
Funny that the term damage history isn't in part 1 of the FAR's. But neither is the term airworthy!
Just some thoughts,
Mike Sammons
