Engine Making lemonade out lemons

[ivantherussian03]

I have been doing a lot of my own wrenching for 15 years now: boat motors, snowmobiles, and atvs. I have never took apart a engine, not one time.


My atv engine seized. So I am working on pulling the engine now. I am going to look over the engine once it is pulled and most likely work toward rebuilding it. It is either that or send the engine in and have professionals do it, which still might happen.

I am told by people that know it is an easy engine to rebuild, but we will see.

I am thinking this is a logical evolution for me as a mechanic.

 

[Reborn]

Do you have full time job? IOW, how much time can you spend on the project, and how soon do you need it working again?

 

[ivantherussian03]

Well, I have two months before I will need it back, but I could live with not having a working vehicle for a for a while, but would prefer not too.. But time is always an issue for me. I have a little girl at home and a wife that seems helpless at times.

 

[Publius]

Wanting to graft cream puffs on lemon trees?

 

[ivantherussian03]

Wow…..I had to pull the engine on my snow machine now. Pulled it and reinstalled in 4 hours. Still not running as I broke a plastic part. And of course there is not one replacement in the entire state. It will take two weeks. The good news I avoided a major problem and extended the life of this machine, tuned the carbs, and ordered new flanges. For good measure I increased the oil flowing to the engine. I am feeling pretty good about it.

 

[ivantherussian03]

I found a used a replacement part used in town. I will get running in the morning.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Wow….got it running nice. It is running really good. I will just watch the oil level and make sure that it dropping. I went and ahead and mixed my gas and oil as insurance till I know everything is working and flowing. I will replace the carburetor flanges when they come in, and this machine will be like new.

 

[Reborn]

Those engine repairs are keeping you busy. Congrats on getting this one fixed to quickly.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Old machines require attention and money spent. Both these machine are old, the snow go is 9 years old, and the atv 17 I believe.

 

[Creedmoor]

If you are running pre mixed gas/oil AND running oil injection at the same time, you'll need a respirator or have to drive into the wind.

 

[ivantherussian03]

I feel like I am having a lot of bad luck….now my cloths washer is down. I went online; it does not look terribly expensive to fix, except a few parts. Well have to see on this.

 

[rugmaker]

Not bad luck, just a good learning experience. Get going on the washer. Glad you have the time to do it. Sometimes when things look bad, they are actually very good. I call it a blessing.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Well, the good news is it appears easy to fix. A little research at a DIY Appliance repair website. 70 bucks buys the parts that fix 70% of the problems. Although your just guessing at which parts to buy until you get into it. This is priority one; I have a baby at home. The washer gets used nearly daily.

 

[ivantherussian03]

Taking off cylinder head off the honda engine today. Yikes…….and here we go…….

 

[ivantherussian03]

I made significant progress today. The engine is completely off the frame now. I have about 3 hours into it today. The recoil starter is off now, and proceeding to move forward, deeper into the engine. Ended the day replacing a connector gear with two sets of teeth in the starter mechanism inside the engine, along with the neutral safety sensor. I feel pretty good about this now.

Now I can fix the problems of the engine. This is a positive step forward.

 

[ivantherussian03]

The head is rebuilt now, with a new piston. I placed the engine back on the frame and started reassembling. It is going back together faster than I took it apart. Hopeful to have it running soon. I am thinking about buying a used back up engine to completely rebuild. These older model Hondas are easier to work on supposedly. More and more the new models are fuel injected, and really can not be worked on. Like most things the more you do it the more confident you become and faster at the task.

I can take apart the fuel system on my Polaris trail touring, drain out the water and clean the fuel pump in 50 minutes, and reassemble it. When I first learned that task it probably took 2 or 2 1/2 hours.

 

[Millwright]

Good deal.

Going through a motor really isn't that difficult once you know the ground rules.

 

[ivantherussian03]

It started up and ran. It smoked at first and was very noisy, but that was the oil getting circulated. It had been dry of oil. It quieted down. The good news is the electric start, and the gear I replaced is working. The bad news the neutral safety I replaced does not appear to work, which is kinda of a bummer. All that work. But it is running now and I need it to run. It is my main form of transportation during the snowless months. I learned a lot. I need to better organized and place note cards into my bolt baggies, cutting squares of card board with slits, and notes next to each bolt, which I started doing half way through the project. I did have some extra bolts left over from the reinstall on the frame. I might take it back apart next winter, and do more engine work, and figure out why the switch did not work. The engine is fine all the bolts went back in.


I am going look for spare engine to rebuild and swap it out at my convenience over a winter weekend.

 

[ivantherussian03]

I have located a spare engine and need to buy it for cheap 50 or 100 dollars. I am making phone calls to have it remanufactured in the L48 over the summer. I make a box and air cargo it in and a range for the box to be picked up, or time it right and pick it up and deliver it to UPS, and deliver it to the remanufacturing operation. Ship it back up and it is ready to install at a convenient time. It will be good for another 20 years.

 

[ivantherussian03]

I purchased the spare engine for 50 bucks today, and got it delivered too.